Slashdot Mirror
Motorcyclists To Get Wearable Airbags
jonerik writes "For the past hundred years or so motorcycle accidents have had an unfortunate potential for particularly horrific injuries, or worse. Improvements in safety gear have certainly been made in the past few decades, but in some ways those improvements have been balanced out by the tremendous speeds that modern bikes are capable of. According to this article from ABC News, though, Dainese, a protective sports clothing maker in Vicenza, Italy has developed a wearable airbag vest - called the D-Air - designed to cushion riders in the event of an accident. The D-Air vest features a tiny electronic computer referred to as the STM (which stands for Sensing, Triggering, and Memory), which was developed by an Israeli company called Merhav APP. According to the article, the STM contains sensors that monitor the bike's physical motion. 'The sensors onboard the STM will watch for telltale signs -- such as a sudden deceleration force of about ten times that of gravity -- that precede a collision. Once the computer determines an impending accident, the STM blasts the data to receiver in the vest to start the inflation process.'
This site also features some pictures of the D-Air vest in action. Dainese plans to begin selling the D-Air vest in Europe in the spring, though American sales will have to wait since the U.S. Department of Transportation has yet to set standards for such a device."
Sounds like this sort of thing, if not calibrated perfectly for the person wearing it, could blow your head off!
I think this is ridiculous. Existing body armor for motorcyclists frequently protects riders very well in the event of high speed accidents.
.20.
In the U.S. at least, the "potential for horrific injuries" is far more closely related to the fact that a disproportionate number of motorcycle accidents involve alcohol. In Illinois, for example, last year's IDOT fatality stats had more than 10% with a staggering BAC of over
How about more education, less trying to protect riders from the fact that motorcycling actually requires some training, experience and skill?
Falling on the ground and sliding are not the source of bad motorcycle injuries. Padded leather can/does prevent injuries like this. The real problem is when your slide-for-life gets cut short by an oak tree, telephone poll, guard rail, 18 wheeler.... I can't see an air bag vest helping in those situations.
>such as a sudden deceleration force of about ten
> times that of gravity -- that precede a collision
Isn't it a bit late by then? Surely you don't decelerate until you're hitting something.
It's bad enough we have hand grenades in the steering wheels of our new cars (another reason I only drive old cars) but now we'll be wearing one too?
Thanks, I'll pass. When I ride my FZR600, I wear heavy leather gloves, massive leather jacket (along with a spine brace), two pairs of pants (inner one are jeans, outer: leather) and a full helmet.
When I flipped my FZR once and was thrown off, the only thing bruised was my pride (and all the expensive fiberglas on the bike.)
If I want hand grenades attached to my jacket, I'll join the military.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
Best Slashdot Co
On the other hand I would also suggest investing in technology to prevent accidents from happening as well as in damage reducing gear. We can build the electronics to accomplish this in planes, why not in cars&bikes?
Like, for instance, hundreds of hours of intensive full time operator training?
And your arm will be hanging from that tree...
And your head will be there by the curb...
But your torso will be in a remarkably preserved state!
So, how many motorcyclists will die a preventable death before the DOT gets off its ass and allows these.
Or, how many would be injured or die due to use of a "safety" device not properly tested and evaluated, which may introduce other, more serious problems. Even though "It seemed like a good idea at the time".
These things may be the best prevention device going. Or, they may compound the problems in a crash. Causing the rider to tumble instead of slide, inadvertant activations, too much force resulting in broken ribs, compatibility with other user worn articles (backpacks, etc), and on and on.
Just because it looks like a good idea doesn't mean it is a good idea.
Bullsh*t. It's called self-control. I ride quickly on the open roads, as do all my friends, but that doesn't mean we ride at 100MPH+ on the streets. That's what track days are for.
I'm sorry, but you and your friends were nothing more than squids who took stupid risks, and paid the price. Personal responsibility, buster. It's just like people who choose to ride without a helmet, in shorts and a set of flip flops on a bike that can do 200MPH. Yeah, there's using your noggin.
Darwinian evolution. Get out of the gene pool.
Improvements in safety gear have certainly been made in the past few decades, but in some ways those improvements have been balanced out by the tremendous speeds that modern bikes are capable of.
Capable of, indeed. However, there is hardly ever any need to use this power and go 300kph. As a motorcyclist-in-creation (read: taking lessons right now) I don't always understand the need for these immense speeds. I apreciate the accelerating power of the bike (no car can keep up with you after a traffic light) and that you can often squeeze through a narrow gap where a car simply cannot goi. Going 120 kph (75 mph) on the highway is certainly thrilling, but I would rather drive at a speed I feel comfortable with than going to the edge of what is technically and humanly possible.
