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Renowned Italian protective gear manufacturer Alpinestars had recently unveiled its new Tech-Air Street airbag system, which is meant to offer protection to riders in the event of a crash. While an the term ‘airbag’ usually brings up the image of a huge white balloon slamming in the face, the Tech-Art Street system is quite different from the normal airbags you’ve seen till now. To clear the air about its safety and utility, Alpinestars recently held a demonstration for the international media, in which it sacrificed a crash dummy to stage the working of the system, when the rider is involved in an accident.
The video shows the system first being demonstrated on a live and kicking human being, though fortunately, they didn’t make him crash a motorcycle. Then the video moves on to a scene where a crash dummy, astride a BMW R1200 GS is hurled onto a stationary Mercedes-Benz W124 at 47kmph. It took the airbag 59 milliseconds to inflate, post the impact.
The Tech-Air Street is a compact, self-contained, personal airbag vest, which can be used while riding any type of motorcycle. Offering protection for the upper torso, the Tech-Air Street has been used in MotoGP since 2009. The Tech-Air’s algorithm not only detects impact when the rider is in motion, but also when he is stationary. This means that you’ll be safe even if you get hit by some vehicle when you are waiting by the side of the road for your girlfriend to finish her shopping. However, it is not clear whether an ordinary fall while walking will trigger the system, so do look out for those banana peels.
The Tech-Air Street will be priced at EUR 1200 (Rs 91,845) in the European market and will be available in the first half of 2015. And while you can clearly see the crash dummy’s head painfully colliding with the roof of the Mercedes-Benz, the demonstration wasn’t exactly about ‘head protection’. If you can afford a riding suit that costs in excess of Rs 90,000, we are sure you’ll be wearing a safe DOT-certified helmet too. Watch the video of the company demonstrating the system.
