Airbag cycle helmet triggered as man put coat on was being used incorrectly, says manufacturer

Hövding, the Sweden-based manufacturer of an innovative airbag designed to protect cyclist’s heads in the event of a crash, says that a man featured in a video that showed the helmet deploying while he was putting his coat on was using it incorrectly.

The company says that the movements of the man in the video, posted to Instagram earlier this year and featured on road.cc yesterday, are similar to those that a cyclist would make during a crash, thereby triggering the airbag.

- Video: Airbag cycling helmet deploys - as rider puts coat on

 

AS IT HAPPENED #hovding #airbagged

A video posted by abc3d (@abc3d_) on May 19, 2015 at 5:39am PDT

A company spokeswoman told road.cc: “Hövding should only be activated when you are cycling. The cyclist in the film unfortunately had it activated also off the bike. His movements are related to movements your body does during an accident. Hence the inflation.”

As for its deployment, she said: “The Hövding acted correctly, assuming the cyclist was on a bike given its activation,” adding that the company offered the man a replacement.

She underlined that the airbag should be deactivated when users are off the bike, saying: “When activated Hövding measures your movements 200 times per second and compares your movements with normal bike riding movements and movements your body will make in an accident.

“When you leave your bike and go in to a shopping mall, a hotel lobby or anywhere else you should always de-activate Hövding.”

Stressing that it was important that purchasers read the manual prior to using the product, she added that “Hövding to date has been in close to 200 real accidents and [has] protected the cyclist every time.”

Last year, Maria Krafft, head of division traffic safety & environment at Folksam, one of Sweden’s largest insurers, said: "Hövding is the biggest thing since the emergence of the cycle helmet and, as a milestone, is equivalent to when the airbag was developed for cars."

- Cycle helmets have "major flaws" in safety, insists cyclist airbag firm Hövding (+ video)