High-Tech Car Shields to Help Cut Pedestrian Deaths, Injuries.

By Jeff Bennett, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Apr. 26--A man on his way to work is a few feet into the crosswalk on Main Street. The driver, distracted by a ringing cell phone on the passenger seat, sees the pedestrian and slams on the brakes -- but it's too late.

Fortunately, a computer sensor embedded within the car's bumper has recognized that a human leg has been hit. Within milliseconds, the sensor has inflated two steel accordion-like devices mounted under the hood, raising it about four inches above the engine block. <