An accident sensor for a motor vehicle for triggering a safety system is provided.
A deformable and radiation transparent synthetic material part is penetrated by
a defined quantity of light traveling in a beam path. A radiation sensitive detector
optically detects the deformation of the material part by detecting a change in
the beam path to determine a position of impact on the motor vehicle based on a
signal waveform and a determination of the transit time between the impact and
the detection of the signal. The material part is arranged externally on the motor vehicle.
