Pedestrian Airbags, A First For Land Rover

Land Rover is introducing an innovative advancement on the Discovery Sport. It’s a pedestrian airbag designed to protect anyone inadvertently struck by the sport utility vehicle while crossing the street.  

The airbag deploys when sensors located below the outside surface of the front bumper detect impact with a pedestrian. If the vehicle is moving between 24 and 48 kilometres per hour and the sensors detect impact, the airbag that normally hides behind a panel below the windshield deploys in 60 milliseconds. This reduces the risk of serious head injuries for the pedestrian. 

As you can see in the video, the airbag is held in place by two attachments that distribute the load and prevent the driver’s view from being obstructed. Land Rover has made it clear that the airbag will not deploy in extreme off-roading situations. 

“This innovative pedestrian protection system is not only unique in the sport utility vehicle category, it’s also very rare in other categories,” said Paul Cleaver, Discovery Sport Vehicle Programme Director at Land Rover. “It makes the Discovery Sport one of the safest vehicles on the road. What’s even more impressive is that our team of designers managed to integrate this advanced safety system while preserving the classic Land Rover style and lines.” 

The Land Rover Discover Sport earned a five-star rating during the European New Car Assessment Programme tests.