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Amanda Quick·
Riding Training and Safety Info
··2 Comments·1 min read

Smart Seatbelt For Motorists Uses Computer-Controlled System

Figure used to show smart computer discernment in italdesign smart seatbelt

With motorcycle accidents on the rise and vehicle-related accidents at an all-time low (head over to WebBikeWorld for a recent report on road safety statistics), an Italian company has just patented what they believe to be the answer to road safety for riders. 

Italdesign, a company providing development services for the automotive industry, is the inventor of the all-new smart seatbelt for motorists. 

blueprints of Italdesign smart seatbelt

According to CycleWorld, the model has a computer system built into the interior of the seat. In the event of an accident, it will discern whether it is safer to hold the rider to the bike or allow the rider to be separated.  

This has come from research performed on vehicle accidents, where a driver is guaranteed increased security in the safety cell of a car. 

Italdesign has removed elements of this safety cell, reorienting them to conform to a motorist’s posture using a stiff backrest-style shell that straps in via the traditional shoulder and lap belts. The shell has a flexible joint that attaches to the bike, rendering the rider secure and propped in anticipation of a safe ride. 

In the event of an overcooked corner, Italdesign’s Smart Seatbelt will decide to release the rider.

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Should a contrasting event happen where the bike broadsides an automobile, the Smart Seatbelt will keep, the rider fixed to the bike, protecting the customer from the potential of being ricocheted over the hood and receiving further damage. 

While the Smart Seatbelt may be seen as slightly unsettling  – especially in fixation of rider to the seat of a bike – it appears to be geared more towards scooters and tourers, the sportbike position being too flexible for the Smart Seatbelt to be of any use. 

With testing and prototype validation being foremost on ItalDesign’s agenda, The Smart Seatbelt will likely not be on the market until further testing is released.

 

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Amanda Quick
Amanda Quick spends her time managing her business, digging into old bike manuals and prepping for Canada's warmer seasons. Her love for bikes has her head stuck in the more futuristic predictions of the Powersports industry, seconded only by her love for cello and obsession with effective communications. Articulate nerd with a terrible sleep schedule and a dotty love for horsepower.
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2 Comments

  1. “slightly unsettling”???!!!???

    Any “rider” who feels the need for this “safety” gear should stick to driving cars or better, take public transit.

    When did motorcyclists become so afraid?

    And this being rolled out at the same time as webbike world runs the headline “Moto Industry Reports Show Motorcycle Safety At An All-Time Low”
    https://www.webbikeworld.com/moto-industry-reports-show-motorcycle-safety-at-an-all-time-low/

    “Be afwaid, be vewwy afwaid.” Porky Pig

    Or more likely, this is the brainchild of some Zero Vision safetycrat who thinks bikes are “inherently too dangerous”. It surely isn’t a potential major profit-centre, ask BMW with their ill-fated C1 “safety scooter” and it’s latest idiotic car-mimic designs. And especially as insurance companies and gov’ts world-wide strive to price bikes off the roads.

    If anyone thinks this crap would be restricted to scooters, look at anti-lock brakes for bikes… first an option, then EU mandated. “Safety” supercedes all other considerations. Like reality.

    1. It’s natural for companies to push the boundaries of what they can do with their products, and that includes safety. That doesn’t mean that everything sticks. I don’t see how this catches on. But I don’t see how you can compare bikebelts to ABS mate. False equivalence.

      Also, are you implying that we shouldn’t report on safety data when it is released?

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