Nissan Diesel Air Bags Set Truck Safety Trend

09/18/96

Nikkei English News has reported that Nissan Diesel Motor Company got plenty of attention when it became the first Japanese truck maker to include air bags in its vehicles last month. Industry Analysts say the safety features are just starting to have an impact on truck sales.

Nissan Diesel told its engineering unit to develop air bags for trucks in 1993. At that time, two members of the unit were sent to research air-bag technology at Nissan Diesel's parent company, Nissan Motor. The major obstacle the engineers faced was the issue of designing an air bag that could endure and properly assess the severe conditions trucks face. Trucks often traverse rough work terrain and collect heavy loads. Additionally, air bags for trucks must deploy faster because the crushable zones in their cabs are smaller.

Nissan Diesel designed a computer system capable of opening an air bag in 9/1000 second, up to twice as fast as the 15/1000 to 20/1000 second it takes for passenger car air bags to open. The division began initial testing in 1994, and had tested its truck air bags in over 100 different situations by Spring, 1996. To ensure the bags would not open at the wrong time, the division drove trucks over pot holes, dumped heavy loads into them, and even struck them with hammers. Ultimately Nissan Diesel managed to destroy 30 trucks worth $90,000+, during testing.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel