PH2: Dainese Unveils 'Stand-Alone' Bike Airbag
Dainese D-air Street brings ingenious 'airbag' race suit to the public road
For the past ten years the company has been busy developing its 'D-air' system, the motorcycling equivalent of a car's airbag. The problem with bikes is that, unlike in cars, you can't just cocoon a rider in a protective bubble. In a bike accident the rider tends to get thrown from the vehicle and so the airbag needs to be attached to the actual rider. So how do you trigger the airbag?
Last year Dainese launched a motorcycle race suit that had an airbag built into it. A lot of MotoGP riders race with this suit and in the speed hump (the lump on the back of the leathers) is an ECU that is connected to a GPS unit and a stack of sensors. The GPS tells the ECU that the bike is being ridden and arms the airbag system.
At this point the sensors monitor the rider's movement and, when the data shows that he has had an accident, it triggers the airbag to inflate. It has taken Dainese a long time to create the algorithms that identify an accident, but as racers competing at the very highest level are happy to trust it not to go off it is safe to assume they have got it right! The airbag inflates almost instantly under the race suit and protects the rider's neck and top half of his body from impact. While this system has proven very effective on the track, it has taken Dainese another year to develop it for road use.
The D-air Street is designed as a day-to-day airbag system that can either be bought as a jacket or a stand-alone vest that is worn over your normal riding equipment. The clever part of the Street is how it is activated. A sensor kit is attached to your bike's forks and frame and it monitors the bike's movement. When it detects an accident it wirelessly triggers the airbag and in less 45 milliseconds you and your pillion are protected by the airbag in your jackets.
What makes this system so neat is that there are no pull-cords or devices attaching the airbag to the bike; it's all done wirelessly so you can forget about it and just ride. The airbag itself creates a 'cage' of air around the ribs, spine and vital organs ,as well as limiting extreme neck movements. According to Dainese it cuts the forces transferred to the body by 82 per cent, making it highly effective.
The bike sensor kit should cost £390, the D-air Street jackets are £850 and £1,310 depending on style and material while the stand-alone vest is £640. See www.dainese,com
I'm very curious as to how this develops tbh.
Here's a compilation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrVKo94WQhg
If they are -as the video claims- all airbag deploying vids, it's hard to see it deploy but I can imagine it being very effective.
I'm very curious as to how this develops tbh.
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It's a step in the right direction but they need to go further and integrate these systems in trousers and sleeves. I am sure I've read somewhere that limbs where the first body part to take a hard hit when crashing on the road.
Anything that improves safety's good though, especially if it brings more people back to biking.
I'm very curious as to how this develops tbh.
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It's a step in the right direction but they need to go further and integrate these systems in trousers and sleeves. I am sure I've read somewhere that limbs where the first body part to take a hard hit when crashing on the road.
Anything that improves safety's good though, especially if it brings more people back to biking.
All in a great idea, but I wonder if there is an arguement that it will lead to more reckless riding as the rider feels safer and ergo more confident. This claim has been levied at airbags in cars.
I'm very curious as to how this develops tbh.
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It's a step in the right direction but they need to go further and integrate these systems in trousers and sleeves. I am sure I've read somewhere that limbs where the first body part to take a hard hit when crashing on the road.
Anything that improves safety's good though, especially if it brings more people back to biking.
Agreed it could be developed more though, maybe even including legs and arms.
All in a great idea, but I wonder if there is an arguement that it will lead to more reckless riding as the rider feels safer and ergo more confident. This claim has been levied at airbags in cars.
Also, let's hope they don't make it mandatory as I don't want to put it on every time I hop to the shop.
wonder if they'll make it sizes big enough for those other than Italian anorexics.
Was in Dainese Manchester last night trying to buy IZ a new textile suit...She's a genuine 40 in all her kit....at size 48 in Dainese, she gave up as a bad job as it fit like the bag its sold in.
Such a shame as its great brand and its products are well made and designed. I can't buy it any more as I can't get in it and I have a Dainese suit that fits fine form 4 years ago.
Also, let's hope they don't make it mandatory as I don't want to put it on every time I hop to the shop.
Stand by Eurocrats! Time to nanny every one into compulsory airbag suits. 
But, that won't happen just yet as there first must be a CE certification for motorcycle clothes like there is for helmets. (how else make it mandatory?)
My brother died in a motorbike accident from chest injuries, so I know how important these are. So well done.
But, that won't happen just yet as there first must be a CE certification for motorcycle clothes like there is for helmets. (how else make it mandatory?)
...I'm all for it
There are many potential injuries that can result from an off, but I don't have the details to say there is a greater number of chest vs limb injuries.
The item has been developed on the track where other dangers don't lie. The bag will have a maximum inflation time, most injuries, ie low siders, result from extended periods of friction or colliding with the kerb etc. So whilst the air bag will be good in some instances, it won't in others. A bit like the neck brace, which has a following albeit a small number.
I would guess that you will need a specially adapted jacket / suit; or I can see that it will lift the jacket and provide a bit more skin area.
For off road and enduro, I doubt it will have much value. It depends on how often you fall off!
For side on to car impacts I can see some value but even then, most of the damage is limbs and head
I remain open minded but I started ride when men were men and you could ride around in shorts without someone whinging about it
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