As long as there have been motor vehicles, there have been pedestrians who have been struck down by them, so why not invent a device that protects the pedestrians when they are hit.
This particular safety device was a shovel that was fitted to the front of cars, first being utilised in the early 1920's. It was designed to 'scoop' up pedestrians into a safety net instead of running them over when they got hit by a car, where the pedestrian would be safely held until the car stopped.
One of the earliest versions of the catcher was fitted to Model 'T' Ford Taxi's, predominant on the streets of France and Germany.
The invention was short lived, as pedestrians traveled more safely as the cars got faster.