The European Union invests in airbag jeans

The idea comes from the founder of Airbag Inside Sweden AB.  Brussels invested 150,000 euros in the hopes that it can save lives.

The lower body suffers the most injuries in a motorcycle accident.  To help motorcyclists ride safely, Airbag Inside Sweden AB, has made airbag jeans, with a super strong material sewn inside the pants and an air cushion activation mechanism.

For now, the invention is undergoing prototype development, but could save the lives of those who ride motorcycles.  According to data reported by CNN in the U.S., for example, motorcyclists are 28 times more likely than those who drive a car to die in an accident. 

Inside the jeans there is an inner jean lining made of UHMWPE fibers, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.  The wearer connects the pants to the motorcycle. In the event of a fall, the airbags open automatically, filling with air and thus reducing the impact of the lower part of the body with the ground or other vehicles.  The airbag can be deflated and reassembled in the jeans for reuse, explains Moses Shahrivar, creator and founder of the manufacturing company.

Shahrivar designed his first pair of jeans in collaboration with Swedish Harley-Davidson 16 years ago.  Back then, however, it was just a protective leather liner.

Airbag Inside Sweden AB is in the process of getting the jeans certified to European health and safety standards and is putting them through a series of crash tests.  It has already raised 150,000 euros in funding from the European Union and hopes to bring the jeans to market in 2022.  French company CX Air Dynamics has launched a crowdfunding campaign to develop a similar idea.

The equivalent upper-body technology has been around for more than 20 years. Motorcycle airbag vests can fit under a jacket and protect the chest, neck and even the back.  Among others, they are produced by the French company In&Motion, which initially made a jacket for skiers and then created it for motorcyclists.  They are composed of a bag contained in a vest (or integrated into the jacket or leather suit) that inflates automatically in the event of an accident.  A gas generator is used to operate inflation.

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