Air bags are now a common safety feature in vehicles. They deploy to protect passengers who are involved in a crash, cushioning the impact as the head is thrown forward and reducing the likelihood of serious head injuries occurring. However, it appears that new developments may be forthcoming to protect pedestrians involved in road traffic accidents as well as passengers.
Research is being conducted at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire in to the possibility of external airbags and energy absorbing bodywork on vehicles, which could potentially half the number of pedestrian deaths.
According to the Metro website, this new system is intelligent enough to detect if an impact is imminent and in accordance operates to raise the rear edge of the bonnet, allowing an airbag to deploy in front of the vehicle windscreen. Developers are also working on a shock absorbing frame which is predicted to half the number of cut head injuries.
While this possible safety feature might sound like it won’t be too long before drivers are driving around in bumper cars, it could have big repercussions for personal injury claims. A third of the pedestrians killed in 2007 died from hitting a windscreen or frame of a vehicle and so it is clear that if successfully implemented then this can only be good news. This is a feature that could potentially save lives and should also reduce the severity of injuries suffered by pedestrians.
From the point of view of making a personal injury claim however, the payments awarded to claimants for general damages are linked to the severity of the injuries suffered and so compensation for successful claimants would reduce if the injuries suffered are less severe and less long lasting. Increased safety features may also potentially lead to it becoming more difficult to prove that an accident (such as a whiplash claim) is the actual cause of a symptom and so may lead to a greater willingness for insurers to contest causation, meaning longer and more drawn out negotiations.
Even though the research is still in its initial testing phase it is potentially a big development in protecting the safety of pedestrians on our roads and opens the door for further research.
