Pedestrian collisions with vehicles are a growing safety concern, especially in urban environments with high traffic density. Traditional vehicle bumpers are designed primarily for crash energy absorption between vehicles, not for minimizing pedestrian injuries. This limitation inspired a Vietnamese research team to apply simulation-based design and optimization to improve pedestrian safety performance.

Pedestrian safety remains one of the most critical challenges in modern transportation engineering. While global road fatalities are gradually declining, the number of pedestrian deaths continues to rise. According to the U.S. Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), 7,508 pedestrians lost their lives in 2022 — the highest figure since 1981. Similarly, in Vietnam, over 9,000 people were killed and 11,000 injured in road accidents between 2022 and mid-2023.