Patent ID: 7359781

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling a multistage actuatable occupant restraining system of a vehicle comprising: a crash sensor sensing crash acceleration at a substantially central location of the vehicle and providing a crash acceleration signal indicative of sensed crash acceleration; a crush zone accelerometer assembly spaced from the passenger compartment at a crush zone location of the vehicle and providing a crush zone crash acceleration signal indicative of crash acceleration sensed at the crush zone location; and a controller connected to the central crash sensor for determing a crash velocity value and a crash displacement value in response to the crash acceleration signal and connected to the crush zone accelerometer assembly for controlling actuation of first and second stages of said multistage actuatable occupant restraining system, said controller determining if a crash event is a symmetric or asymmetric crash event in response to signals from the crush zone acceleration signals and controlling actuation of the second stage in response thereto.