External Airbag From Volvo

Thousands of pedestrians die each year in road accidents, but so far few carmakers have shown much interest in developing safety features to protect those outside the car. Now Swedish auto company Volvo has produced the first external airbag -- and it could save lives.

Engineers are well aware that humans and cars make for unequal adversaries when they collide. The difference, says Thomas Broberg, is primarily a matter of their construction: "Cars are hard and people are soft."

Now Volvo is increasing pressure on the industry as a whole, and at the same time taking the opportunity to improve its own image in an area where it is in danger of losing ground. With its legendary Swedish-made, tank-like cars, the Volvo brand has long been considered a frontrunner in safety engineering. These days, though, nearly all car manufacturers make impact-resistant auto bodies.

Volvo, the car company well known for the safety features on its vehicles is introducing an integrated airbag into the bonnet of the 2013 model year V40 which goes into production in May with the aim of giving more protection to pedestrians and cyclists in the event of a collision.

The external airbag, which was developed at Volvo’s own R&D facility in Sweden, inflates in less than a second and is most effective, according to Volvo, in collisions where the car is travelling between 12mph and 31mph. The airbag is deployed when sensors in the front bumper detect contact between the car and a pedestrian or cyclist.

Upon impact, the windscreen end of the bonnet is released and raised ten centimeters - 4" - by the inflating airbag, which covers the area under the raised bonnet as well as approximately one-third of the windscreen and the lower part of the A-pillars that support the windscreen.

Of course, pedestrians and cyclists are likely to have mixed feelings about this development. While applauding it at one level, campaigners for pedestrian and cycling safety are likely to lament the emphasis on passive safety while governments ignore the elephant in the room; that the more drivers become immunised from their responsibilities, the less likely they are to anticipate, consider and pay attention in the way Highway Codes generally advise.