Everything You Need to Know About Airbag Helmets
No cyclist wants to endure a crash, but it’s best to be prepared in case they do happen.
Research shows that wearing a helmet can significantly reduce the severity of an injury due to a crash – and in California, it’s the law for cyclists under 18 to wear one. However, for some adult cyclists, helmets can be a pain to lug around, aren’t aesthetically pleasing, or they’re uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time.
For these and other reasons, cycling gear companies have been hard at work redefining what a helmet needs to look like. Thus, airbag helmets, which operate like their namesake (and look like them, too), are rising in popularity around the world. When sensors in the product detect movement that indicates a crash is occurring, the airbag inflates around the cyclist’s head, protecting them from potential trauma.
Head trauma is especially prevalent in the cycling community, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) – even those considered mild – can be life altering. Symptoms such as headache, tiredness, blurred vision, dizziness, and confusion can last days or weeks after the accident that causes the injury, but memory problems can persist, even long after other symptoms have waned.
Helmets may save a life, but they don’t always entirely prevent TBIs, so while it’s still important to ride as safely as possible, more and more experts are looking at ways to increase the protection provided from a helmet. In some cases this search has lead to helmets that don’t look that much like what we’re used to.
Discrete by design
If you haven’t noticed these helmets on the road yet, that’s part of the appeal. Hövding, a Swedish company, has won awards for their airbag helmets, which resemble a thick, puffy neck scarf. The sleek design is paired with some serious benefits, too. When activated, the collar inflates in under a second to form a protective bubble around the head.
Before filing for bankruptcy in 2021, the company was praised for their innovative inflatable helmets. Now, they can be challenging to find, especially in the U.S., and cost upwards of $300 – not an accessible price point for every cyclist. It’s unclear where the future is leading Hövding or whether similar products will soon become available to American riders.
You can find other inflatable helmets on the market that resemble a more traditional helmet. Inflabi, for example, has been refining its product, which wears like a normal helmet but can be packed down to fit in a pocket. This may be an appealing option for urban commuters who are tight on space throughout the day.
The big question is whether these options will eventually catch on among cyclists.
“For bicyclists who are concerned about aesthetics, time will tell if this could be considered fashion-forward or not,” says Corey Hannah Basch, an associate professor at William Paterson University’s Department of Public Health, in an interview with Bicycling. “From a public health standpoint, we can only hope that protecting one’s brain should precede concerns related to what is aesthetically appealing.”
What science has to say
While style and comfort are important factors that may encourage wearing a helmet, it’s even more crucial that they are effective.
Airbag helmets are still relatively new, so there isn’t a large body of evidence pointing to their efficacy, but what is available is promising.
Engineering researchers from Stanford say the airbag model might even be better than traditional helmets at preventing head injuries.
In one study, researchers constructed theoretical helmet models and compared them to standard helmet results. They found that airbag helmets achieved up to an eight-fold reduction in the risk of concussion.
“By allowing softer liner medium and larger helmet sizes, this novel approach in helmet design provides the opportunity to achieve much lower acceleration levels during collision and may reduce the risk of brain injury,” they write in a paper published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering.
More inflatable gear
Airbag vests are another option that may help prevent injuries from a cycling crash.
B’Safe, the bicycling airbag from French company Helite, works much in the same way the Hövding helmet does. The system uses “onboard sensors that track and analyze the rider’s real-time movements (over 100 times per second),” according to Helite. When a fall is detected, the airbag automatically inflates before impact, looking much like a life vest. Several dealers can be found around the San Francisco Bay Area.
These newer technologies may be moving closer to the mainstream, but they can still be tricky to obtain for many riders. At the end of the day it’s best to look out for your safety in the best way you can. This means abiding by traffic laws and wearing proper gear that increases visibility and safety.