Toyoda Gosei showed a prototype airbag for motorbikes and scooters

Japanese company Toyoda Gosei is using its expertise in automotive safety systems to create motorbike airbags. It recently conducted a crash test to perfect the technology to protect motorcyclists.

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The main challenge is to create an airbag with high protective performance that fits in the limited space of a motorbike. In a recent test, the company studied how the airbag deploys in a frontal motorbike collision and how effectively it protects the rider. The published photos show a dummy sitting behind the wheel of a maxi scooter.

Toyoda Gosei develops safety systems for various modes of transport as part of its mission to "ensure the safety of all road users". Around 360,000 drivers of two- and three-wheeled vehicles are killed in road accidents around the world every year. Toyoda Gosei's mission is to save these lives.

The situation of motorcyclists is different from that of drivers and passengers in cars during accidents. Toyoda Gosei will therefore continue real-world testing and computer modelling to overcome the difficulties of protecting this category of drivers. The company is not yet ready to give a possible timeline for the appearance of such technology in production motorbikes, but says it is doing its best to speed up development.

Source: Toyoda Gosei