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When Should an Airbag Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate
to severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to help
reduce the potential for severe injuries mainly to the
driver’s or right front passenger’s head and chest.
However, they are only designed to inflate if the
impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds are used to
predict how severe a crash is likely to be in
time for the airbags to inflate and help restrain
the occupants.
Whether your frontal airbags will or should
deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle is
traveling. It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact, and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash speeds.
For example:
• If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inflate at a different crash speed than if
the vehicle hits a moving object.
• If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits an object does not deform.
• If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole),
the airbags could inflate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object
(like a wall).
• If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle,
the airbags could inflate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
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