Airbag Jacket Gets Real-Life Crash Test

Impact Jackets has been selling inflatable safety jackets for the past few years at a cost of nearly $500 each. They’re a great idea in theory, but how do you know if they’ll work? Well, a Baltimore man got to find out firsthand, as he was thrown 100 feet from his motorcycle after being cut off in traffic. The bag inflated as advertised and saved him from extensive injuries. He walked away with some sore ribs and a broken thumb, but medics on the scene said it would’ve been far worse without the jacket.

Air Bag-Like Jacket Saves Motorcyclist's Life (Baltimore Sun via Gizmodo)

Comments

[Amuro Ray]

Now this is what we Engineers call "thinking outside the box" indeed (with box usually means car). Excellent invention.

[MSS]

Wow, that's pretty cool. How does it know to inflate? Do you pull a string?

[LK]

Lol i dont think you have time to pull a string when your flying off a bike at 60mph per hour and the force of gravity is pushing you.

[Infosaur]

Probably has a tethered pull cord.

You know I've had my eye on this kind of stuff since they've been showing a version of this in an investment commercial (admittedly, it's done with SFX).

This might be a REALLY good invention for the roofing/construction buisness.

[Lil'Tom]

Yes, it does use a tethered pull cord. I think it would be way too hot and constricting for roofing and construction though.

[Tom L]

Eh, if it used a breathable material for its skin, it might work out for construction. It'd be expensive, but in a nation where people spend ten thousand extra USD to get an SUV that is not really that much safer (and just causes a road hazard if it goes out of control), I'd see it selling.

[Burnsy]

The jacket has a little lanyard\cable that latches to the frame of the bike, it takes something like 20-30 lbs of pressure on this cable to activate the airbags.

Apparently it was originally designed for japanese construction workers. I'm not sure about how hot they are...but after browsing impactjackets webpage they have several to chose from. Including a sleeveless one.

As a married man trying to get in to cycling this definitely helps put the wife at ease a little more.

[SprCch]

Quote:

This might be a REALLY good invention for the roofing/construction buisness.

Posted by: Infosaur | Oct 17, 2007 10:40:42 PM

It comes in a vest style too! So yeah! It would be great for roofing or construction! Great idea!

[BrianG]

The Hit-Air Jacket is in my humble opinion the best airbag jacket available. It is now available for sale in the United States at BIKEBONE.COM as well. My URL link is to a video demonstration and review of the jacket itself.

[Ajlouny]

This is exciting. I would invest in one hands down. It looks like a regular jacket and then deploys if there is an accident. Perfect. I especially like the neck area.