Hyundai plans to stop you BANGING HEADS with your passenger

Hyundai has developed a new centre side airbag designed to deploy between driver and front seat passenger in the event of an accident, cutting head injuries.

Airbags in cars have come a long way since they were first introduced in Europe in the 1980 Mercedes S Class, and we thought car makers had filled every conceivable vulnerable area in the event of a crash with little explosive devices to inflate a protecting cushion.

We now have airbags for the driver and passenger in the front, side airbags, rear airbags, knee airbags and even airbags from Volvo which inflate to protect pedestrians who throw themselves in front of you. Short of instantly filling the cabin with foam in the event of an accident, we thought airbags already covered all the bases. But it seems we’re wrong.

Hyundai has revealed a new centre side airbag they’ve developed to put a cushioning barrier between the driver and front seat passenger in the event of an impact, saving the smashing together of skulls and cutting injuries from that impact by 80 per cent.

Fitted in the driver’s seat and inflating in to the space above the armrest, the new airbag is fitted with an internal tether that lets it inflate and hold its shape, and is 500g lighter than competing products giving Hyundai more flexibility in design.

Hyundai plan to fit the new centre side airbag in upcoming models, giving them a head start (pun intended) when Euro NCAP tests start to include side impacts.