April 3, 2023 — YOKOHAMA, JAPAN Honda engineer Eric Heitkamp receives highest award from the U.S. Department of Transportation for new airbag design Unique three-chamber front passenger airbag is designed to decrease the risk of serious brain injury All-new passenger front airbag technology is standard equipment in the Acura MDX, Acura TLX and Honda Pilot Honda safety engineer Eric Heitkamp today received the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Department of Transportation for his work in leading the creation of a groundbreaking front passenger airbag design. Heitkamp accepted the U.S. Government Award for Safety Engineering Excellence at the 2023 Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) conference in Yokohama, Japan. Designed to decrease the chance of serious brain injury, the new passenger front airbag technology is now standard equipment in the Acura MDX, Acura TLX and Honda Pilot.