The Subaru Forester will be equipped with an external airbag to prevent injuries to cyclists

Vehicle safety has improved greatly in recent years. Systems have been developed to reduce the impact of an accident and thus prevent serious injuries to occupants. Airbags are now fundamental allies in the passive safety of vehicles and protect vehicle occupants very effectively. But Subaru wants to go a step further and has developed an external airbag whose function is to protect cyclists in the event of a collision.

The airbag for cyclists is designed to be fitted to the Subaru Forester and will be located on the upper part of the bonnet. The airbag proposed by Subaru deploys when it detects an impact, just like interior airbags, but because it is located on the outside, the pedestrian or cyclist receives a much smaller impact.

Subaru had tested a similar airbag on other models before, but it was intended to prevent injuries to pedestrians. In the case of cyclists, who sit higher than pedestrians, these pedestrian airbags did not fulfil the desired function, so they had to be redesigned.

The new airbag for cyclists is larger and extends towards the A-pillar, which is the part of the bodywork that offers the most resistance. This can cause serious injuries to a cyclist if they strike it, so priority was given to ensuring the airbag covers it effectively, reducing the risk.

Cyclists often suffer serious injuries in collisions, so this system can reduce this risk. Of course, any accident must be avoided, but should one occur, these passive safety systems help to make the damage smaller and can prevent a greater risk on impact.

Specific vests with an airbag for cyclists have been created, which inflate at the moment of impact and protect the cyclist, but these are quite expensive and have never become popular. For this reason, this solution seems to be a more efficient option. It is not a standard, of course, so it appears that it will only be available on this Japanese model and only in its country of origin.

Nevertheless, on-board safety systems have been introduced gradually, and not long ago it was easy to find cars with not a single airbag, the norm for a long time being one or at most two. So this type of equipment may reach more models and gradually become standard.

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Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverSubaru Forester7 versions · from 39,900 €