Europe is a dangerous place to be a pedestrian. With crowded cities characterized by gridlock and narrow streets, you have to be on your game every second to avoid getting bowled over by a raging, overzealous motorist. All too often, that spells tragedy.

With one-sided car-on-human accidents on the rise, automakers are feeling increased pressure from their governments to make their cars safer, not just for the guy behind the wheel, but the guy they might hit.

Porsche is apparently working on a pop-up hood for the upcoming 911, which would raise up in the event of a collision with a pedestrian and, with any luck, reduce the severity of their injuries. The system works via a set of time delay-controlled actuators, which helps ensure that the system protects unfortunate passerby as effectively as possible.

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