2005 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Pickup Owner's Manual - Page 73

Single Stage Airbags If your vehicle has frontal airbags with single stage deployment and your vehicle goes straight into a wall that does not move or deform, the threshold level is about 13 to 16 mph (20 to 25 km/h). (The threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or below this range.) How Does an Airbag Restrain? In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But airbags would not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and many side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion is not toward those airbags. Airbags 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. What Makes an Airbag Inflate? In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates the airbag. The inflator, airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger. 1-67