Meanwhile,
the new front centre airbag is fitted within the back of the driver’s seat and
expands into the space between driver and passenger. This new airbag, one of 10
in the new Jazz, helps to avoid direct contact and reduce impact between a
driver and a passenger in the event of a side on collision.
In
order to ensure the airbag is accurately placed to deliver maximum protection
during deployment, the airbag uses three attachment tethers which guide the
airbag around the driver in a curve. To realise this new feature, the
engineering team developed the airbag unit to fit within the upper bolster of
the newly designed driver’s seat.
The
new front centre airbag works in concert with two other features in the event
of a side on collision. The seat belt
pretensioners for both driver and passenger work to reduce lateral occupant
movement and are further supported by the centre armrest which has increased in
height. Overall the impact of this new approach can reduce injury to the head by
85% for nearside passenger and 98% for far side passenger (Honda internal
testing).
Further
improvements for new Jazz include the rear seat i-side Airbag System. This unique
double structure airbag, installed in the rear seat pad, activates to protect
rear occupants from impacts against the door and C pillar in the event of side on
collisions.
The
airbag is also designed in compact size in order not to detract from the unique
magic seat function of Jazz. These new advancements in occupant safety come as
Euro NCAP, the European consumer protection organisation for vehicle safety,
introduces new test requirements in 2020 in recognition of the severe effects
of side on collisions. The new assessments will expand the scope of
investigations into side on collisions from the far side.
"Occupant
safety is of the utmost importance for our designers when we develop a new car,"
said Takeki Tanaka, Large Project Leader for Honda. "We completely
redesigned the latest generation Jazz from the ground up, which meant that we
were able to incorporate new advanced structural technologies and the latest
passive safety features to provide exceptional protection from all kinds of
accidents. With the addition of an upgraded suite of advanced safety features
and driver aids as standard, we are confident that the all new Jazz remains one
of the safest cars in its class."
In
addition to the new front centre airbag, an SRS airbag system in front of the
driver's knee reduces impact on the lower limbs and contributes to the
improvement of occupant protection performance for the head and chest by
supressing forward movement of the entire body.
Passive safety engineered into vehicle structure
The
all new Jazz incorporates Honda's proprietary Advanced Compatibility
Engineering (ACE) body structure technology that forms the foundation for
excellent passive safety performance, enhancing occupant crash protection. A
network of connected structural elements distributes crash energy more evenly throughout
the front of the vehicle, reducing the forces transferred to the passenger compartment.
ACE not only protects the car and its passengers by dispersing the collision
energy throughout the body structure, but it also reduces the collision energy against
the other vehicle too. Its safety performance helps protect occupants from collisions
with large and small vehicles alike.
Enhanced active safety technologies as standard
The
passive safety features on the new Jazz are complemented by the Honda SENSING suite
of active safety and driver assist technologies which have been enhanced for
the latest model. A new wider angle, higher definition camera replaces the
multipurpose camera and City Brake Active System (CTBA) sensor setup of the
previous generation Jazz. The camera recognises a more comprehensive range of
road surface and traffic characteristics. These include detecting if the
vehicle approaches the outer edge of a pavement (into a grass or gravel
border), an oncoming vehicle, or drifting into another lane without indicating
and, road signs. The camera is also able to eliminate fogging for a constantly
clear field of view.
The enhanced Honda SENSING suite of
technologies includes:
·
Collision Mitigation Braking System with
improved nighttime operation to also detect pedestrians when there is no street
lighting. The system also alerts the driver when it detects a cyclist cutting
across. In addition, the system now applies the brakes when the Jazz cuts
across or turns into the path of a oncoming vehicle. This is enabled by the
newly developed front wide view camera.
· Adaptive Cruise Control which manages the gap to
the car in front automatically and allows the car to follow traffic at low
speeds in congestion oncoming vehicle. This is enabled by the newly developed front
wide view camera. Adaptive Cruise Control which manages the gap to the car in
front automatically and allows the car to follow traffic at low speeds in
congestion (Low Speed Follow).
·
Lane Keeping Assist System operates from 72km/h
on urban and rural roads – as well as multilane highways – for increased safety
in more situations.
·
Road Departure Mitigation System assists the
driver to not stray from the road. It alerts the driver if it detects the
vehicle approaching the outer edge of the pavement (into a grass or gravel
border), an oncoming vehicle, or drifting into another lane without indicating.
·
Traffic Sign Recognition System uses the front
wide view camera to detect road signs whenever the vehicle is moving forward.
The system automatically recognises and displays the signs via the seven inch LCD
display once the vehicle has passed the sign. The system is designed to detect
circular road signs displaying speed limits and ‘No Passing’ information. Two
road signs can be displayed at any one time – the right side of the display
only shows speed limit signs while the left shows ‘No Passing’ signs and speed
limits with additional information; such as weather conditions, for example.
·
Intelligent Speed Limiter recognises traffic
speed signs and sets the speed limit. If the traffic sign shows a slower speed
compared to the actual vehicle speed, an indicator on the display flashes with
an alarm sound and the system gradually decreases the vehicle speed.
·
Auto High Beam works at speeds of more than
40km/h to switch High Beam head lights on/off automatically depending on
oncoming/preceding vehicles (cars, trucks and motorcycles), bicycles and
environmental brightness.
·
Blind Spot Information, complete with Cross
Traffic Monitor is standard on Executive grade.