Whether it’s the latest GPS system, or most advanced in car entertainment, we at Auto Alert are unreservedly car tech geeks. So it’s edifying when we come across a story that looks likely to make a real difference to the lives of road users.
Volvo has often been selected as the family favourite when it comes to high technology and in-car safety. However, news just in from Volvo is that they are also concerned about safety on the other side of the bonnet, on the outside of the car. This means making pedestrian safety more important.
With this in mind this Swedish car manufacturer has developed an external airbag so that any pedestrian or cyclist who may be hit by the vehicle in an accident, will have the impact cushioned.
Of course, it will only be a matter of time before the technology is taken up by other manufacturers. Hardly surprising when Volvo reckon the air bag could save lives in 85% of accidents which would otherwise cause fatality.
Volvo fit a series of sensors to the front bumper and these can detect how hard an object is in a crash situation. If the sensor records the object is soft like a human limb and the car is travelling between 12 and 31 mph, the air bag inflates and will burst through the bonnet of the car, covering the windscreen. This would then help prevent a pedestrian’s head from hitting the windscreen and metal surround. In addition the bonnet would be lifted up by 4inches which would create a cushion above the engine.
They have also developed a pedestrian detector system that can recognise when a person is in the road immediately ahead or about to step into the path of the car. In this case an alarm sounds, the driver is alerted and brakes automatically applied if a crash is unavoidable.
As Thomas Broberg, Volvo’s senior safety advisor commented: ‘We believe this can substantially reduce the number of serious injuries sustained by pedestrians.
If the speed of the vehicle is reduced by the automatic braking from 40mph to 30 mph, allowing the airbag to inflate from under the bonnet, it’s easy to see the possible effect. The two devices used together could significantly reduce pedestrian casualty rates.
Duncan Vernon of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents stated: ‘the introduction of vehicle technology, such as seat belts and airbags, which reduce the severity of injuries to car occupants is one of the success stories of road safety.
‘However, there is potential to improve vehicle design to improve protection for vulnerable road users who are struck by vehicles, and we welcome technology which does this.’
When one thinks how ubiquitous GPS is, the deployment of even more advanced technology and the difference it could make to the safety of motorists is considerable.
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