Wednesday 25th May 2011

Company Develops Roof-Mounted Airbag

Bulging steering wheel bosses could become a thing of the past with new safety tech

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In many cars, airbags spring from just about every possible area, should the driver happen upon an accident. And now ‘inflatable restraint manufacturer’ (we think that essentially means airbags) has developed an airbag mounted in the roof.

It isn’t just puff (pun unfortunately intended) either; apparently TRW has already inked a deal with an as-yet-unnamed European car manufacturer to provide it with roof ’bags.

But does this mean the end is nigh for unseemly, bloated steering wheels and dashbords? Perhaps not; this could be just an extra airbag rather than any sort of replacement.

There is hope however, because TRW’s press release has this to say: This new design concept enhances development efficiency: by eliminating the need to package a passenger airbag in the instrument panel, TRW's bag in roof design can significantly reduce the development costs of the dashboard as there is no need to develop a specific 'door' that opens with the airbag deployment. It is also functionally compatible with a wide range of vehicle architectures.

[steveb8189]

I just don't see how this would work... I see so many people (generally women) sitting so far forwards in their seats they look like they're trying to steer with their tongue that there would be absolutely no room for an airbag to deploy from the roof and get between them and the windscreen so as to protect their Gucci sunglasses from an unfortunate accident with the steering wheel...

[HedgehogFromHell]

What about midgets?

I mean surely, this airbags shape means the bottom of the wedge is at chest height, but surely it'd push down on them?

The same arguement could be given to children (of the front passenger age) sitting in the front.

[DrewBot]

Short people are already a problem for current airbags I believe, with possible chance of neck injuries. Children under 13 (for Renaults at least) should not sit in the front passenger seat if it has an airbag. A clear sticker was often abused by me to blag the front rather than my younger siblings .

Many manufacturers offer the option to switch the airbag off, although I'm not sure if this is mainly for when using a child seat.

[anonymous-user]

I'm not convinced cars need so many air bags. My car has none and I'm still alive so that proves it....

[Flintstone]

HedgehogFromHell said:

What about midgets?

No, I think we have to use airbags.

[ctallchris]

Personally I think it's brilliant. Get some new designs for interiors going. Brilliant

[EDLT]

Woo! Bring back pretty steering wheels.

Also the unnamed european manufacturer is probably Volvo.

[RJDM3]

I still think airbags should be an option rather than an enforced item

[MGZRod]

Will we be seeing demolition man style safety features next?

[Corsair7]

Not much use for any design that might end up as a convertible though.

[RTH]

EDLT said:

Woo! Bring back pretty steering wheels.

Also the unnamed european manufacturer is probably Volvo.

Aren't Volvo now a Chinese owned company?

[montyvr6]

That looks like a big air bag so its going to have to go off with a near nuclear blast to inflate it quickly. That shock will probably kill off a few people alone!

[sprinter1050]

Corsair7 said:

Not much use for any design that might end up as a convertible though.

My first thought too !

Or could it be an indication that traditional rag tops are going to be phased out in favour of folding tin ???

[TheOrangePeril]

Flintstone said:

HedgehogFromHell said:

What about midgets?

No, I think we have to use airbags.

+1

[fwaggie]

Do not like.

I'm 6'5" and have enough problems fitting in a lot of cars.

A sunroof eats up enough headroom, this looks like it'll need more, maybe 2~3 inches of roof space from the pic?

Great if you like boring MPVs with their tall boxy shape, they'll just be even taller.

Also I assume the car shell will need to be redesigned to allow for this extra needed roof space, so is it really going to be cheaper?

[masermartin]

Flintstone said:

HedgehogFromHell said:

What about midgets?

No, I think we have to use airbags.

[wested]

And convertibles? Will still need to produce steering wheel/dashboard passenger airbags for a convertible.

[Zod]

steveb8189 said:

I just don't see how this would work... I see so many people (generally women) sitting so far forwards in their seats they look like they're trying to steer with their tongue that there would be absolutely no room for an airbag to deploy from the roof and get between them and the windscreen so as to protect their Gucci sunglasses from an unfortunate accident with the steering wheel...

It would work for people with properly adjusted seating positions. The women who sit tight against the wheel would be severely injured or killed by a normal in-wheel airbag's deployment in any case.

[andymadmak]

Zod said:

The women who sit tight against the wheel would be severely injured or killed by a normal in-wheel airbag's deployment in any case.

That kind of seat positioning always amazes me. I once saw a woman who was so close to the wheel that her breasts were actually against the wheel centre and her elbows were pushed back behind the sides of her seat! No way could she even control the car, let alone survive the inevitable crash that is waiting to happen.
I asked her why she sat this way, and she said it was cos she wanted to be able to see the end of the bonnet!
Moreover her "instructor" had said it was OK, and her driving test examiner had made no adverse comment!

[the Fantom]

I hope we won't see even taller cars - roof heights are ridiculous as it is.