But to get back to my point: cars have become a lot 'safer' with ABS, airbags (unless you smoke), wrinkle zones (unless you have long legs), side bars (unless you do end up in an accident and rescue workers spend 30 minutes cutting through them; time you are trapped in your vehicle), and drivers seem to rely on these gadgets, rather than actually paying attention to their driving style. Thus, they tend to drive more dangerously.
With this airbag, something similarly may happen to motorcylcists. However, when you go at 200 kph, no amount of airbag is going to save you if you hit something streaight on or glide under the 'egg-slicer' guidance rails at the side of the road. So folks, learn to control your right hand first (that's the gashandle, before you get any funny ideas :-)) and *watch out*. Rule number 1 while driving a motorcycle is to be smarter and more observant than the other users on the road and avoid dangerous situations.
"Fix it? It has been disintegrated, by definition it cannot be fixed!" - Gru in Despicable Me.
I agree, but I'll add something.
The biggest problem with motorcycle accidents is spinal cord and head injuries, which this device will do nothing to prevent. All other types of injuries commonly associated with motorcycle accidents are very survivable (road rash, bruises, the occasional broken bone, etc...).
I remember a few years ago, someone came out with a motorcycle seatbelt which could be retrofitted to a motorcycle. Not surprisingly, very few bought the idea. The reason is simple: it is fairly common for motorcycles to "come out from under" a rider; slick asphalt or gravel, a flat tire, or locking either wheel while braking will cause a motorcycle to fall over, and most riders would rather ditch the bike than be dragged along with it. (motorcycles will slide on the pavement much farther than the rider.) Once again, we have a device which inspires little confidence in its safety because:
-
The number of accidents in which this device would protect the rider is relatively small, and the degree of protection is relatively minor - the road rash and bruises this device would prevent are relatively insignificant compared to the spinal cord and head injuries feared by the safety-conscious riders.
- The possibility of this complicating injuries in an accident is relatively large.
This is the kind of device which is invented by technicians wearing lab coats, rather than real riders. Most riders are open to safety enhancements, however, the nature of motorcycle riding dictates that different methods of safety be used. In cars, ejection of passengers results in injuries more often than not; with motorcycles, it's just the opposite - many motorcyclists (myself included) are still alive today because they separated themselves from the bike before or during an impending accident. While airbags and seatbelts may increase the safety of automobiles, they have the opposite effect in motorcycles - they tend to complicate injuries while offering very little in the way of accident protection.The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
I wouldn't wear it as my only protection, but it beats the T-shirt and baggy pants 2 morons wore when we went out riding as a group.
...it can never be said enough. Wear your gear.
I don't even want to think of the damage to your arms when you bounce around in that thing. It wouldn't have helped the 2 minor newbie accidents I had sliding the bike.
This space intentionally left blank.
All of the new technologies to make bike riding safer is excellent until the government forces you to use them. Its a fundamental right as an individual to decide whether or not you want to use those safety measures - including helmets! Now that those rights are being taken away, we fall down a dangerous path...
considering that the majority of motorcycle fatalities are related to head trauma. Even if the person is wearing a helmet, the DOT standards in the US only require the helmet to survive an impact of a 6 pound weight from 6 feet in the air (not a very high impact speed, around 20mph I think). Considering the speed at which most collisions happen it seems to me that improvements in helmet technology would make more sense.
'The sensors onboard the STM will watch for telltale signs -- such as a sudden deceleration force of about ten times that of gravity -- that precede a collision.'
Um, if you are pulling 10gs, you have already hit something.
I had a relatively low-speed accident a few years back, a combination of a limited-visibility off-ramp with a bad drop-off and a stationary pickup truck pulling a garden trailer. Missed the truck and trailer but heavy breaking made me dump the bike, or tossed me: There's some missing time of a few seconds. Broke the left foot peg mount, with my foot on it. Landed on asphalt with the left side of my body, primarily top and side of the head, shoulder, left forearm, left thigh, and both hands.
Injuries: Bruises and soreness.
Why: Full-face helmet prevented serious head injury (at best road rash on my face). Leather jacket saved about 8 sq. in. of skin on my shoulder. Leather gloves saved the skin on my palms. Leather boots with steel toes probably prevented a broken foot. Jeans sucked up just enough to save my skin on my legs, just barely (some extremely minor abrasions).
After checking out myself and the bike, I rode it to work (with 5th gear only), got a ride to the doctor's office for some x-rays, then later rode the bike home.
I'd consider wearing body armor, but not an air bag. That's just silly.
This message has been scanned for memes and dangerous content by MindScanner, and is believed to be unclean.