It's hard to dispute the usefulness of wearing a seat belt in a car. In the event of an accident, you are less likely to suffer serious injury if you are properly restrained. On motorcycles the situation is entirely different, but Italian design and engineering company Italdesign believes that seat belts could have a future on two wheels.
The Italdesign company was founded by designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, who was responsible for a large number of car models, from the Volkswagen Golf to the Lotus Esprit, not to mention motorcycles such as the Ducati 860 GT and the Suzuki RE5 from the 70s, guns for Beretta, cameras for Nikon, and much more. However, his company has engineering, testing and manufacturing capabilities, and it was on the engineering side that the two-wheeler seat belt idea took shape.
The idea of being attached to a motorcycle rather than in the passenger compartment of a car seems original. Without the safety cell of a car, it often makes more sense to get as far away from your motorcycle as possible when things go wrong, but Italdesign's idea is to create a seat belt system that keeps you in place. place in some accidents, while allowing you to separate from the motorcycle in others.
The system is based on a rigid shell-shaped backrest, a bit like a large back protector, which you attach via a belt on each shoulder and another on your waist. However, the backrest is not permanently attached to the motorcycle. Instead, it attaches via a flexible joint, allowing some rider movement, and there is a quick release system that allows the entire shell to be uncoupled from the motorcycle instantly if necessary.
The idea is that the motorcycle's onboard computer uses sensors to determine if it is an accident and what type of accident it is, before deciding whether to release the seatback or hold in place. So, when sliding around a curve, the seat back will detach so you can separate yourself from the machine. However, if a car crosses the road, the system recognizes that it is safer to keep you strapped in so that you are not thrown into or over the car.
The system is clearly aimed at scooters rather than sportbikes. In fact, there is not enough space on a sports car to correctly connect the backrest to the saddle. However, car drivers switching to two-wheelers generally buy scooters to get around, and may be attracted to the idea of seat belts, although more experienced drivers, accustomed to conventional two-wheelers, would probably find the rather disconcerting feeling of being attached.
