A new multi-collision airbag system has been developed by Hyundai Motor Company which aims to save countless lives.
Multi-collision crashes are when a vehicle impacts with multiple objects including other vehicles and stationary lamp posts, trees, fences and barriers.
The primary type of multi-collision crashes in the US, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involves crossing the centre line into on-coming traffic (30% of all crashes), 13.5% in rear-end collisions from sudden stops at tollway gates, 8% in highway median strip collisions and 4% in sideswiping and impacts with trees and power poles.
Hyundai has designed an airbag which will re-inflate airbags to counter energy generated by secondary crashes which can cause occupants to move around in the cabin.
“Current airbag systems do not offer secondary protection when the initial impact is insufficient to cause them to deploy,” the company says in a statement.
“The multi-collision airbag system allows airbags to deploy effectively upon a secondary impact by calibrating the status of the vehicle and the occupants,” Hyundai explains.
The safety tech features occupant detection following the first impact in a crash scenario, and re-deploys the most appropriate airbag “even faster when initial safety systems may not be effective,” Hyundai says.
“By recalibrating the collision intensity required for deployment, the airbag system responds more promptly during the secondary impact, thereby improving the safety of multi-collision vehicle occupants,” the company reveals of its early design.
Hyundai quotes research from NHTSA which indicates roughly 16,800 crashes (30% out of 56,000) in North America in 12 years (2000-2012) involved multiple collisions.
Both Hyundai and Kia models will receive the evolutionary airbag technology in the future.
