1996 Cadillac Eldorado Owner's Manual - Page 39

When should an air bag inflate? The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe 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 a wall 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 somewhatabove or below this range. If your vehicle strikes something that will moveor deform, such as a parked car, the threshold levelwill 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 the damage of to a vehicle or because of what the repaircosts 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 air bag sensing systemdetects 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 produces nitrogen gas, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware are all part of the bag modules air 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 frontalor near-frontal collisions, even belted 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 youin many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motionis not toward the air bag. Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only i n moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions. -4