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Safety
Occupant safety
Criteria for the triggering of belt ten-
sioners and airbags
To determine whether it is necessary to
trigger a belt tensioner or airbag, the air-
bag control unit evaluates the duration and
direction of vehicle deceleration or accel-
eration during the initial phase of the colli-
sion.
The triggering thresholds for the belt ten-
sioners and the airbags are variable and
are adapted in accordance with the rate of
vehicle deceleration. This process is
pre-emptive in nature as airbag deploy-
ment must take place during the impact
and not at the end of the collision.
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Airbags are not deployed in all types of acci-
dent. They are controlled by complex sensor
technology and evaluation logic. This process is
pre-emptive in nature as airbag deployment
must take place during the impact and must be
adapted to provide the calculated, additional
protection for the vehicle occupants. Not all the
airbags are deployed in an accident.
The various airbag systems operate independ-
ently. However, each system is dependent on
the type of accident (frontal/side/rear impact
and overturning) and severity of the accident
(mainly vehicle deceleration or acceleration) de-
termined during the initial phase of the accident.
Vehicle deceleration or acceleration and
force direction are essentially determined
by:
the distribution of forces during the
collision
the collision angle
the deformation characteristics of the
vehicle
the characteristics of the other object
involved in the collision, e.g. the other
vehicle
Factors which can only be seen and meas-
ured after the collision has taken place do
not play a decisive role in the deployment
of an airbag, nor do they provide an indica-
tion of it.
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