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Toyota releases world-first rear-seat center airbag

 
3 1,493 views Mar 11, 2009

toyota rear seat center airbag 001

toyota rear seat center airbag 001

toyota rear seat center airbag 001

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No stone is being left unturned in carmakers' hunt for more and better safety technology, and Toyota is often at or near the forefront of that search. Today the company has released a new system: the world's first rear-seat center airbag.

Designed to protect occupants in a side-impact from secondary injuries caused by collisions other passengers or the center console area, the center airbag will soon be available in Toyota's production vehicles.

The bag is intended for rear-seat use primarily because unlike the front seats of most cars, rear seats aren't buckets with secure restraint and independent airbag systems. Even those cars with full rear airbags usually feature bench seats, which allow more sliding in an impact even with seatbelts in place.

Toyota hasn't yet announced which models will get the new airbag first, or when they will get it. In the meantime, it has reaffirmed its commitment to safety and technology, including projects like the recently-upgraded 'pre-crash' safety suite and its new telematics systems Enform and Safety Connect.
Toyota's world-first rear seat center airbag

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Comments (3)

  1. ma_samuelesm avatar samuelesm Posted: 3/11/2009 10:23am PDT

    They could of had this earlier.
     
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  2. ma_Rice1 avatar Rice1 Posted: 3/11/2009 3:12pm PDT

    Seriously? All they did was take the idea of an airbag and put it in the back? Let me guess, it took a whole team of engineers to come up with this.
     
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  3. By  mini sd 4gb Posted: 1/11/2010 11:03pm PST

    Actually, I think that it is a great idea. I know someone, who was in a car accident sitting in the rear, got displaced to the other side of the car in a lateral accident. She was serious injured (she wasn't wearing a seatbelt). The front passenger's head knocked onto the driver's head and cracked his skill.
     
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