What Are Motorcycle Airbags?
Crashing is a very normal and common part of motorcycling and is likely to happen to any rider who swings their leg over a motorcycle. The important part is that you are equipped to handle a crash and are protected against what could happen. This means wearing all of the gear at all times, but one thing you may not have considered is the use of an airbag.
Motorcycle airbag technology has improved dramatically in the last 15 years, from the first-ever Dainese D-Air bags that would sit atop a rider’s shoulders and inflate outside of the suit like a protective shell, to full-blown airbag suits with airbags that inflate in 0.45 seconds underneath the suit, providing a rider with chest, arm, shoulder, back, hip, and buttocks protection.
Since 2018, they have been required safety gear for all riders in all four categories of the MotoGP World Championship. For a long time, the general public couldn’t get their hands on them. Now, in 2023, they are more accessible than ever, with brands like Alpinestars, Dainese, and In&Motion releasing offerings to the public that can be worn within a leather suit, jacket, or simply over normal clothes under a jacket.
How do motorcycle airbags work?
Airbags combine a multitude of algorithms and software systems to deploy when they detect an accident, thanks to built-in accelerometers and gyroscopes that can work out a rider’s whereabouts and the current G forces being put through the rider.
These systems can work out where a rider is using GPS, and if a crash is serious enough that it needs to deploy the airbag, simply dropping the airbag suit or tripping over is unlikely to cause the airbag to deploy due to the lesser forces being exerted through the airbag.
When the airbag system detects a collision, it will send a trigger signal to the inflating cylinders. This will cause the airbag to inflate within 0.45 milliseconds, shielding the rider from any impact they have already sustained or are about to sustain, depending on the nature of the collision.
Often in racing, we will see the airbags of riders such as Marc Marquez inflate before the impact has been felt. For example, in Sepang, Malaysia, in 2019, Marquez suffered a high-side accident when his rear tyre lost grip, started to slide, found grip again, and spat him over the handlebars at speed.
Within 0.45 seconds of this accident occurring, Marquez’s airbag inflated before he had hit the ground, meaning he would be protected when gravity did its job and brought him back to earth. He was exposed to the forces of 26.27g and walked away unharmed. This is a testament to the technology within an airbag, which Dainese and Alpinestars claim offers protection similar to 18 back protectors stacked together.
How do airbags protect me on the road?
Airbags offer a lot of protection on tracks with large run-off areas, big tarmac spaces, and not many obstacles to hit. But how would an airbag fare on the road when there are many more obstacles to avoid, such as other road users, trees, and brick walls?
Airbags with a focus on road riders are designed to protect the back and chest of a rider involved in an accident. Normally, in the scenario of a road traffic accident, it’s often the cause of blunt force that has caused a rider to be involved in an accident or the major cause of injuries.
Airbags designed for road use work to drastically reduce back and chest injuries; they also help to protect the spine and internal organs from severe injuries. However, they may not be able to completely reduce the impact or stop an injury from occurring, but they can absolutely dampen the impact, which is why it’s important to wear all the protective gear you can.