Black plate (24,1)Cadillac ATS (Europe) - 2013 - crc - 10/8/123-24 Seats and RestraintsSeat-mounted side impact airbagsare not intended to inflate in frontalimpacts, near frontal impacts,rollovers, or rear impacts.Roof-rail airbags are not intended toinflate in rear impacts.A seat-mounted side impact airbagis intended to inflate on the side ofthe vehicle that is struck. Bothroof-rail airbags will inflate wheneither side of the vehicle is struck orif the sensing system predicts thatthe vehicle is about to roll over onits side, or in a severe frontalimpact.In any particular crash, no one cansay whether an airbag should haveinflated simply because of thevehicle damage or repair costs.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. The inflator, the airbag,and related hardware are all part ofthe airbag module.For airbag location, see Where Arethe Airbags? on page 3‑21.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 bydistributing the force of the impactmore evenly over theoccupant's 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 3‑23.Airbags should never be regardedas anything more than a supplementto safety belts.What Will You See afteran Airbag Inflates?After the frontal airbags andseat-mounted side impact airbagsinflate, they quickly deflate, soquickly that some people may noteven realise an airbag inflated.Roof-rail airbags may still be at leastpartially inflated for some time afterdeployment. Some components ofthe airbag module may be hot for
