Should Cars Have External Airbags to Protect Cyclists and Pedestrians?

[niky]

The funny thing about "smart" cars and "dumb" drivers is...

Back in the old days, there were no airbags or even shoulder belts. Cars didn't have ABS... which didn't matter much, because they didn't have much in the way of brakes. People drove around in heavy, rattly deathtraps that had more motor than suspension or brakes (worth mentioning twice). Old tires with weaker sidewalls would not deflate slowly. They'd simply tear themselves to shreds when they popped. Good luck controlling whatever came next.

Yet...

People didn't really care about proper follow distances back then. They didn't always drive within the limits of the car or instinctively back off in the rain. A lot of drivers back then were just as stupid as a lot of drivers are now. The only difference is sometimes they died before they learned better. We remember things differently because we were the ones who learned and survived.

Maybe there's a statistical difference in driver behaviour when they have safety devices. But it pales in comparison to the statistical difference in overall crash fatalities between then and now. And in the end, results count.

[botsapper]

Nanny state/s pedestrian & cyclist catchers.
These systems will be redundant when computer-assisted or complete autonomous vehicle systems finally take over the wheel and sadly, you become a passenger-only occupant.

Pedestrian Airbag Just Might Save Your Life | Longboardism.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4d9dqaMDxI

Or airbag body panels?!

iSAVE: Airbags Attached To The Outside Of Cars | TechCrunch

jk.

http://files.coloribus.com/files/ads...mall-64097.jpg

[razor02097]

You know airbags and those auto retention seat belts are deployed with explosives... With all the auto seatbelts, airbags and such I wonder if cars will start needing to drive around with DOT signs?

[user removed]

I wasn't talking about explosive airbag deployment, just an impact absorbing beltline moulding about a foot tall that was inflated to absorb most minor impacts.

regards
Mech

[gone-ot]

...put the responsibility BACK where it belongs--on the pedestrians and cyclists--they, too, share the task of "self-protection"...it's NOT just a one-sided obligation.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...put the responsibility BACK where it belongs--on the pedestrians and cyclists--they, too, share the task of "self-protection"...it's NOT just a one-sided obligation.

...but sometimes there's not much we can do! I was hit several years ago on my bike, proceeding through an intersection on a green light when a guy in a pickup truck making a left turn from the opposite direction turned directly into me. I had taken reasonable precaution to protect myself (hit the brakes when I saw he wasn't stopping, wearing a helmet), but the driver shirked his legal responsibility to yield the right of way. Yes, the responsibility for safety is a shared one, but that doesn't absolve drivers of their accountability.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...put the responsibility BACK where it belongs--on the pedestrians and cyclists--they, too, share the task of "self-protection"...it's NOT just a one-sided obligation.

That's something that both cyclists and pedestrians seem to conveniently forget. Back here in my hometown there's a lot of hipster cyclists who are always doing irresponsible maneuvers at the streets, going like they were at their backyards...

[niky]

Originally Posted by razor02097

You know airbags and those auto retention seat belts are deployed with explosives... With all the auto seatbelts, airbags and such I wonder if cars will start needing to drive around with DOT signs?

Like the placards they need to carry for carting around thirteen-odd gallons of explosive hydrocarbons?

[razor02097]

Originally Posted by niky

Like the placards they need to carry for carting around thirteen-odd gallons of explosive hydrocarbons?

If you are referring to gasoline or diesel it is totally different. For one thing they aren't explosive by themselves which is why trucks that transport fuel use a class 3 DOT sign which indicate flammable. Another thing is gasoline or diesel does not have an oxidizer which means it doesn't burn all by itself.

All that aside my post was a joke as airbags don't actually contain explosives.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by razor02097

When I am walking or cycling I follow my personal rule... might gives right...everything is bigger than me so I give them right of way unless they give it to me. I have seen so many people looking at their phone or otherwise distracted just step out in the road as soon as the crosswalk sign changes then almost get hit... I always look and make darn sure the car is stopping before I will cross.

You have arrived at a natural and logical conclusion, which makes me wonder how in the world the U.S. law is that all pedestrians have the right of way? The law has the effect of making pedestrians feel safe knowing that cars must yield to them. If the law gave the right of way to vehicles, people would be very cautious; making darn sure they don't place their frail body in the path of speedy 2-ton metal battering rams.

On the topic of efficiency, why must something that weighs several thousand pounds, lacking much agility, and traveling at 40mph be forced to stop and yield to a 200 lb vehicle with great agility (person) traveling at 3mph?

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

I remember when Ralph Nader was writing "Unsafe at any speed" ... Road fatalities are close to half of their previous highest levels... I also completely agree with the fact that the more you make the vehicle "smart" the dumber many drivers will become, but that is a different scenario and requires better design, better education, and more serious consequences for irresponsibility.

The result of that writing was the seat-belt mandate. It's interesting to observe that while wearing a seat-belt reduces the chance of death or injury in an accident, it increases the likelihood of being involved in an accident. According to some sources, vehicle caused deaths have increased since seat-belt laws were put into effect.