Now, collar that turns into helmet on impact

Swedish inventors have developed a fashionably large collar, with a hidden airbag, worn around the neck that doubles as a bicycle helmet to keep you safe from injury.

The airbag once released, blows up to form an inflatable hood around the cyclists head.

The airbag is made out of an “ultra-strong nylon fabric that won’t rip when scraped against asphalt” and only takes 0.1 of a second to inflate.

The mechanism in the Hovding helmet is triggered once controlled sensors “pick up the abnormal movements of a bicyclist in an accident”.

The “shell” of the collar, albeit overly large and cumbersome, can change to match your outfit, News.com.au reported.

“The law that had just been introduced in Sweden making bicycle helmets compulsory for children up to the age of 15 had triggered a heated debate on whether it should be extended to include adult cyclists too,” said Hovding founders, Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin.

“To people like us, who wouldn’t be seen dead in a polystyrene helmet, the thought that we might be forced to wear one by law was a cause for concern,” they said.