CAR bonnets that pop up slightly if the car hits a pedestrian could
dramatically reduce deaths and head injuries. Raised quickly enough, the hood
would deform and cushion the blow, stopping the accident victim from striking
the solid parts of the car underneath.
Autoliv, a Stockholm-based transport safety research and development company,
has put together a prototype system that does just that. Steel bellows under the
bonnet fill with gas in less than 70 milliseconds and lift the rear edge by 10
centimetres. In a typical collision at 40 kilometres per hour, the victim’s head
hits the bonnet about 150…
