Cycling in urban areas is becoming increasingly popular; according to Bikes Belong, more than 200,000 people bike in New York City every day. In Europe, biking is even more common: during an average week, 30% of the German population uses a bicycle for transportation.

However, biking on busy urban streets can be dangerous. Sixty percent of people in England who are able to ride a bike are deterred from cycling because they feel it’s unsafe to cycle on roads. Adding bike lanes helps with bicycle safety, but one could argue that the most important tool for reducing rider injuries is the helmet.

It’s a bit shocking that in the clogged traffic of Los Angeles, riders over 18 aren’t required to wear helmets. But even in cities that do require helmets, many riders simply don’t want to wear big, bulky bike helmets on their way to work or school. “Helmet hair,” anyone?

Yahoo reports that Swedish design students Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin tackled the problem head-on by designing a helmet that protects both the wearer’s head and their hairstyle. It’s called the Hövding collar, and it’s a bike helmet that sits around the neck and works like an airbag, inflating only if the cyclist gets into an accident.

Haupt and Alstin won an INDEX award for their “invisible” bike helmet in 2011 in the PLAY category. Take a look at their short film about it:

The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

Remarkably, the Hövding collar withstands impact even better than a traditional bike helmet.

“This is more than three times better than the average helmet,” says Haupt. “Compared to those normal helmets, the Hövding impact was so soft — like a mattress — the head would not even feel it.”

The invisible helmet is currently only available for purchase in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It costs 3,998 SEK (Swedish Krona), or about $591. For daily urban cyclists, we think it’s worth it - let’s hope the Hövding collar comes stateside soon!