banner The latest auto news, reviews, prices, product and vehicle releases. Auto News 5

Stay connected Subscribe to our RSS feed

Do not miss the latest Auto News !

May
23rd

Volvo world premiere: airbags for pedestrians

Stay connected Subscribe to our RSS feed
Road safety has been at the forefront of Volvo's concerns for the past 85 years.

In 2008, the Swedish manufacturer gave itself an ambitious goal: "By 2020, nobody shall be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo." Consequently, it has perfected an airbag system designed to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision, a system that will be standard on all new S40.

Volvo Airbag
Photo: Volvo

Volvo claims it should greatly reduce death and injury figures of road accidents. According to statistics, in Europe, 14 % of pedestrians hit by a car end up dead. In China, the same stat rises to 25 %. In total, each year, 1.3 million pedestrians lose their life.

The new safety system is set to activate itself between 20 and 50 km/h, since 75 % of accidents involving pedestrians happen at speeds below 40 km/h.

Seven sensors were integrated in the front bumper, when the vehicle comes close to an obstacle, they can tell whether it's a person or an object and deploy the airbags if needed within thousands of a second. The whole process from detection point to deployment only takes hundredths of a second.
Hosted by CifTech Hosting.