A vehicle soft impact detection system uses a piezo film mounted to a front vehicle bumper. The piezo film is selected and mounted to have a greater sensitivity to low-frequency shock waves as compared to high-frequency shock waves, the frequency and amplitude is then compared to a selected range of frequencies and amplitudes that are indicative of a crash with a soft tissue body. In a further embodiment the output of the piezo film is compared with the output of a second sensor which is more sensitive to high-frequency shock waves than to low-frequency shock waves such as a Terfenol-D based sensor.