Air bag jacket 'could save lives'

Air bag jacket 'could save lives'

news.bbc.co.uk

Dozens of motorcyclists' lives could be saved every year if air bag jackets were made compulsory, accident and emergency doctors have said.

The jackets are the equivalent of car air bags and inflate if the rider is thrown off during a crash.

In one version, the jacket is attached to the bike by a lead which detaches when the rider has come off suddenly.

(visit the link for the full news article)

you what?...you wanna make them compulsory?

Why?

I wonder just how many people will get off their bike after a ride and completely forget to detach the 'rip-chord'?

How much would it cost to get the jacket deflated, gas cylinder re-filled or buy another jacket?

How is looking like the Michellin man gonna save a life if your rolling down the road or caught under a lorry that cant stop but would not have caused a problem if you weren't blown up like a balloon?

This reminds me of the days when they wanted to make leg protectors compulsory on all new bikes.. Many bikers could see accidents happening where legs were lost or totally destroyed and amputated due to these protectors.

So, ok, there are some places and police forces that do wear these jackets, and in a way, they are a good idea, but it is not compulsory to wear leather jackets, trousers, gloves or sturdy boots, but bikers do... it's common sense.

crash helmets are compulsory and many still fight for the right to decide for themselves.

I was at the rally in London to fight against the leg protectors. The rally was organised by MAG (motorcycle action group) and one such group has set up a rather nice web site with a Chronology of motorcycle legislation, thames-valley-region.mag-uk.org...

This jacket will work fine if you're just bouncing down the road, but if you hit, or are hit by moving/stationary objects such as other vehicles, poles, lamp posts, buildings, barriers then serious injuries will still occur and no amount of inflated equipment is gonna help when an umpteen tonne truck spreads you down the road for seveal hundred feet/yards



news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

edit to add;

MAPS motorcycle airbag protection system as suggested by this site is another idea yet for many bikers totaly defeats the object, feelings and joy of riding a motorbike.

The MAPS Concept is to provide safety and protection for motorcycle riders by partially enclosing motorcyclist with a light-weight, see-through, shatter-proof, airbag equipped, protection system; similar to a large broadened motorcycle fairing. MAPS may be attached permanently or temporarily to new or older motorcycles and may also be towed behind the motorcycle. Airbags may be positioned anywhere within the system

ataque.net...

[edit on 14-2-2009 by Extralien]

Those MAPS are idiotic!
no one i know would put it on their bike.

I have seen something like this some time ago, but it was a little different, it was for elderly people, and it worked by detecting a fall.

In that case I can see it as a very useful thing, but for a biker I don't think it will work as well as they say.

Here in Portugal, for example, the bikers have been protesting against the rails on the side of the roads not being protected because many bikers have died and injured by falling and going against the posts that support the rails. In some places they have put protections between the rails and the ground to prevent the fallen bikers from hitting the posts or passing under the rails, but most places, probably because of lack of money, just put old tyres around the posts.

I don't know what type of injury causes most biker's deaths, but I doubt that this jacket can be useful enough for it.

PS: if they keep on this, the best way to avoid biker's deaths it's by not using a bike.

Well I think starting with helmets might be a better start.
The majority of preventable, ie:not squished under an 18 wheeler, fatal motorcycle accidents, occur due to head injuries.
Helmet has saved my life on several occasions.

Biking for many of us is about freedom as much as it is about getting around. Virtues include maneuverability, lack of bulk/encumbrance, ability to zip in and out of places you couldn't go in a larger vehicle.
Its pretty much a given that there are certain risks associated with biking; but they are balanced out in my experience by the virtues noted above.
Anything that brings drudgery into the experience is a negative.
Like someone said, if you are so worried about risk then stay a car or truck -- a very big one at that, but then again recent tests show a lot of big trucks have poor side impact safety -- so really you are never totally safe.
In the end you have to depend on your own wits, and not some external technology.

reply to post by Extralien

you what?...you wanna make them compulsory?

Good question...and if they do, the motorcycle industry is going to take a big hit.


This idea is asinine...the next thing they will try and do is make bikers wear a seat belt...






content edit

[edit on 2/14/2009 by chapter29]