SAFETY technology has become increasingly important both as a marketing device and to satisfy ever-more stringent safety requirements, especially in North America.
The airbag, a reinforced pouch which inflates to cushion the driver of a car in the event of a collision, has been proved to drastically reduce head injuries and is now standard in many luxury cars.
Now the first airbag designed to protect rear-seat passengers from head injuries in the event of a collision has been developed by Nissan.
The original airbag, which inflates in just 30 milli-seconds, was only available for the driver and was mounted in the steering wheel boss. The same protection has recently become available for front-seat passengers.
The front-seat passenger airbag is in the dashboard.
Until now, the rear-seat passengers have been left unprotected from the serious head injuries that can result from the passengers' heads striking the headrests of the front seats during a heavy collision.
Seat belts can prevent passengers from being thrown into the front of a car, but the head and face are still vulnerable.