Psst! Rumour has it…
- Sweden has developed a new helmet for cyclists
- Safety and fashion do go together
Two students from Sweden have come up with an avant-garde idea: an airbag for cyclists that remains entirely hidden and springs into action in the event of an accident.
The device is stored inside a durable collar that is worn by the cyclist at all times. Uncharacteristic motion triggers the mechanism, which inflates a hood-shaped helmet in 0.1 seconds. Before the cyclist has even hit the floor, their head is entirely protected by the hood made of asphalt-proof nylon.
Due to the fact that the airbag provides shock absorption and pressure for several seconds, it can resist several impacts to the head in the same accident before slowly deflating.
Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin are the designers behind the “Hovding” helmet. They have approached the safety gear industry from an entirely new angle.
The two conceived the idea when they were working on their design thesis at Lundig University. This helmet is not only invisible for most of the time and provides more protection than a standard helmet, but it is also a fashion accessory.
Regulations
Recently in Sweden, the government had introduced a law making cycle helmets compulsory for people under 15. There are also discussions about the possibility of extending the law to adults. This law was considered by Swedish public to be a threat, so Haupt and Alstin decided to try to find a way to make wearing helmets an attractive prospect, instead of it being a form of punishment. Their goal was to create something so trendy that people would voluntarily protect themselves instead of being obliged to do so by the law.
So how does it work?
This is how the airbag works: it is deployed by sensors that pick up on the cyclist’s abnormal movements in the event of an accident. The sensors then send a signal to the gas inflator, concealed in a collar on the cyclist’s back, which uses helium to speed-inflate the device.
Once the bags have been deployed, they can be sent back to the company for recycling, and customers will receive a discount on a new Hovding product.
The collar conceals a « black box » that records data from the moments leading up the accident and during the impact, which the firm requests to inspect so they can continue developing the product.
The helmets have been cleared by the Swedish government as regulation safety gear so they are completely legal. But more importantly, the creators hope that youngsters will wear them because they look good too.
In fact, the firm revealed the device in a fashion show in Stockholm last year. They proved that the discrete garment can be styled in so many ways: faux fur, leather and spotty silk being just a few examples.
Watch the helmet’s fashion week debut here:
A bit of fun: watch it being tested here:
Psst! Rumour Has It... 
This sounds like a brilliant idea that could not only be applied to cyclists but also other sports and hobbies that require a helmet, such as horseriding. I ride and have 6 ponies of my own so I know the dangers of a fall, however personally I don’t like riding with a hat. I used to ride without a hat however had a few bad falls so I now wear my hat at all times. I find it very uncomfortable and sometimes restrictive especially when I am doing hard work with my horse or it is hot weather. Wearing my hat for a long period of time normally gives me headaches and especially since I work with horses, exercising them is part of the job so I can sometimes be wearing my hat for hours every day. Something like this would benefit horse riders greatly however would need to be tailored for their needs I think, since I would consider a fall from a horse a little more dangerous and fast-paced in comparison to somebody who cycles as a hobby, especially if you fall from a very large horse – there is a significant height distance between a large powerful horse to a bicycle. However hopefully this idea does take off and I could be wearing one of these to ride in the very near future, it would make me a lot more comfortable and happier to be able to ride without a hat (as such) and not have to worry about the dangers of a serious head injury.