At the international scientific conference Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV), Autoliv Inc. the worldwide leader in automotive safety introduced two new airbags that could save thousands of lives every year and prevent ten times as many severe injuries.
Most of Autoliv's textile cushions for driver side airbags are manufactured in one piece, using an advanced, patented weaving method that Autoliv has developed. Other cushions for frontal airbags are sewn from cut fabric. All cushions are made of high-quality nylon and have vent holes on the under-side where gas can be expelled in three tenths of a second, allowing the occupant a “soft landing”.
The Bumper Airbag for SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) addresses the compatibility problem associated with them and other high-hooded vehicles colliding with passenger cars and other low-profile vehicles. The Front Edge Airbag will save the lives of pedestrians when struck by an SUV.
In Europe alone, more than 10,000 pedestrians and other vulnerable road users are killed every year when struck by a motor vehicle. The EU has therefore introduced regulations on pedestrian protection and proposed even stricter rules by 2012. In response, Autoliv introduced a “pop-up hood” at the 2001 ESV conference that protects the heads of pedestrians by using airbag technologies to enable the hood to flex. Autoliv has had this system in serial production for more than a year.