Pedestrian collisions began to be taken seriously 100 years ago. So someone created a “pedestrian catcher”

Automotive technology continues to evolve, and they are increasingly equipped with driving assistance and safety systems. But no matter what technology they have, pedestrians always find themselves at a disadvantage in a collision. This is a problem that has been around almost since cars started driving, and one that we have been trying to solve for 100 years.

And one of the ideas was to create a kind of airbag for pedestrians in front of cars.

Abuse. At a speed of 30 km/h the probability of dying from a collision is 10%, but at a speed of 50 km/h this increases to 80%. At 60 km/h the percentage is 100%. These are DGT numbers and obviously our bodies are not prepared to withstand the force of a collision at that speed.

Interestingly, the problem of road traffic accidents appears to be a regional problem. In 2022, for example, more than 7,500 people were killed by vehicles in the United States, the worst figure in 40 years. In Europe, things were different, as deaths fell by 36% from 2010 to 2020. For context, 1,104 people died in accidents in Spain in 1993. In 2021 there were 183.

In any case, there are many more, and therefore there are various proposals, for example, to paint city streets or control traffic using GPS fences in cities. In addition to continuing to improve systems to prevent accidents that continue to fail when needed most.

French shovel. Bridget Driscoll had the curious honor of becoming the first person in history to be hit by a car. At least let there be evidence. It was August 17, 1896, when one of the few cars in Britain at the time hit a 44-year-old woman at “enormous speed, as fast as a good horse could gallop.” An investigation was launched, but the important thing is that it was a turning point that encouraged manufacturers and inventors to apply their talent to avoid further abuses in the future.

One such documented system was a variation of the “shovel” which was tested in Paris in 1924 and consisted of something similar to a brush or spade that “swept” a pedestrian lying on the ground to avoid running over him or her with tires. . Like a snowplow, wow.

They tried something similar in Berlin, but with a network. Goodbye ankles.

Pedestrian catcher. The shovel doesn’t seem to have gone any further, but what came to market in 1939 was an invention that did double duty. It was a kind of tarp on a metal frame that could catch a pedestrian before he was hit, like a huge baseball glove on the nose of a car. Since it would be inconvenient to always have it nearby, if it was not needed, it was folded and served as a bumper.

The system apparently was not automatic and the driver had to pull a lever to operate the mechanism. At moderate speeds, the device allowed the pedestrian to hold onto it and, in addition, like the French shovel, protected him from being run over. However, if the speed was high or the driver did not press the lever in time, problems would arise. It didn’t last long on the market.

Other solutions. This pedestrian catcher wasn’t the only time manufacturers have flirted with additions to the car’s nose to minimize damage. A very interesting type of crash bar was tested in 1974 (on cars far superior in power to the 1939 cars) which now automatically raised when a pedestrian was struck, so that he would not be thrown out, but rather remain on the hood of the car during braking.

And for other cars? For obvious reasons, none of these systems have survived to this day, but interestingly, a few weeks ago we saw that an airbag system very similar to a pedestrian trap was being tested in Switzerland. This is an inflatable system located at the front of the tram that activates when it detects someone on the road, softening the impact, although judging by the images it is still quite a strong impact.

As we have already said, accidents continue to be a problem, and society has more or less intelligently tried to correct them with the help of technological means available at any given time. Although, in the end, brick may be the most effective way to cross a pedestrian crossing. At least until we find something better (like barking trains).

Image | British way

In Hatak | Killed in a road accident and harassed to pay travel expenses: a strange family case