Subaru Introduces The First Airbags To Protect Cyclists

The 2026 Subaru Forester marks a major step forward not just for the model, but for the brand. For the first time in the US, it will be offered with a hybrid powertrain, and it’s the first model in the US to get the company’s latest electrified powertrain. Over in Japan, though, Subaru is giving the Forester even more new technology. For the home market, the Forester will have an external airbag designed to protect cyclists, which the company claims is the first to be offered in the world.

How It Works And Why It’s Important

Safety for pedestrians and cyclists is an important issue the world over. It’s a growing concern in the US, too, especially with increasingly large vehicles are becoming more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. It’s an especially major issue in Japan, though. Subaru did a study of fatal vehicle collisions involving its cars. A whopping 38% of fatalities were pedestrians, more than any other specific collision. With 6% coming from cyclists, 44% of fatalities involving Subarus in Japan were people outside the car. In contrast, these people only made up 15% of fatalities with Subarus in the US.

Subaru started addressing this issue with the implementation of external airbags for pedestrians. These were first used on the Impreza in 2016. What the company found, though, was that the same airbags weren’t particularly useful for cyclists. With cyclists higher up on bicycles, their heads would hit higher points on the vehicle, missing the airbag. So to fix that, Subaru expanded the airbag to inflate up and around the A-pillars. While it would seem like an airbag that also goes across the windshield would be good, we suspect Subaru wanted to still ensure the driver of the car still has visibility if the airbag goes off. This airbag will first be fitted to the redesigned Forester, and we presume it will spread to other models in the future. Subaru hasn’t announced any plans for offering it in the US, though.

Other Unique Airbag Designs

The world of airbag design and advancement is a lively one. Loads of companies, from automakers to suppliers, are working on ways to improve these life-saving devices. Hyundai seems to be a leader in this area. Most recently, we learned it has developed an airbag that inflates from underneath to help keep a person from “submarining,” which is when the person slides under the seatbelts, causing the belts to be less effective or even cause harm. This is actually what some racing harnesses do, but this would provide the same benefit without the hassle and discomfort of a harness. Hyundai also designed an airbag for cars with panoramic sunroofs to provide passengers with more protection in the event of rollover.

Related

Hyundai Invents Airbag For Your Crotch That Makes Your Seatbelt Work Properly

The new airbag design will fix the biggest problem with modern automotive crash testing and make cars vastly safer.

Honda has developed an airbag that sort of cradles the head and body, with the idea that this will help keep the head and body from deflecting off the airbag and striking another part of the car. Toyota also has a design for an airbag that cradles the head, though it deploys from behind the head, and it sort of does, as we put it, a headlock. It’s designed to reduce neck injuries. We’re sure even more advances are coming down the pike to keep this area of engineering a particularly interesting one.