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I saw a proposal at the Stapp Converence in 1992 for a hood mounted airbag. They had actually done cadaver studies on it.
Many companies today have "active hoods at the hinge". The key is to meet the current Pedestrian Impact Requirements, you have to create space between the hood and the hard engine beneath it. Two choices: 1) make the hood very high resulting in a boxy looking car, 2) add a deployable hinge that pops up when you hit something/someone.
When I worked for a Japanese OEM the data I saw showed your odds of getting killed BY a car were far higher than being killed IN a car. Average speed in Japan is something less than 25 mph. Even the highways have toll booths every few miles to keep you slow and under control.
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"Speed, it seems to me, provides the one genuinely modern pleasure." - Aldous Huxley
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