The goal is to stretch out the deceleration. Instead of going from 16 to 0 instantly (probably more like 1/10th of a second when you count the capsule deforming

The goal is to stretch out the deceleration. Instead of going from 16 to 0 instantly (probably more like 1/10th of a second when you count the capsule deforming), it's going from 16 to 0 over a much larger fraction of a second. It's probably the difference between running full speed into a brick wall and running full speed into a large foam pad. The foam pad decelerates you in less than a second, but it's a whole lot more comfortable than the brick wall.