

Volvo introduces airbags for pedestrians - flexie
http://inhabitat.com/volvo-introduces-the-worlds-first-pedestrian-airbag-equipped-car/

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nagrom
Hm. This seems odd to me - the system certainly costs some money to install,
and the person paying for it (the driver) derives minimal (no) benefit from
it. Why would the driver pay for this system if not forced to by a regulator?
Does it result in lower insurance premiums?

I understand that it is nice to drive a car that is more safe for other people
in the case of an accident, but you can do that cheaper by driving more slowly
and more carefully, surely? I would think that if you are the type of driver
who cares enough about potentially injuring others to pay several hundred
dollars for this safety system, you're not the kind of driver who is
recklessly endangering other people's lives and thus requiring it.

EDIT: I don't understand this being downvoted at all. I'm not saying it is a
bad or pointless system. I'm saying that the people most likely to need it are
not likely to pay for it! Is the solution to enforce usage by regulation, to
reduce insurance premiums for cars that have this system fitted or something
else?

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paddy_m
The liability insurance rates for a car like this should be lower. Especially
in a heavy populated area like NYC. Personal injury lawsuits are very
expensive.

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nagrom
Best response to my comment so far :-) I would think that Volvo would look to
work with insurers to show that the V40 should benefit from preferred premiums
that payback the cost of this system in X years, based on some typical
profile.

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digitalengineer
There's also new braking technology to automatically stop the car when it's
about to hit something in front of it. (Of course this could lead to another
car crashing againt car nuber 1 if it doesn't carry the technology). Apart
from that cars added "shock absorbency" in hoods and widened the space between
the engine and the hood.

But still, do people start to drive faster and closer to another because of
the extra safety-features like airbags, ABS, safetly belts, roll-cages?
Imagine a long spike shooting out of the logo on the steering wheel if you
really hit something hard. That would greatly reduce accidents.

~~~
nodata
I think you're quoting Steven Landsburg:
[http://stuartbuck.blogspot.nl/2008/08/spikes-and-steering-
wh...](http://stuartbuck.blogspot.nl/2008/08/spikes-and-steering-wheels.html)

But remember this is a fallacy: <http://forums.theregister.co.uk/post/259350>

~~~
rgbrenner
I think this is a better link to prove it's wrong:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year)

    
    
      Deaths in 1980: 51,091
      Deaths in 2011: 32,367
    

And that's w/ 90m more people, and nearly double the number of miles driven.
Clearly safety improvements DO work.

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westicle
In Australia Volvo drivers are stereotyped as terrible, unaware drivers
(possibly due to the tank-like nature of early-model Volvos). So much so that
the phrase "Bloody Volvo driver" is a commonly understood phrase.

And now Volvo itself doesn't trust its drivers to brake before driving into
pedestrians. Perhaps even Volvo is embracing the "Bloody volvo driver"
stereotype.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IYKdzNUd1A>

Edit: I should admit that I drive one myself.

~~~
tomgallard
interesting- in the UK, Volvo drivers tend to be thought of as left-wing,
cautious, careful, slow. The brand is also associated with the left-leaning
newspaper 'The Guardian' as well as museli and wearing socks with sandals!

~~~
snogglethorpe
Hmm, in the U.S., they seem to have aspects of _both_ these stereotypes (at
least at one time; I haven't lived in the U.S. in many years): cautious, slow,
sandal-wearing, but also self-centered and kind of clueless, blithely mowing
down pedestrians despite their avowed support for all living beings... ><

p.s. I've actually known some Volvo owners in the UK, and they really did read
the Guardian!

p.p.s. I'm totally left wing, wear socks with my sandals, and eat tons of
muesli... oO;

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prawks
_Once a pedestrian steps in front of the vehicle, the car’s brakes apply
automatically if the driver doesn’t react fast enough. If the sensors detect
an imminent collision with a pedestrian while driving at high speed, the
airbag pops-up and inflates in a U-shape._

This sounds like it will be a lot of fun once those sensors start to wear out
and malfunction.

~~~
objclxt
What's the worst that can happen if they do malfunction? Presumably no airbag,
but you're no _worse_ off than being hit by a car without pedestrian airbags.

I suppose the other type of malfunction would be accidentally discharge, but
this is a) exceedingly rare, and b) no riskier than the airbags already _in_
the car

~~~
prawks
Meh, I was thinking more of the latter. First generation sensors I'd imagine
would be more prone to erroneous readings, including false positives. Randomly
having the car force you to a stop in traffic could be a little annoying.

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atarashi
There's a video on youtube of the the pedestrian airbags in action

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4d9dqaMDxI&feature=play...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4d9dqaMDxI&feature=player_detailpage#t=70s)

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vincentkriek
I don't mind reposts of old stuff when it is interesting, but this has been
introduced about a year ago? The streets are filled with the Volvo V40 (first
model that has it, and every V40 has it standard) over here, so to speak.

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jack-r-abbit
I'm surprised that the air bag in that location is even that effective. Before
the pedestrian encounters the airbag, they have already been struck in the
lower body by the very front of the car, then roll up the hood before hitting
the windshield. And while this may prevent them from hitting their head on the
windshield or A-pillar, they are still likely to be thrown off the hood before
everything is settled. So I guess in a situation that involved 4 impact
points... making one of them softer is better. But this surprises me.

Also, not every body even rolls up onto the hood. Depending on the speed,
height, etc... pedestrians often just get launched out in front of the
vehicle.

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duck
Next up, people wearing helmets when they go for a walk.

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darxius
Very cool, but I'm not sure how I feel about the brakes being applied
immediately. Maybe I'm missing some information. Do the brakes remain engaged
as long as there is something in front of the car? If so, this could become
dangerous for the driver. A criminal would just have to have his criminal
buddy stand in front of a stopped car and the driver now can't get away
because of the automatic brakes.

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nagrom
The automatic braking system is likely turned off below a certain speed.
Otherwise you wouldn't be able to reverse out of a parking space that faces a
wall.

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lttlrck
It's just as likely to disengage when you reverse.

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nagrom
Nope, because then you couldn't park facing a wall in the first place.

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stcredzero
Inhabitant: is it really necessary to add your own zooming code for tablets?
Yours doesn't work as well as Apple's. It's not as smooth, and why would I
want to zoom _and_ simultaneously twist my page 31.7 degrees to the left!? I
never want to do that, which Apple engineers understood.

Zooming is a core feature of mobile browsers. Please cut this extraneous stuff
out.

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jeroen
march 9, 2012: [http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/volvo-
introduces...](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/volvo-introduces-
pedestrian-airbags-222726925.html)

