1998 Buick Skylark Owner's Manual - Page 32

When should an air bag inflate? What makes an bag inflate? air air An air bagis designed toinflate in a moderate to severe In an impact of sufficient severity, the bag sensing system detects that vehicle is in a crash. The sensing the frontal or near-frontal crash. The air bag willinflate system triggers a release gas from the inflator, which of only if the impact speedis above the system's designed inflates theair bag. The inflator, air bag and related straight into a "threshold level.''If your vehicle goes of the wall that doesn't move deform, the threshold levelis or hardware are all part the air bag modules inside in steering wheel and the instrument panelin front of the about 9 to 14 mph (14 to 23 km/h). The threshold level so can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, that right front passenger. If your it can be somewhat above or below this range. How does an air bag restrain? vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The even belted occupants can contact steering wheel or the air bagis not designed to inflate in rollovers, side the instrument panel. Air bags supplement protection the impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not proviiied by safety belts. Air bags distribute force of the help the occupant. the impact more evenly over occupant's upper body, the In any particular crash, no can say whether an air one air stopping the occupant more gradually. But bags of bag should have inflated simply becausethe damage would not help you in many typescollisions, of of to a vehicle or because what the repair costs were. including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, Inflation is determined by the angle the impact and of primarily because an occupant's motion not toward is in how quicklythe vehicle slows down frontal or i those a r bags. Air bags should never be regarded as near-frontal impacts. anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions. 1-25