1998 Cadillac Catera Owner's Manual - Page 45

When shouldan air bag inflate? The driver's and right front passenger's frontalair bags are designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes.The frontal air bags are designed to inflate onlyif the impact speedis above the system's designed "thresholdlevel." If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn't movedeform, the threshold or 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 a parked car, the threshold level will be higher.The driver's and right front passenger's frontal air bags are not designedinflate in rollovers, to side impacts,or rear impacts, because inflation would not helpthe occupant. If something is between occupant and an air an bag, the bag might not inflate properly it or might forcethe object into that person. The path of an inflating air bag mustbe kept clear. Don't put anything betweenan occupant and an air bag, and don't attach or put anything on the steering wheel hub or on or near any other air bag coveringand don't let seat covers block the inflation path of a side impact air bag.