External Braking Airbag by Mercedes
2009 June 15
The Telegraph, out of the United Kingdom, published an interesting article discussing one more advance in vehicle safety through the use of airbags. These airbags, however, are not deployed inside the vehicle. These airbags are deployed on the outside of the vehicle. According to the article:
Head, thorax, curtain and knee airbags already protect those inside the car very effectively but now Mercedes-Benz has developed an airbag that deploys under the front of a car milliseconds before a head-on crash, acting as an anchor by rubbing along the road surface and doubling the stopping power of the brakes.It also raises the car by about eight centimetres – to counteract the car ‘diving’ under heavy braking – improving contact with the bumper of a vehicle ahead and providing greater effectiveness for the seatbelts as occupants are less likely to ’submarine’ or slide under them.
It appears this technology is years away, but it will be interested to see how this technology advances in the near future.
