Safe
The American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that air bags saved 8,369 lives between 1987 and 2001.
Unfortunately, the same technology is having a negative impact on hearing. Seventeen percent of car occupants adjacent to airbag deployments suffer hearing loss, according to a study by Richard Price, a hearing specialist and consultant.
And sound
To combat this, the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan uses “pink noise” which triggers a natural reaction within the ear to protect itself from the airbag deployment to follow.
SCAMPER
Put to another use
The Mercedes-Benz “Pre-Safe Sound” system uses the car’s stereo to generate the protecting pink noise before collision.
