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LONDON – May 23, 2012: The world's first pedestrian airbagfitted as standard on the all-new Volvo V40 is the next steptowards the manufacturers target that no-one should be killed orinjured in a new Volvo by 2020. The revolutionary new airbag is launched one year after Volvo, as astrategic partner of the Parliamentary Advisory Council forTransport Safety (PACTS), joined road safety experts and MPs to setthe blueprint in the UK for safer roads over the next 10 years withthe launch of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety.Volvo's new Pedestrian Airbag will go some way to help furtherreduce the number of fatalities involving pedestrians, currently 14per cent in Europe and 25 per cent in China. Every year, 1.3 million people are killed on the world's roads with24,510 killed or seriously injured in the UK alone. For Volvo,safety has been a key priority for 85 years and in 2008, launched aunique goal in that ‘By 2020, nobody shall be seriouslyinjured or killed in a new Volvo' and to contribute towards theaim, it has fitted technology including Pedestrian Detection, CitySafety and the Pedestrian Airbag. The Pedestrian Airbag technology was a world breakthrough when theall-new Volvo V40 was launched in Geneva earlier this year and willto be fitted as standard to all specifications. The system isactive at speeds between 20 and 50 km/h. 75 per cent of allaccidents involving pedestrians take place at up to 40 km/h. The Pedestrian Airbag Technology The most serious head injuries involving pedestrians and cars arecaused by the hard structure under the bonnet, the windscreen'slower edge and the A-pillars. These were the main areas that VolvoCar Corporation looked at when starting development of itsPedestrian Airbag Technology. Seven sensors embedded in the front of the car transmit signals toa control unit. When the car comes into contact with an object, thesignals change. The control unit evaluates the signals and if itregisters what it interprets as a human leg the pedestrian airbagis deployed. The bonnet hinges are each equipped with pyrotechnic releasemechanisms which, when the system is activated, pull out a pin andrelease the rear of the bonnet panel. At the same time, the airbag(consisting of a sack and a gas hybrid generator) is activated andstarts filling with gas, which only takes a few milliseconds.During the inflation sequence the airbag raises the bonnet by 10centimetres and stays in the raised position. The added gap between the bonnet and the hard components in theengine compartment gives space for the bonnet to deform, creating adampening effect when it is hit by a pedestrian. "The airbag has two functions. Firstly, it raises the bonnet tocreate distance, and secondly it cushions the impact around thehard parts of the area near the windscreen," explains ThomasBroberg, Senior Technical Advisor Safety, Volvo Car Corporation. In its inflated position, the airbag covers the entire windscreenwiper recess, about one-third of the windscreen and the lower partof the A-pillars. The entire sequence from activation of the systemto full inflation takes a few hundredths of a second. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Truss Bridge , Steel Building Structures Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Steel Suspension Bridge today!
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