Airbag suppliers look to rear-seat protection

New airbags are likely to debut in Europe first

Airbag suppliers are beginning to design a new generation of airbags for rear-seat passengers, according to an Automotive News report. The publication reports that the new airbags are likely to debut in Europe first as that region has mandated crash tests for a dummy the size of a six-year-old child in the rear seat, starting in 2016, citing TRW's North American director for occupant safety systems engineering, Steve Peterson. Peterson is quoted as saying, "Europe is a little bit ahead of the US. We've got some customers in Europe that want to deploy a rear bag from the roof, and some from the front seat. We are studying this with several different customers." He also said that about one-half of crash-related rear-passenger injuries are caused when the occupant slams his head against the front seat or when a belt tightens and injures the occupant's chest; he believes a package of airbags, seat-belt pretensioners, and seat-belt load limiters can minimise those injuries.