Volvo celebrates 25 years of developing airbag technology 

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) The first Volvo car equipped with an airbag left the assembly line in 1987 - and since then the company has extended the technology with several world-firsts.Volvo was first with both the seat-mounted side airbag and the Inflatable Curtain (IC) - and in 2012 the technology's 25th anniversary was celebrated with the introduction of the groundbreaking pedestrian airbag in the all-new Volvo V40.''It is the first time airbag technology has been used to help protect vulnerable road users, in this case pedestrians, outside the car,'' said Lennart Johansson, senior manager for interior safety at Volvo Car Corporation.Johansson, who was part of the pioneering work in the 1980s, added, ''The benefit of modern airbag technology is that it takes very little space and still helps provide a good level of protection that can be optimised for the occupant and the crash situation."However, when we see a need for enhanced protection we always search for a total safety solution. The airbag is one solution and it can be combined with other measures.''Another recent example is the new knee airbag in the all-new Volvo V40. It is designed to distribute the load on the driver's lower body in a frontal collision.Airbag technology has changed a great deal since it was introduced 25 years ago - and Volvo has been one of the key players in the refinement process.''Airbag performance has been improved significantly. Today's technology is more adapted to collision sequence and the way occupants are moved by the crash forces. After 25 years, refining the airbag technology is a vital part of our aim to build the safest cars in the world,'' said Johansson.Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC is the exclusive importer for Volvo Car Corporation in Oman.