Air bag for bicyclists won’t ruin your hairdo
By STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporter sesposito@suntimes.com October 15, 2012 11:21AM
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Updated: October 15, 2012 7:12PM
Sure, a bicycle helmet can save your life in an accident, but it can also be murder on your freshly coifed hair.
Now there’s an alternative — an airbag for your head. And like the ones in your car, when it’s not in use, the Hovding collar tucks neatly and stylishly around your neck, claims its Swedish manufacturer.
“Hovding is a collar for bicyclists, worn around the neck,” according to the Hovding website. “The collar contains a folded-up airbag that you’ll only see if you happen to have an accident. The airbag is shaped like a hood, surrounding and protecting the bicyclist’s head. The trigger mechanism is controlled by sensors which pick up the abnormal movements of a bicyclist in an accident.”
The manufacturers claim the airbag takes 0.1 second to inflate and “will be fully inflated before head impact.”
According to news reports, it took inventors Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin six years to develop the collar. It currently costs about $600 and, according to the Hovding website, is currently only available in Scandinavia.
“We wanted to make a head protection for bicyclists base on the demands that was presented through our surveys,” Alstin told London’s Daily Mail newspaper. “Among other things, the protection should keep the sense of freedom that goes with bicycling and not ruin your hair.”
