A large percentage of traffic injuries falls to bicyclists and motorcyclists. Head injuries are a major cause of problems and helmets are the most suggested solution but there is little protection for the rest of the body. Leather clothing probably protects to a small degree but its flexibility permits blows from smashing into hard cornered or pointed objects after being unseated in a collision can cause severe injury.
An analogue to the automobile air bag is possible with some sort of inflatable clothing but the problem is the trigger to start the inflation. This is done with inertia sensing devices in a car but this seems not possible with a bicycle or a motorcycle. One solution would be a cable attached to the cycle and clipped to the trigger so if a cyclist is thrown the cable pulls the trigger and the clothing inflates. To prevent embarrassing inflation by forgetful riders a slow partial pull would activate an alarm before the trigger is activated.
Another possibility would be clothing with protective hard nylon or similar tough plastic plates inserted in the clothing in the manner of a bulletproof vest but would cover not only the torso but also extremities. This would be lightweight but still tough enough to distribute collision forces over a large enough body area to forestall serious injury.
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This is a very good idea. There are few problems to overcome. First being weight and the second is overall appearance of the garment (who cares if you save someone's life). Another issue would be how the device is inflated. I supposed you could have some sort of canister connected to the riders back or maybe some sort of bladder type apperatus inside the garment. Regardless of the issues this idea is worth thinking about further.
Looks is everything. Look how long it took for cyclists to adopt helmets (and many people still do not wear them). Another large problem is heat dispersion. Right now cycling clothing is really light and breathable. Having blow up bladders you would have to consider how much more heat they would hold in.
Aha - another case of the victim paying for the problem, in terms of money, inconvenience and discomfort.
Accidents between cyclists, or between cyclists and stationary objects, rarely result in major injury. But in accidents between cyclist and motor vehicles the cyclist always comes off worst. The problem is motor vehicles, and that's where the solution is needed.
One solution is to ban seat belts for motor vehicle drivers (passengers can wear them), and for the compulsary fitting of long metal spikes in the middle of stearing wheels. Then I can ride my bike in safety. :-)!
Another slightly more politically acceptable solution is more bike paths and bike lanes.
Spiked steering wheel or no, an encounter between a car and a bike is unlikely to damage the automobile or driver to any major extent. But a motorcycle driver can be damaged severely in encountering a static obstacle and I doubr motorcyclists would prefer to be restricted to bicycle paths.
Definately DO NOT want motorbikes on cycle paths. The purpose of cycle paths is to segregate human-powered vehicles from motorised vehicles and protect the former from the latter.
Your idea is probably OK for motorbike riders, who currently usually wear leathers and have to wear a helmet by law, but is not suitable for bicycles.
I suppose requiring bike riders to actually look for obstacles, impediments, & automobiles would be too much to ask. . .
I'm guessing the reason people look both ways at railraod tracks is because they know the train is a lot bigger than they are. No amount of seat belt or air bag is gonna do you much good if you cross there when the train does.
Similarly, people on bikes need to look for and avoid the bigger things they encounter while riding. No amount of airbag is going to be much good in a car-bike collision. The forces are too extreme.
Good ideas but I think someone may be there. Google Motorcycle airbags. I would think someone already is manufacturing protective clothing (with inserts) - ever watch motorcycle racing - these guys must have something similar...and if not, it's a million dollar idea.
sand you may feel rewarded to know that your idea is a real product.
http://www.airbagjacket.com.sg/
This sort of motorbike gear ('air jacket') exists already and works well.. here is one example: http://www.air-vest.com/product/MX-3.html
I hope it proves for you that your ideas are doable. Good luck!