Black plate (24,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 20123-24 Seats and RestraintsIn any particular crash, no one cansay whether an airbag should haveinflated simply because of thedamage to a vehicle or because ofwhat the repair costs were. Forfrontal airbags, inflation isdetermined by what the vehicle hits,the angle of the impact, and howquickly the vehicle slows down.For seat‐mounted side impact androof-rail airbags, deployment isdetermined by the location andseverity of the side impact. In arollover event, roof-rail airbagdeployment is determined by thedirection of the roll.What Makes an AirbagInflate?In a deployment event, the sensingsystem sends an electrical signaltriggering a release of gas from theinflator. Gas from the inflator fills theairbag causing the bag to break outof the cover and deploy. The inflator,the airbag, and related hardware areall part of the airbag module.Frontal airbag modules are locatedinside the steering wheel andinstrument panel. For vehicles withseat‐mounted side impact airbags,there are airbags modules in theside of the front seatbacks closestto the door. For vehicles withroof-rail airbags, there are airbagmodules in the ceiling of the vehicle,near the side windows that haveoccupant seating positions.How Does an AirbagRestrain?In moderate to severe frontal ornear frontal collisions, even beltedoccupants can contact the steeringwheel or the instrument panel. Inmoderate to severe side collisions,even belted occupants can contactthe inside of the vehicle.Airbags supplement the protectionprovided by safety belts. Frontalairbags distribute the force of theimpact more evenly over theoccupant's upper body, stoppingthe occupant more gradually.Seat‐mounted side impact androof-rail airbags distribute the forceof the impact more evenly over theoccupant's upper body.Rollover capable roof-rail airbagsare designed to help contain thehead and chest of occupants in theoutboard seating positions in thefirst and second rows. The rollovercapable roof-rail airbags aredesigned to help reduce the risk offull or partial ejection in rolloverevents, although no system canprevent all such ejections.But airbags would not help in manytypes of collisions, primarilybecause the occupant's motion isnot toward those airbags. See WhenShould an Airbag Inflate? onpage 3‑22 for more information.Airbags should never be regardedas anything more than a supplementto safety belts.InformationProvidedby:
