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External Airbag Designed to Protect Pedestrians
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.
I really want to bounce off a car with this!
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
What we really need are cowcatchers, like on trains, so that the pedestrians don't get stuck under the wheels and jam them. :-)
Bruce Perens.
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?
Take it to the limit, everybody to the limit, come on, everybody fhqwhgads.
I can see someone changing the windshield wipers and all the sudden............
Sig? No thanks. I don't smoke.
Yeah, the impact from the car won't scratch you, but when it shoves you into a stationary lamp post or wall at 45 mph you will still splatter.
My humor is probably your flamebait
In the ongoing spirit of computer/car comparisons, I suggest we install an airbag on computers to deploy when inept users approach in the hope of repelling them.
Actually, maybe I'll just put one of these on the entrance to my cubicle to keep the salesmen away.
I guess this means I can start going back to farmers markets that don't already have protection from being massacred by elderly drivers.
I say we mount spikes on the grills of our vehicles, so pedestrians will know to get the hell out of our way! Like most attempts to coddle the clueless, won't widespread adoption of this just result in even more careless pedestrians? Besides which, when I point my vehicle at someone and accelerate, I wanna make sure they die, not get thrown safely clear and live to sue me. Besides which, some people would never buy a car with this feature.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Just put a cowcatcher on SUVs.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Note that this story is coming out of the UK, not the US. The majority of the car-driving world drives smaller vehicles.
I mean, if I got hit by a car, I might appreciate that they'd paid extra for it, but since I'm not likely to hit myself with my car (unless my wife tries to run me down), why would I pay extra?
Unless this is mandated, it won't catch on.
The problem is, impacts are not predictable.
The "most likely spot" to hit, is actually depending on the following factors:
- Speed of collision
- Braking/coasting/accelerating (braking typically causes a vehicle's nose to dip, accelerating causes it to rise)
- Height of the pedestrian in relation to the height of the vehicle's front bumper/grille.
- Angle of collision (pedestrian motion will be different if hit head-on, as opposed to someone trying to whip around a right-hand turn and blindsiding someone who's crossing properly; angle also changes if you're not at a right-angle intersection)
The other problem is, does this truly cushion the blow, taking the energy into the crashbag and causing the pedestrian to be more likely to remain on the stopped vehicle, or is it more elastic, imparting acceleration back into the poor pedestrian in time for them to slide off the car - now accelerated to a good 15-20mph or higher - and then hit their head on the cement?
What is this going to do to our Death Race 2000 scores?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
he might die permanently Yeah, I hate it when they just die temporarily... damn zombies!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
. . . button "C" on the cartoon Speed Racer's original Mach 5 activated rotating saws at the front, that were able to clear the way of *anything*.
We might need to adjust the regulations for pedestrian protection for this to be offered as standard equipment.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Just put a cowcatcher on SUVs.
Good idea. We need them for Idaho stops anyway.
Have gnu, will travel.
I thought they already had them, except they refer to them as "brush guards".
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Lock up your daughters! A pillow on the hood of the car? As if they needed any MORE encouragement...
To put more people in jail for DUI's. Personally, I hope it works.
This is seriously awesome. I applaud the good work these researchers are doing. However, this line caught my eye:
The system uses radar and infrared technology to "pre-detect" a collision and inflates quickly enough to cushion the impact, said Roger Hardy of the university's Cranfield Impact Centre.
It seems possible that such a sensor could be duped with false input on the proper frequencies, causing the bag to deploy. This would likely be a malicious and expensive prank, as well as obstructing the drivers view. Of course, it would require technical expertise, putting it out of reach of most pranksters.
What I really want is an iron spike in the center of the steering wheel. Then the people who should be driving instead of [pick the distraction] would actually pay attention to the task at hand.
[John]
Shit better not happen!
In any scary movie when the good guys get on the car and then try to mow down the bad guys with the car they have some measure of success. With this external airbag I'm not sure this is going to work very well... We must provide more anti-zombie (and anti-raptor) features in cars. I mean... give me a car advertised as "20% more likely to survive a zombie attack" and I'm right there.
The other problem is, does this truly cushion the blow, taking the energy into the crashbag and causing the pedestrian to be more likely to remain on the stopped vehicle, or is it more elastic, imparting acceleration back into the poor pedestrian in time for them to slide off the car
I'd be interested in hearing what the force threshold for such a device is. Right now I see this as yet another expensive thing to replace when you accidentally bump the front of your car while moving your trash can, a football hitting the front of your car, etc.
Realistically, I think that if they set it high enough so that an unintentional bump won't set it off, if you, as a pedestrian, get hit by said car, you're pretty much done for anyway.
But what about the front of the car that takes out your legs? Plus, the airbag at the windshield seems like it wouldn't help since it's barely above the hood across the center.
..and look around you when you are walking around. I'm sure many of us have seen people just blindly walk into the road figuring 'well, I have the right of way, car must stop'... Defensive driving is about paying attention and looking ahead. The same applies when you are walking around. If you are walking into traffic without paying attention, it's 'evolution in action'. This sort of safety mechanism is stupid and expensive and really won't do much to save lives. If you get hit by a car at anything over 20kph, you'll likely spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair drooling.
A good handbrake slide will catch the pedestrian better as you'll have more surface area Sure, but that requires a certain amount of skill that those not practiced in the art of "drifting" don't possess. Plus, the tire screeching it produces serves as an advance warning that gives the pedestrian more time to run away. Nope, I'll stick with the tried and true good ol' American method of "point the car in the general direction of what you want to hit", thank you very much!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
It seems like we're fighting this never ending battle to shove more worthless equipment into cars while at the same time attempting to increase fuel efficiency. We'll never be able to have both. Every ill-conceived and improperly tested safety feature that's put in a vehicle will either increase its weight, sap power from the engine, or both. Call me nostalgic if you want, but I miss the cars of 20 to 30 years ago: Light, fuel efficient, and simple. I highly doubt that any of the cars coming out today will be running a few decades from now, what with all the cheaply made electronics that are essential to their function.
If you want my two cents, I'd say that all cars should be made with five-point safety harnesses and a roll cage integrated into the frame. This would be light, not require constant electronic monitoring of status, and sufficiently protect the vehicle's occupants. After all, race drivers have had these for years with mostly positive outcomes.
I think we should all move to three horsepower rubber cars with a planter in the back, and drop all speed limits to zero.
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
Cowcatchers / Bull-bars are illegal in several countries (Netherlands among others) as they are rather unfriendly to pedestrians when colliding with them.
It only takes one man to change the Wisdom of the Crowd to Tyranny of the Masses.
Sir how dare you. Everyday I worry about my unintelligent 16 year old daughter driving. I owed it to myself to make sure that she has the biggest vehicle that I can afford so that she can stay safe on the road. We all have feelings sir. And you sir are a bigot. And probably a republican too since you like to tell people how to live. Communist.
Wait, remind me again: which is worth more points, hitting clowns or mimes? This is gonna be fun!
"I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist"
I don't have even a single internal airbag!
The best planning can be done after the project completes.
What is the point of your post? He clearly knows he has a duty to avoid obstacles, and never said otherwise. He was talking about a situation where it was sheer good fortune that he was CAPABLE of avoiding someone actively thwarting his attempts to avoid a collision.
(1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons