Bogota: Seven years ago, engineer German Acevedo left his job as head of R&D for the Colombian navy to develop an innovative product aimed at saving thousands of lives: an airbag vest for motorcyclists.
"Nothing can guarantee you that you won't die in an accident," Acevedo said in an interview with Colombia.inn. "What kills you is the energy of the accident."
The vests feature a combination of two mechanical systems: "one active, the airbag, and another passive, made up of smart foam" that enable "absorption indices of greater than 90 percent of the energy of the impact", Acevedo said.
"The complete system protects against blows to the neck area, the ribcage and the spinal column, which are the (zones) that generate the greatest disability," he added.
A total of 2,253 motorcyclists were killed in accidents in Colombia in 2011, accounting for 39 per cent of all traffic fatalities, while 18,095 others were injured.
In such an emergency, an injection of compressed carbonic gas inflates the inside of the vest in approximately one-tenth of a second.
The vest, which ranges in price from 300,000 pesos-800,000 pesos ($170-$430), can be complemented with extra shoulder, back, elbow and knee protection made out of a viscoelastic material initially developed by NASA for its astronauts.
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