1995 Cadillac Seville Owner's Manual - Page 45

When should an air bag inflate? The airbag is designed to inflate in moderate tosevere frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag will inflate only if the impact speed is above the system's designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight into awall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 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 aparkedcar, the threshold level will be higher. The air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant. In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because of the damageto a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and the vehicle's deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one indication of this. What makes an air bag inflate? In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing system detects that the vehicle is suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The sensing system triggers a chemical reaction of the sodium azide sealed in the inflator. The reaction producesnitrogen gas, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag, and related hardware are all part of the air bag modules packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. How does an air bag restrain? In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, belted even occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. The air bag supplements the protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers and rear and side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion is not toward the air bag. Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.