External Airbag Designed to Protect Pedestrians 253
Thanks to researchers at Cranfield University, you don't have to feel bad when you plow into a group of pedestrians who are crossing the street too slowly. They have designed an external airbag that mounts to your hood at the base of the windshield. Research shows that this is the area where a pedestrian's head is most likely to hit in an accident. "Test results indicate that the system works extremely well. When fitted to a demonstrator vehicle not originally designed with pedestrian protection in mind, the results were well inside all current legal criteria for pedestrian protection currently in force in Europe," Roger Hardy of the university's Cranfield Impact Centre said.
...Not originally designed... (Score:4, Interesting)
The summary indicates that it works well when applied to a vehicle not originally designed for pedestrian protection. They say this in conjunction with research indicating where a pedestrian's head will hit.
I'm sorry, but what cars are designed with pedestrian protection in mind in scenarios that would involve striking a pedestrian such that his head would hit my windshield?
Also, if I'm protecting the pedestrian, do I lose my entire field of view, and end up running down other pedestrians?
and now for something completely stupid... (Score:3, Interesting)
Is this really a good idea? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:...Not originally designed... (Score:4, Interesting)
"When fitted to a demonstrator vehicle not originally designed with pedestrian protection in mind, the results were well inside all current legal criteria for pedestrian protection currently in force in Europe"
Okay, so this airbag was sufficient to meet with pedestrian protection laws... Uh, assuming most cars on the road are compliant with the law, I'm wondering exactly how much protection those laws call for. I'd think pretty much anything that didn't attempt to increase pedestrian danger would be fine. So no spiked grills, buzz saws, axe wheels, reactive armor, pumapults and the like. Since an airbag isn't any of those things (or at least isn't if designed correctly), add one to a car that is street legal and -- ta-da! -- it's still street legal! Woo!
It's all an elaborate ploy... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:...Not originally designed... (Score:3, Interesting)
There's a lot of crash testing out there that trinkles down to the consumer because vehicle safety, in Europe at least, is a huge huge selling point.
Also back in primary school I used to make crash test cars out of Lego, crashed them into walls, inspected the damage, tweaked and so on. After ten generations of the car they became so safe the "driver" didn't leave his seat even without a seatbelt, while the car desintegrated into tiny bits around him. Fun times.
what about the front end (bumper) (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Ok ? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Ok ? (Score:1, Interesting)
And take the airbags out of the interior. Or, even better, replace them Claymore-style pellet sheets to insure maximum soft target damage. Seriously.
Far too many people think that they are somehow "safer" in an SUV than a smaller car (this despite sedans routinely outperforming them in both government and private safety tests), and if that puts every other driver on the road in greater danger, then fuck everyone else. Maybe if we made the danger a driver's life is in directly proportional to the danger they put everyone else's in we'd see less fuckwads on the roads (and more bleeding out just next to them).
Re:Awesome, but one concern (Score:3, Interesting)
Or start kicking at cars as you cross in front of them stopped at a light to see if it senses the cars speed correctly before deploying? How long does that sensor stay calibrated?
How about just tossing rubber balls into the street? Normally $0 damage but $1000 if you time it just right... Can the driver even sue you if you don't even hit their car?
How about we just call the whole thing a bit overblown?
For those of you who want the spikes in the steering wheel, maybe you can try my 55 ford. With a bench seat and no seatbelts if you go around a corner too fast you may slide over to the passenger side of the car! That should cut down people going to fast to make the corner ;) Should you hit something the horn button being steel should leave a nice FORD imprint on your face to remind you not to do that again.
For those advocating the opposite ... Bonus points if the pedestrian gets stuck on the big pointy hood ornament :)
Re:...Not originally designed... (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually most cars now are designed with pedestrian protection in mind. When I bought my Honda Jazz (or Fit, depending on your country) the dealer told me never to press on the bonnet to shut it. Rather I was supposed to drop it on the catch and let the weight shut it.
According to the same dealer it is designed to cushion a pedestrian's head and therefore would dent if I pressed on it.