When ZF first studied the idea of an "external side airbag," it found that reducing the intrusion of one car into the other by a bit more than an inch could seriously improve the chances of passengers avoiding serious injury or death.

https://www.wired.com/story/zf-external-side-airbag-crash/?CNDID=7724005&CNDID=7724005&bxid=MjM5NjgxOTE4ODc3S0&hasha=6af3a47dba38d8933053b25bd89b796e&hashb=09b1e4cd2eb21feac34e16ed50d508ea7e934576&mbid=nl_113018_daily_list3_p5&utm_brand=wired&utm_mailing=WIRED NL 113018 (1)&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl

"This is now possible," says Norbert Kagerer, ZF's engineering chief for passive safety systems. And it's possible thanks to the recent proliferation of sensors like cameras, radars, ultrasonics, and lidars, which detect vehicles and objects in the environment. If they see something coming for them at a given speed, the car's computer can determine if a crash is imminent and unavoidable. Today's last-minute mitigation options include tightening the seat belts and automatically closing the windows.

Some Mercedes models play a loud static sound just before impact, triggering a reflex that protects the ear against the much louder, impending crunch. The new Audi A8 will adjust its suspension so the crash hits a lower, stronger part of the vehicle.​

BUMPER CARS !

 

Great, until the engine heat of the oncoming vehicle ignites the residual gas inside the airbags and causes the pax to be burned alive. Instead of finding ways to protect the pax from injuries lets enforce the ways to prevent accidents. Lets make texting and driving a harsh offense like drinking and driving. Let's make mandatory license suspensions (not revocations) for drivers having at fault accidents etc.

If you want to reduce injuries then work harder on eliminating the cause of the injury instead of eliminating the injury itself. The NFL did it. Instead of creating stronger helmets to prevent concussions they made it illegal to hit a defenseless receiver, illegal to lead with the crown of the helmet, illegal to hit the head/neck area of a player, illegal to launch at a player etc.


ACCIDENT PREVENTION:
Prevent the ACT that causes the DENT.

 

You can't prevent the act. Despite harsh DUI laws people still drink and drive and crash. Crashes are going to happen, period. So, it can't be a bad thing to make cars better at crashing.

Air bags use nitrogen gas, which is non-flammable.

 

Won't be long before moms are sending their kids to school looking like this.

 

Won't be long before moms are sending their kids to school looking like this.
View attachment 277741

Take that Pic Down !

BEFORE THEY MAKE THAT MANDATORY !

I was 15 with a $200.00 Buick Wildcat.
430 4 barrell.
Car was wider than some of the roads down here !

No seat belt laws.
You could wave at the cop with a beer in your hand !

No insurance laws !

I survived !

 

In the movie Demolition Man,
Stallone makes the observation that the car turns into a Cannoli upon impact.
SecureFoam!!

 

Simple solutions for both scenarios.

1. Mandate ignition interlocks like they do for DUI suspects IN ALL CARS. If you're drunk, you don't get to start the car.

There are ways to override these ignition locks. DUI convicts do it all the time to reoffend. I never drink. Such a device would be an extreme annoyance to me. Can you imagine the tedium it would add to Uber driving to have to do that every time you start your car. I probably turn the ignition switch 5+ times an hour when I drive for Uber. I'd rather drive the roads with twice as many drunks than have to have such a dumb device in my car.

In my mind, it is worth less safety for improved freedom. Everyone always says "safety is number one" but what good is safety if life sucks. You might say "this one thing won't make life suck"... maybe not by itself, but all the other things that follow in the same vein stacked together will.

If you believe in safety so much, you can buy/make yourself a vehicle that is extremely safe in the case of impacts. You could buy an old military tank and modify it to be street legal and fill it with airbags. Any DUI that hits you will not phase you! It will cost you a lot to buy and to drive, but I shouldn't have to bear the costs of safety if I'm not that interested in safety myself.

2. Put pads on the outside of football helmets as well as for inside. Goodbye head injuries.

Sounds like a good idea to me, but football is voluntary so I am not bothered by football injuries. It should be up to the NFL, the player, etc., not the government.

 

Simple solutions for both scenarios.

1. Mandate ignition interlocks like they do for DUI suspects IN ALL CARS. If you're drunk, you don't get to start the car.

2. Put pads on the outside of football helmets as well as for inside. Goodbye head injuries.

These should be common sense, but somehow common sense is overrated.

Already available

 

Already available

What kind of " PADDING" will the WAR HELMETS HAVE ?

Cash ?