Citation

Garret G, Vavalidis K. Vis. Zero Int. 2009; 2009(Jun): 56-57.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, UKIP Media)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Vehicle safety improvements have traditionally focused on mitigating injuries in frontal crashes, as these have been the most common crash scenario to result in fatalities. However, in recent years fatalities and severe injuries have been drastically reduced in frontal crashes as a result of the introduction of adaptive (intelligent) frontal airbags, knee airbags, and even more sophisticated seatbelt systems. Vehicle crush zones have also become more efficient and the overall structure is better optimized for distributing the energy associated with a crash. However, for side collisions, the survival space between the occupant and the impacting object is inherently much smaller than in frontal collisions. Also, the available structural elements, such as pillars and doors, are more challenging to design for minimizing crash intrusions. These considerations limit the possibilities for improving the present side-protection airbag systems. This article discusses how the combination of intelligent pre-crash radar sensors with a new advanced super-coupling airbag system could lead to advances in side airbag protection.