HOW DOES IT WORK?
The vests are programmed to deploy the
airbags, which are woven into them, in the few
milliseconds before a rider suffers an impact.
After those two inflations are used, the Tech-
Air must be returned to the dealer to have the
bags and inflators replaced. The vests also
require a dealer inspection every two years.
Another (small) cost is charging the lithium-ion
battery that powers the three accelerome-
ters and gyroscope sensors, the sophisticated
control unit that processes their data, and the
futuristic flashing stand-by lights located on the
forearms of the oversuits. When fully charged,
the battery supplies enough power for the
Tech-Air vest to provide 24 hours of continuous
protection, and an hour-long recharge will pro-
vide a further four hours.
Swiss MotoGP rider, Tom Luthi, attended the
New Zealand launch of the Tech-Air vests and
agreed this was a new safety technology that
couldn’t come too soon, “For me, the airbag
vest should have been made mandatory in our
sport long before it became mandatory.”
Luthi had crashed 11 times so far in the 2018
MotoGP season, not quite earning the ‘rubber
ball award’ that should go to title-winner Marc
Marquez, who set a new record for the series
during his equally-successful 2017 campaign
with 23 crashes. Luthi says the vest increases
his ability to feel confident before a race.