Pedestrian protection possibilities

Carmakers consider a variety of solutions to the problem of saving lives outside the vehicle.

The most obvious, first order of business for automotive safety is to look after the welfare of vehicle occupants. Continuous engineering advances have dramatically reduced the frequency of occupant injuries and fatalities through active means that help prevent crashes, passive means that help reduce forces on occupants during a crash, and automatic crash notification that speeds emergency workers to the crash scene to render timely aid to victims.

There is no question that people inside cars are much safer today than they were in the past. But in the U.S., about 10% of traffic fatalities-4672 people in 2003-are people who are outside the vehicle including pedestrians and bicyclists.