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Google patent for sticky car hood aims to prevent severe injuries

In more than 82 per cent of fatal car crashes with pedestrians in the U.S. between 1996 and 2007, the point of impact was some part of the front end of a vehicle.

In many of these collisions the front bumper will ram into a person’s lower legs, sending them away from the vehicle, while the upper body and head fall into the hood or windshield.

When collisions occur at lower speeds, pedestrian will remain on the hood, but when the velocity is dialed up, the impact becomes much more extreme and can lead to severe injuries.

According to a 2007 study on pedestrian injuries, at higher speeds people are often flipped upside down before landing on the hood, somersaulted onto the windshield or roof and, at the most extreme, cause them to “pass fully over the vehicle” before they slide, roll or bounce before coming to a rest.

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The severe injuries resulting from these “secondary impacts” is what Google is hoping to mitigate with a new patent for an “eggshell-like” hood that would break upon impact to reveal a sticky coating that would hold the pedestrian in place.

“Ideally, the adhesive coating on the front portion of the vehicle may be activated on contact and will be able to adhere to the pedestrian nearly instantaneously,” writes the tech giant in the patent submission.

“By adhering the pedestrian to the front of the vehicle … a tertiary impact, which could lead to severe injury or even death, may be avoided, thus providing for additional pedestrian safety. “

The patent notes that collisions between vehicles and pedestrians cause them to be carried until the driver applies the brakes. At that point, pedestrians are thrown, maintaining the same velocity until they slam into the road or another object.

“This secondary impact can often cause severe injuries to the pedestrian as the road surface or other object does not exhibit any sort of compliance or cushioning as the vehicle front end might,” read the patent.

It added that bumpers are design to prevent injuries with the front-end of cars, but “generally do not provide significant protection” to pedestrians who are struck by vehicles.

According to the World Health Organization more than 270,000 pedestrians are killed on roads every year.

The resulting costs from collisions and the treatment of pedestrian injuries is pegged at $500 billion globally.

Google is seeking to use the patent on its self-driving cars, which are currently being tested on roads in California, Texas and Arizona.

It currently has 21 autonomous Lexus SUVS and 33 mini prototype cars.  On average, they clock in between 10,000 and 15,000 miles per week on public streets.

A Google spokeswoman said in a statement “prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patents.”