When Should an Airbag Inflate?Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderateto severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to helpreduce the potential for severe injuries mainly to thedriver’s or right front passenger’s head and chest.However, they are only designed to inflate if theimpact exceeds a predetermined deploymentthreshold. Deployment thresholds are used topredict how severe a crash is likely to be intime for the airbags to inflate and help restrainthe occupants.Whether your frontal airbags will or shoulddeploy is not based on how fast your vehicle istraveling. It depends largely on what you hit,the direction of the impact, and how quickly yourvehicle slows down.Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash speeds.For example:• If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbagscould inflate at a different crash speed than ifthe vehicle hits a moving object.• If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, theairbags could inflate at a different crash speedthan 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 crashspeed 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 speedthan if the vehicle goes straight into the object.Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehiclerollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.1-61
