AIR BAGS
QUESTIONS FREQUENTLY ASKED ABOUT
AIR BAGS IN SPECIALTY VEHICLES...
Can specialty v
ehicle equipment (e.g. radar devices, video
cameras, computers, meters, radio trees, shotguns, etc.) still be
mounted in cars with passenger side air bags?
Yes, but care must be taken to mount the equipment outside of the
deployment zone. Air bags inflate with great force and will interact with any
object in the deplo
yment zone. Therefore, to reduce the risk of injury to
vehicle occupants, GM recommends that the air deployment zone be kept
free of any equipment. If a piece of equipment were to become dislodged it
could strike an occupant in the vehicle and result in injury. The likelihood of
an object becoming dislodged is influenced by many factors, including the
proximity of the object to the inflatable restraint, the size and shape of the
object, and the means by which the object is secured to the vehicle. In
addition to these factors, the trajectory and velocity of a dislodged object
can be influenced by the type and severity of vehicle crash.
Objects that are in the deployment zone, but do not become dislodged by
an inflating air bag can still affect the performance of the air bag. For
example, such objects could tear the fabric or affect the shape of the air
bag, thus reducing the ability of the bag to provide restraint.
Is it possible to shield equipment that is installed in the
passenger side frontal air bag deployment zone in a manner
that will allow full and safe air bag deployment?
Due to the complexity of influencing variables, GM is unable to evaluate the
potential for shielding expected equipment configurations in all accident
scenarios in order to assure that the air bag performance would be
unaffected. While shielding may protect certain equipment from being
damaged or dislodged, it may also negatively affect the inflation
characteristics of the air bag. The air bags shape, inflation angle, fold
pattern, and inflation rate and pressure are developed to maximize the
protection capability of the inflatable restraint system. Therefore, GM cannot
recommend the placement of any equipment in the deployment zone, even
if it is shielded to protect it from damage.
Front air bag systems and instrument panel mounted equipment.
Passenger air bags in GM vehicles deploy in different ways depending upon
the type of vehicle and the particular instrument panel design.
In some vehicles, the passenger air bag deploys through a discrete door
located on the top surface of the instrument panel (top-mount air bag
systems). In other vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Tahoe, the passenger air
bag deploys through a discrete door mounted on the vertical rearward
surface of the instrument panel, above the glove box door (mid-mount air
ba
g system).
With these types of top-mount and mid-mount passenger air
ba
g systems, the top pad of the instrument panel remains in place during
deployment.
Some GM passenger air ba
g systems,
like the system in the Chevrolet
Impala, deploy from beneath the instrument panel top pad. These are
considered 3/4-mount air ba
g systems with a
“deplo
y
able top pad.
” The
entire instrument panel top pad is the
“deployment door” from under which
the inflating air bag emerges. When an air bag deployment is commanded,
the forces from the infla
ting passenger air bag push up on the instrument
panel top pad, releasing special fasteners across the rearward edge of the
top pad. This allows the top pad to rotate upward so that the passenger air
bag may emerge. The top pad rotates upward to open widest at the right
hand side, and is usually forced upward into contact with the windshield on
the right hand side of the vehic
le during a deployment.
Instrument panel top mounted special equipment, such as a radar antenna
and control unit or video camera must be positioned to the left of the
vehicle center line. This equipment must be mounted as low as possible
and securely fastened to the top pad to avoid being dislodged in the event
of a crash and possible air bag deployment. In the process of securely fas-
tening special equipment to the top, DO NOT fasten down the top pad itself
to any other vehicle component such as the cluster trim plate. As described
above, the top pad rotates upward during a deployment. In order to enable
the proper deployment of the passenger air bag, specialty equipment
installation MUST NOT PREVENT the top pad from rotating upward during
deployment. Location and attachment of special equipment should
minimize added resistance or interference to upward rotation of the top pad
during deployment.
Optional side air bags for crashes to the vehicle sides.
The Air Bag System in your Police vehicle may include optional side air
bags for front and rear occupants. Most front-to-rear side air bags are
designed to deploy downward from the interior roof sides to the bottom of
the door windows.
Can Specialty Vehicle Security Barriers be mounted within the
side air bag deployment zones?
No. The side air bags inflate extremely fast because of the nature of side
crashes to the vehicle. Mounting a Security barrier behind the front seats
with the ends placed within the side air bag deployment zones will result in
unintended interaction between the barrier and the inflating side air bags.
To reduce the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants, GM recommends that
the side air bag zones be kept free of any customer installed equipment.
Customer furnished equipment installed to the v
ehicle roof.
Your Police vehicle is designed with an interior roof cover system which
includes internal components for the interior lighting and wiring. The roof
system may also include optional side air bag components. Inflation devices
may be mounted on the vehic
le roof side behind the rear doors as well as
air bag tethers retained to the windshield pillars. Care must be taken to
avoid damage to these components or interference with their operation
when installing roof mounted equipment such as emergency lighting and
communication antennas.
AIR BAGS
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