Cars are getting ever safer for their occupants, with crash tests getting more and more stringent, but that safety comes at a cost: As our vehicles get more tanklike, to protect their occupants, they become deadlier to pedestrians, cyclists, and anyone else who dares not be similarly ensconced in metal and glass

Subaru, though, is working to change this on the new Forester by adding a hood-mounted airbag specifically to protect cyclists, reports Jalopnik.

This isn't the first example of an airbag meant more to protect a vehicle's victims than its passengers, and it's not even Subaru's first stab at the problem. The company already has pedestrian airbags on much of its Japanese lineup, according to CarScoops.

Adding coverage up the A pillars, though, is a cyclist-specific move that's new to the automotive industry.

So far the tech is only confirmed for the Japanese Forester, but it's not impossible that something similar could grace American cars in the future.