Volvo offers first pedestrian airbag

The new Volvo V40 hatch is the first car in the world boasting a pedestrian airbag. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

THE first car with a pedestrian airbag goes on sale in Australia today - and it's made by the same company that invented the three-point seatbelt 54 years ago.

The Volvo V40 hatch has sensors in the front bumper that detect when a pedestrian has been hit. They trigger a giant U-shaped airbag that inflates near the bottom of the windscreen.

The airbag and bonnet, which pop-up in milliseconds, are designed to prevent head injuries - the single biggest cause of pedestrian deaths.

The latest figures show that pedestrian deaths across Australia have fallen over the past five years, but still account for 13 per cent of all road fatalities, down from 20 per cent in 2009.

"It's fantastic technology and every car should have it," road safety campaigner and the chairman of the Pedestrian Council Of Australia Harold Scruby said.

"But the question is: Why don't more cars have it?"

Mr Scruby said federal regulations lagged behind the world's best automotive standards.

"Seven years after Europe adopted regulations for pedestrian protection, the Australian government still hasn't adopted mandatory standards for frontal protection systems," he said.

But bumping into a pedestrian won't be a cheap for Volvo drivers. The airbag and its deployment system - two pyrotechnic bonnet struts - are estimated to cost about $3000 to replace.

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