When Should An Airbag Inflate - GMC 2005 Safari Owner's Manual

CAUTION:
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If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating airbag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an airbag,
and do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other
airbag covering.
When Should an Airbag Inflate?
The driver's and right front passenger's frontal airbags
are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate
only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account
a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a crash
is likely to be in time for the airbags to inflate and help
restrain the occupants.
Whether your frontal airbags will or should deploy is not
based on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends
largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact
and how quickly your vehicle slows down.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that
does not move or deform, the threshold level is
about 9 to 16 mph (14 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.)
Airbags may inflate at different crash speeds.
For example:
•
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbag
could inflate at a different crash speed than if
the object were moving.
•
If the object deforms, the airbag could inflate
at a different crash speed than if the object does
not deform.
•
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), the
airbag could inflate at a different crash speed than
if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
•
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle, the
airbag could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
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