When Should An Airbag Inflate - Chevrolet Captiva Owner's Manual

Driver Side Shown, Passenger Side
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If the vehicle has roof-rail airbags for
the driver, outboard front passenger,
and second row outboard passengers,
they are in the ceiling above the side
windows.
Warning
If something is between an occupant
and an airbag, the airbag 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.
Do not use seat accessories that
block the inflation path of a seat-
mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof of
a vehicle with roof-rail airbags by
routing a rope or tie-down through
any door or window opening. If you
do, the path of an inflating roof-rail
airbag will be blocked.
Seats and Restraints 2-25
WHEN SHOULD AN AIRBAG
INFLATE?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate
in moderate to severe frontal or near-
frontal crashes to help reduce the
potential for severe injuries mainly to
the driver's or outboard front passen-
ger's head and chest. However, they are
only designed to inflate if the impact
exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds 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 the 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.
Frontal airbags may inflate at different
crash speeds. For example:
Ÿ If the vehicle hits a stationary
object, the airbags could inflate at a
different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.