General Motors has been granted a US patent for an exterior airbag designed to protect pedestrians during a crash.
The airbag pops out of the A-pillar and covers the windshield. It is expelled from a fender flap to cushion the windshield wipers and other sharp pieces toward the front of the vehicle, Automotive News reported.
GM is the latest automaker to make strides on pedestrian protection technology. Similarly, Mercedes-Benz received a patent in August for an A-pillar airbag.
Subaru’s pedestrian airbags debuted in its redesigned Impreza, which went on sale in Japan in October 2016; Volvo in 2012 showcased the V40 five-door hatchback, which featured a pedestrian airbag that covers the windshield in a similar fashion.
GM did not disclose how possible crashes would be detected to trigger airbag deployment.
The airbag addresses an issue that accounted for 15% of traffic fatalities in 2015, the US federal safety agency NHTSA reported.
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