Since the end of 2005, more stringent demands for protecting pedestrians have applied to car manufacturers, both in Europe and in Japan. The EU Pedestrians Directive requires that newly developed vehicles have an elastic frontal surface designed to reduce the risk of injury in the event of a collision with adults and children. The Japanese Act on Pedestrian Protection, which also entered into force in 2005, makes similar demands, which especially concern the design of bumpers and the bonnet. This should lead to a fall in pedestrian deaths.
At Volkswagen, Dr Thorsten Strutz, Head of the Department "Car Safety" assumes that the new statutory requirements could halve the number of pedestrian deaths. Since the so-called "Experimental Safety Volkswagen" in the early 1970s, the company has constantly further developed the safety systems for its models in many research projects. Protecting pedestrians is now a permanent component in the development of all new models.
To make the front surface of the models more elastic, the bumpers are structured in several layers so that they can better cushion a collision. For example, in the Passat the bumper system is made up of an additional pedestrian protector cross beam that is covered by deformable plastic. A soft foam has been inserted in the bumper itself. Both together form a crumple zone and protect the pedestrian's legs by mitigating the force of the collision.
Glossary