Only 1 percent of the United States population uses bikes as a mode of transportation. Netherlands's population is 1/18 of the United State's population, but 26 percent of Netherlands population uses bikes as a mode of transportation. Because there are so many people use bikes, a Dutch company called TNO is creating a car airbag that deploys outside the vehicle to decrease bicyclist accidents. When the car hits something, the airbag (which is under the hood of the car) will inflate and make a cushion around parts of the windshield which will cushion the bicyclist. During tests last November, engineers used a drove a track guided car into bicycles with dummies on them. The car drove at 25 mph, the average speed of most bike accidents. Accelerometers were put in the dummy's head and neck and pressure sensors were inside the dummy's limbs. These sensors indicated brain damage and broken bones without the airbag. Dummies that were cushioned by the airbag had less injuries up to 45 percent of the time. I think this is a good idea but what about the driver of the car? Is there an airbag inside of the car too?
Sources: popsci??
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