The inflatable man

Airbags changed car safety. Airbag jackets are about to do the same for motorcycles. es.

Saving bikers with airbag jackets

HEATH STARTS THE COUNTDOWN: 3… 2… – Stop! I want to be surprised by the blast. Besides, the counting makes me nervous. Then, bang! The vest under the black all-weather jacket I’m wearing inflates in 25 milliseconds. Tremendous pressure pushes on my chest, shoulders, ribs, kidneys and back. It’s not a pleasant sensation, but in a real accident, it’s a pain I’d be happy to feel.

Heath works for Alpinestars, a high-perforormance protective-gear company on the motoocross circuit. The controlled explosion he just st caused around me is from the Tech-air (around und R14 000 in the USA), the best example of a new airbag system built into motorcycle jackets. ets. Unlike other airbag devices, Tech-air doesn’t ’t use bike-mounted sensors, tethering or GPS. S. The jacket and its inner vest rely on a gyroscope, accelerometers and sensors in the shoulder and back, all linked together by softftware that can distinguish between normal riding and, holy crap, look out for that car! The e system doesn’t require activation or calibration. on. You just zip up the jacket and get on your bike. ike. It takes very harsh motion at high velocity to trigger the airbag, so hard braking, sudden movements, and the constant punches that my giggling wife hurls at my chest won’t ever set it off. The Alpinestars US headquarters are in Torrance, California, and although I’m excited to test out the Tech-air on a ride, I was once told by a couple of CHIPS (not Ponch and Jon) that southern California roads are some of the most dangerous in the country. The 405 is a horrible six-lane nightmare. Even wearing the airbag jacket, my hands sweat like leaky taps when my riding partners enter the onramp and immediately start splitting lanes. Considering how often cars and trucks like to change lanes, there’s a good chance I’ll be needing to change my underwear a lot, too. After 20 minutes, my senses are in overdrive. When we make it to Coldwater Canyon, I start really pushing myself through the kilometres of hairpin turns. The jacket gives me the confidence to lean th the bike more than I usually do. But a cra crash is still a crash, and it sucks no ma matter how much protection you ha have.

Did I feel safer at intersections? He Hell, no. People will always cut in fro front of you, make crazy illegal turns, or hit you from behind. No matter the ge gear you’re wearing, motorcycle riding wi will always be inherently dangerous. As if to illustrate this fact, Heath sh showed me endless crash-test videos at Alpinestars headquarters. In one of th them, a crash-test dummy’s head flew off off. The jacket worked perfectly, th though.