Airbag jackets. Now there’s a controversial subject.
As far as motorcycle clothing goes, you could be forgiven for thinking that style walks hand in hand with safety when it comes to buying a new jacket. Yes, safety is important, but when safety levels plateau at the manufacturers choice of material, structure and armour, it seems style may be the deciding factor for many bikers when they begin looking for a new jacket.
Cue the airbag jacket.
Resembling something like a nappy that has lost it’s way, the earlier airbag jackets were not a big hit with bikers. But who can blame us? Nevertheless, the concept was not abandoned and more recently an independent testing session featuring a somewhat more stylish Dianese jacket has brought about government talks of making airbag jackets compulsory for all bikers. However, although the jackets look good (or better than they did), the £550 price tag is definitely off-putting to the bog-standard biker.
So the verdict? Well, what started out as an outlandish, mocked idea has now seemingly become a new safety concept to be taken very seriously. It is only a matter of time before they become mainstream ‘norm’ motorcycle gear, and everybody will know somebody who wears one.
Airbag jackets. They’re coming!