Dainese and the police at the Giro d'Italia for road safety
To mark the opening of the Giro d'Italia 2011, a ress conference was held at the Royal Palace of Venaria. During the conference Dainese and the Traffic Police presented an important project where they will collaborate during this edition of the famous cycle race.
The subject of this alliance is road safety, a problem that both the Traffic Police and Dainese have always concentrated their energies on. In view of the most recent data provided by the Ministry, this continues to be a source of concern and considering that accidents involving two-wheeled vehicles are those that cause the most concern, it was natural for the police and Dainese to team up.
The catalyst is the revolutionary D-air® Street i.p.s. (Intelligent Protection System), the air bag for motorcycle riders, which after 10 years of development by D-tec® (Dainese Technology Center), will be available at the end of this year. Fifteen police officers from the Giro d'Italia 2011 motorcycle escort will be the first to be equipped with the D-air® Street system, and will be assisted by Dainese technicians in recording and checking data during the various stages of the race.
The revolutionary and exclusive technical features of this "intelligent" protection system mark a technological leap in the field of safety for a rider. The system has been developed through the experience gained with the D-air® Racing system, designed for use on the racetrack, which is currently used by Valentino Rossi, Marco Simoncelli and many other champions. Safety has been studied during races is now extended to the roads; this is the message brought during the press conference by the motorcycling legend Giacomo Agostini, who was already the spokesman for safety back in the 1960s, and by the MotoGP pilot Marco Simoncelli, who uses and appreciates the D-air® system.
This recent collaboration between Traffic Police and Dainese is an important opportunity to reconfirm the commitment and sensitivity to road safety and to offer all road users, and in particular motorcycle riders, an example of how the love of sport can be experienced with even more intensity while respecting their own and others' safety.
Roberto Sgalla, Traffic Police Director: “The Traffic Police wish to thank Dainese for having provided our motorcycle riders with a state-of-the-art protection system. We hope this will encourage all motorcyclists to use suitable protections, with the start of the warm weather and the motorcycle riding season and, as always, to respect the rules of the road".
Giacomo Agostini: "The level of safety of pilots is much higher today than in my racing days. We had very thin suits that split as soon as you touched the ground. The first thing I asked Dainese for was a suit made with thicker leather, which made it heavier but offered much greater protection. With Dainese we studied how to make it comfortable while riding a motorcycle in racing position. These suits were then produced for all motorcycle riders, just as is happening now with the D-air, the air bag designed for races that will soon be available for all riders. With the right pilots and companies, competitions can be of great help to improve road safety."
Marco Simoncelli: “I have been using the D-air since 2007; I was the first pilot to fall with it on the track; I hold the record, although I'm not sure if it's positive or not… I understood just how important it is when I fell in Malaysia during the 2010 tests. I would normally have broken my collarbone or shoulder with a fall like that, but instead I was able to get back on my bike and take part in the race without any problem. The D-air is really something – since trying it the first time I have never again ridden a bike without it."
