The least you can do for pedestrians you hit is to cushion their fall

Next time you’re driving around and mow down a pedestrian, consider how much softer their landing on your hood would have been if your vehicle had been equipped with an active hood system from Hirtenberger in Austria and Auburn Hills. Mich. Standard equipment in Europe for a few years, and also used in China, the active hood pops up in the event the car hits a pedestrian so there is some cushioning as the pedestrian impacts the hood. The hood reacts in about 30 msec. thanks to a gas actuator mechanism. Production versions can have single-joint and four-joint hinge kinematics.
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