It is sometimes difficult to remember the time when airbags were a novelty in cars, although it was not so long ago. Now no one would buy a car without airbags. Then along came a few manufacturers offering an airbag slipover vest for motorcycle jackets. But they were too bulky and took too long to inflate to be taken seriously.

Today, however, airbags are slowly becoming mainstream for motorcycles. In fact, now there are several motorcycle-jacket manufacturers that offer integrated airbags. Simply put, these jackets have not been modified to incorporate airbags, rather they've been produced with airbags in mind, so that they don't look bulky and the wearer will not resemble the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.

The April 2006 issue of Business 2.0, in a piece entitled "Engineering a Soft Landing", features an up-close glimpse of Japan's Kenji Takeuchi and his $1.5 million Hit-Air line of airbag-equipped jackets. After witnessing a 1994 motorcycle accident in which the rider "flew into the air and landed hard on the ground," Takeuchi wondered how he could protect motorcycle riders.

An airbag on the motorcycle itself obviously wouldn't work, as riders usually fall fly far from their bikes in a crash. Takeuchi learned that upper-body impacts cause 90 percent of fatalities and serious injuries in traffic accidents, so he considered sewing an airbag into a motorcycle jacket.

In 1996, Takeuchi's company built its first prototype jacket. Initially shunned by motorcycle manufacturers, the Japanese inventor nevertheless began selling the jackets in 1999 under the name Eggparka. He re-launched the brand as Hit-Air in 2001.

In the case of an emergency, the early jacket — like eventual production versions — worked kind of like a fire extinguisher: an airbag inside inflated automatically when a pin connecting the jacket to the bike was pulled from its socket forcefully. A release button allows riders to demount with one touch.

Takeuchi's electrical services company Mugen Denko does caution:

If the "one-touch release" is not unfastened before the rider dismounts, a scooter or light motorcycle may be pulled over. If the rider is attached to a heavy bike, a strong tug will act as a reminder. Failure to heed this reminder may cause the "Hit-Air" to inflate unnecessarily. A force of more than 25kgs (55 lbs.) is needed to activate the air cushion.

The newest Hit-Air jackets use CE-certified armor to protect the shoulders, elbows and the spine. Perhaps most important, though, the Hit-Air jacket also incorporates an air cushion system. In the event of an accident in which a rider is tossed from the motorcycle, the air cushion instantly inflates (within half a second) to protect the rider's body. According to Mugen Denko:

Activation is simple and automatic. A coiled wire is attached to both the motorcycle and the jacket. Once the rider and the motorcycle are separated, the coiled wire pulls a "key" out of a gas release system and inert gas inflates the air cushion. The inflated jacket provides the necessary impact protection. After a few seconds [sic.] the gas is automatically released through the gas release valve.

Once the gas is released, a new cartridge can be installed and the jacket is ready for reuse.

(via Gizmag)

Mugen Denko now sells more than 15 styles of airbag-equipped motorcycle jackets and vests, for about $270 each, in Asia, Australia, Europe and South America. Unfortunately, the United States has posed an obstacle with product liability laws.

In 2003, Takeuchi's company supplied the police headquarters in Japan with airbag vests for the motorcycle police. (According to Gizmag, the jackets also are in use by police departments in Brazil, Italy and Spain.) Further, notes the April Business 2.0 article, Brazilian motorcyclist Jean De Azevedo, who finished seventh in the 2005 Paris-Dakar Rally, had a Hit-Air jacket custom-made for the race.

The inflatable vests are even finding application in other potentially dangerous activities, such as horseback riding.

However, along with the many benefits of the protective jacket comes a potential downside.

In a review of the airbag-equipped jackets, Motorcycle City noted the potential dangers of the contraption in the wrong situation: "It's true that an accidental inflation could spell disaster for a rider and might even be the cause of an accident in the first place. You might be concerned about bouncing off down the highway like a basketball with limbs and a head…

...But is it better to bounce without the air?"

References

Engineering a Soft Landing
by Siri Schubert
Business 2.0, April 2006

Hit-Air.com

The airbag jacket for motorcycling, horseriding and power sports
Gizmag, March 17, 2006

A reusable air bag you wear!
Motorcycle City product review