Black plate (44,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 20113-44 Seats and RestraintsWhen Should an AirbagInflate?Frontal airbags are designed toinflate in moderate to severe frontalor near-frontal crashes to helpreduce the potential for severeinjuries mainly to the driver's orright front passenger's head andchest. However, they are onlydesigned to inflate if the impactexceeds a predetermineddeployment threshold. Deploymentthresholds are used to predict howsevere a crash is likely to be in timefor the airbags to inflate and helprestrain the occupants.Whether the frontal airbags willor should deploy is not based onhow fast your vehicle is traveling.It depends largely on what you hit,the direction of the impact, and howquickly your vehicle slows down.Frontal airbags may inflateat different crash speeds.For example:. If the vehicle hits a stationaryobject, the airbags could inflateat a different crash speed than ifthe vehicle hits a moving object.. If the vehicle hits an objectthat deforms, the airbags couldinflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle hits an objectdoes not deform.. If the vehicle hits a narrow object(like a pole), the airbags couldinflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle hits a wideobject (like a wall).. If the vehicle goes into an objectat an angle, the airbags couldinflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle goes straightinto the object.Thresholds can also vary withspecific vehicle design.Frontal airbags are not intended toinflate during vehicle rollovers, rearimpacts, or in many side impacts.In addition, the vehicle hasdual-stage frontal airbags.Dual-stage airbags adjust therestraint according to crash severity.The vehicle has electronic frontalsensors, which help the sensingsystem distinguish between amoderate frontal impact anda more severe frontal impact.For moderate frontal impacts,dual-stage airbags inflate at alevel less than full deployment.For more severe frontal impacts,full deployment occurs.The vehicle has a seat positionsensor. Vehicles with dual stageairbags also have seat positionsensors which enable the sensingsystem to monitor the position ofthe driver seat and the right frontpassenger seat.
