Volvo, not surprisingly, has come up with a novel safety feature: a pedestrian airbag.
The U-shaped bag deploys in the area between the car's hood and the windshield in the event of a car-pedestrian collision:
The Volvo system sensors rapidly detect a car-pedestrian impact and respond much like what happens in a car-to-car collision. That triggers the section of the hood closest to the windshield to pop up slightly, a U-shaped airbag emerging from underneath, and forming a cushion around the base and sides of the windshield and A-pillars.
The system is one of many high-tech safety features being introduced on the Swedish carmaker’s V40 wagon, which is making its debut at this week’s Geneva Motor Show.
Automakers have been working on external safety features in response to strict EU laws regarding car-pedestrian accidents. These collisions account for nearly a quarter of vehicle-related fatalities, MSNBC reports.
In addition to the airbag, Volvo has developed sensor-based alarm systems to prevent collisions in the first place.
I think so far automotive companies are worried about the saftey of in car travelers, it's a good news that they are taking care about pedestrians also. Hope this can minimize the causality.
@prabhakar, i agree with you that this feature cannot give a complete safety net for pedesterian but it will weaken the collision impact. During accident, the first point of contact is usually the legs and the front of the car so there must be something there too for safety.
It is definatley a good step, it cannot solve all the problems, and it cannot guarantee that every collision will be harm free on non-fatile, but its a good step all the same.
@Flyingscot, Well, I dont think this should have anything to do with increase in the car price because while this might be a good marketing edge for Volvo, It is also some of the safty measures a car should have. People are not going to buy this car only because it has a special air bag but much more than that more features that tends to give more comfort.
I am a big fan of the idea of external security features for minimizing fatal injuries caused by collisions. The idea is so impressive that I think, like the EU, all other countries, including the less developed economies (that are usually less regulated as well), should introduce this as compulsory law to be implemented by the automobile manufacturers. The customers should'nt mind bearing its cost and I am sure, its cost wont be significant enough to reduce sales.
I haven't seen any cost data attached to this feature. It looks like it is being rolled out as part of a whole new Volvo platform and is probably factored into total cost. But it would be interesting to see it broken out.
I agree that this might be one more option that makes drivers "lazy." But I can't think of anything more frightening than seeing an item -- a garbage can, a cardboard box, anything --flying over the front bumper of my car. I hope I am never complacent enough that that doesn't scare me.
Great, just what drivers need, another device to make them more lazy than they already are. Shouldn't drivers be focused on avoiding pedestrians in the first place as opposed to having airbags that protect the car against pedestrians? Why not have frontal or aft sensors that can detect a body working in harmony with the braking system to avoid hitting the pedestrian?
Should someone jump from a building or a bridge and land on the hood of the helpless Volvo, how would the car sense this? Oh someone at the factory sure didn't think this one through. Probably the same knucklehead that thought automating a car with a synch system that allows you to read emails and texts while driving taking your eyes away from the road instead of concentrating on it!
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