Did First Deployment of Airbag In World Cup Race Help Or Worsen Accident?
Did First Deployment of Airbag In World Cup Race Help Or Worsen Accident?
Published : 21-Dec-2015 08:30
The Austrian downhill racer Mathias Mayer, the Sochi Olympic gold medallist, suffered a high speed crash in the Men's World Cup Downhill in Val Gardena on Saturday, spinning through 180 degrees in the air before landing at high speed on his back.
Mayer was not seen to move much after the crash and was airlifted to hospital. However initial reports, including quotes from the Austrian team boss, were good, stating that he had been helped by the first deployment of the new airbag system for World Cup racers, and had been cushioned from serious injury, only suffering bad bruising.
However it later emerged later on Sunday that Mayer broke two vertebrae and had four vertebrae bolted together to aid the healing process and that he'll be hospitalized for at least 10 days and out of racing for the season.
Mayer is quoted as saying, "It could have been much worse...(without the airbag)" however a debate seems to be developing as to whether the air bag helped minimise the accident or actually made its effect worse. US racer Ted Ligety posted on Facebook:
"I feel horrible for Matthias Mayer I wish him all the best. It's really unfortunate racers are being used as crash test dummies to experiment with an unproven airbag system. To my knowledge he was the first real race crash with the airbag which resulted in the worst back injury in more then a decade for World Cup. It looks to me like the airbag acted as a fulcrum for his back to break around. This needs to be investigated."
The airbags have been developed over several years by the Italian company Dainese who have worked on a similar system for motor cycle racers. The system was developed by the FIS with the aim of minimising injuries and Dainese worked with World Cup racers on developing an algorithm that is intended to ensure the airbag deploys only when needed, as accidental deployment could cause problems at high speed too. British speed ski racer Jan Farrell volunteered to stage high speed crashes wearing the test version of the airbag system before it was finally approved.
Wearing the airbag or not is a matter of choice for each racer. Initially no racers are believed to have worn one because the feeling was that the added bulk might add vital fractions of a second to their race times. Saturday's race winner Aksel Lund Svindal said he didn't wear one as his suit split open when he moved.
However it appears racers are now beginning to wear the airbags, and Mayer is reported to have already had an accident in training previously when he was wearing the airbags, whilst Saturday's deployment was the first time in an actual race.
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