New regulations require carmakers to think about protecting people their cars run over.
Summarized:
Some methods are relatively low-tech. Take the hood of the new Mazda RX-8. Instead of being made of a flat sheet of steel with a few widely spaced supports, the RX-8's aluminum hood has a deeply dimpled structure underneath, designed specifically to provide extra cushion. Honda has also implemented passive protection measures like break-away windshield-wiper hinges. (Wipers are another damaging point of contact as the pedestrian slides headlong toward the windshield.) More advanced technology is now in the works that will help meet more demanding pedestrian safety tests set to be in place in Europe by 2010. One system involves a front bumper detector that can tell, almost instantly, whether a car is hitting a hard object, like a wall or light post, or a human leg. If a strip of fiber-optic detectors spanning the front bumper indicates that the car has struck a person, the hood of the car immediately moves slightly up and straight back, providing a few crucial inches of extra cushioning above the engine. Airbags housed at the base of the windshield will also instantly inflate, providing a protective cushion over the wiper blades and windshield.
And now for the disappointing part:
You shouldn't expect to see more advanced systems like this on cars in the U.S., though, said Patrick Jarboe, a spokesperson for Autoliv. Certainly, unless regulators here required such pedestrian protection, consumer demand would not drive adoption of the systems, which would add about $200 to the price of a car, he said.
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/22/pf/autos/pedestrian_safety/index.htm
Summarized:
Some methods are relatively low-tech. Take the hood of the new Mazda RX-8. Instead of being made of a flat sheet of steel with a few widely spaced supports, the RX-8's aluminum hood has a deeply dimpled structure underneath, designed specifically to provide extra cushion. Honda has also implemented passive protection measures like break-away windshield-wiper hinges. (Wipers are another damaging point of contact as the pedestrian slides headlong toward the windshield.) More advanced technology is now in the works that will help meet more demanding pedestrian safety tests set to be in place in Europe by 2010. One system involves a front bumper detector that can tell, almost instantly, whether a car is hitting a hard object, like a wall or light post, or a human leg. If a strip of fiber-optic detectors spanning the front bumper indicates that the car has struck a person, the hood of the car immediately moves slightly up and straight back, providing a few crucial inches of extra cushioning above the engine. Airbags housed at the base of the windshield will also instantly inflate, providing a protective cushion over the wiper blades and windshield.
And now for the disappointing part:
You shouldn't expect to see more advanced systems like this on cars in the U.S., though, said Patrick Jarboe, a spokesperson for Autoliv. Certainly, unless regulators here required such pedestrian protection, consumer demand would not drive adoption of the systems, which would add about $200 to the price of a car, he said.
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/22/pf/autos/pedestrian_safety/index.htm
