Oldsmobile AURORA 2001 Owner's Manual page 38

When should an air bag inflate?
The driver's and right front passenger's frontal air bags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
-
near frontal crashes. The frontal air bags are designed
to inflate only if the impact speed is above the system's
designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight
into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold
level is about 11 to 16 mph (18 to 26 km/h). The
threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle
design, so that it can be somewhat above or below this
range. If your vehicle strikes something that will move
or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level
will be higher. The driver's and right front passenger's
frontal air bags are not designed to inflate in rollovers,
side impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would
not help the occupant.
The side impact air bags are designed to inflate in
moderate to severe side crashes involving a front door.
A side impact air bag will inflate if the crash severity
is above the system's designed "threshold level."
The threshold level can vary with specific vehicle
design. Side impact air bags are not designed to inflate
-
in frontal or near frontal impacts, rollovers or rear
impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant.
A side impact air bag will only deploy on the side of the
vehicle that is struck.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, inflation is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
-
in frontal and near frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, inflation is determined by the location and
severity of the impact.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates
the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering
wheel, instrument panel and the side of the front
seatbacks closest to the door.