Safety feature now standard in most new European cars often missing from models sold in the U.S.

(InvestigateTV) - Victims of car crashes often recall such events happening "in the blink of an eye," when in reality, it takes less than half that amount of time. [CBS7]

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A safety feature that has become standard in European vehicles remains largely unavailable to American car buyers, leaving drivers vulnerable to injuries that occur in the fraction of a second during side-impact collisions.

When a vehicle is struck from the side, occupants in the front seats experience violent lateral movement in as little as 0.17 seconds—a timespan too brief for human reflexes to respond. During these crashes, even at relatively low speeds, front-seat passengers risk catastrophic injuries including organ damage and severe head trauma, particularly when both seats are occupied and heads collide with each other.

Over a decade ago, manufacturers developed front-center airbags designed to address this hazard. These safety devices deploy from the seat or center console area to create a barrier between driver and passenger, preventing both impacts with doors and direct head-to-head contact during lateral crashes. James Ellway, technical manager for Europe's New Car Assessment Programme, confirmed the device's effectiveness. "Even from the get-go, we could see, at least in our tests, that they have a benefit," Ellway said. European safety regulators updated their testing standards in 2020 to prioritize these airbags, making them standard equipment on the majority of new vehicle models evaluated over the subsequent five years.

The American automotive safety landscape tells a different story. An investigation found that front-center airbags remain scarce in the U.S. market, typically appearing only as premium features in luxury vehicles or as costly add-ons in expensive trim packages. Many mainstream models do not offer the technology at all. Unlike European regulators, American safety assessment bodies have resisted implementing testing protocols that would pressure manufacturers toward broader adoption.

Singer-songwriter Lynsea Rohde, honored as the 2024 Best Pop Artist by a Charlotte, North Carolina publication, experienced firsthand the consequences of such a gap in safety standards. On September 20, Rohde was struck by a stolen SUV that ran a red light while she sat with her visiting sister in the front passenger seat. Though Rohde recalls portions of that day—lunch and shopping with her sister—the impact itself remains erased from her memory. Reflecting on her experience, Rohde said, "I never had anyone warn me of colliding with another passenger in a car."