[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor Group said on Jan. 21 it has developed a safer air bag deployment system to better protect people from multiple crashes.

The advanced air bag system immediately prepares for additional crashes once it recognizes an initial collision, in cases where the collision is not serious enough to warrant a deployment, the conglomerate said in a statement. 

“If the first collision is a minor one but the vehicle continues on and collides with something else, such as trees or street lamps, the air bag system optimizes itself to prepare for additional crashes,” a company spokesman said over the phone.  

It is the first time for a Korean carmaker to develop such a multi-crash air bag system, the statement said. 

Existing air bag systems do not inflate once it determines the initial collision is minor, even if subsequent impacts involve greater force and can lead to serious injury, it said.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)