Attempting to remove a motorcycle helmet without first udoing the chinstrap is a disconcertingly painful experience especially in the musculature of the neck and upper back.
BorgCo now offer an aftermarket Helmet Strap Alarm. If the strap reaches a preset level of tension, it beeps loudly, reminding the wearer to undo the strap and thus avoiding an extended period of discomfort.-- 8th of 7, Feb 16 2010 The opposite, shirley, would be more sensible. A simple switch on the buckle, and a microphone to detect the thunderous roar of your engine - which beeps _very_ loudly (over your thunderous roar) to remind you to do your strap UP (I suspect you are in the habit of leaving it undone, or you would never get into the habit of yanking your helmet off once your thunderous roar has dissipated).
In either case, a human's reaction time is probably too slow.-- VaquitaTim, Feb 16 2010 That's the problem with living in a collective. Once the first units start having problems with Alzheimers', why, pretty soon none of them can remember what they were here to assimilate.-- lurch, Feb 16 2010 B - "Resistance is ... er ... um ..."
H - "Futile?"
B - "That's it! Totally futile!"
H - "... Are we going to be assimilated?"
B - "Yes! Of course, you are. <mumbling> Goes without saying ... <vacant stare off somewhere up and to the left>"
H - "But what if we resist?"
B - "What?"
H - "But What if we resist?"
B - "Resist what?"
H - "Assimilation!"
B - "Bloody hell! That's what we were here to do! Hold on a minute ..."
<whispered voices in the background>
B - "Wait, what were we just talking about?"-- MikeD, Feb 16 2010 You think you're funny, but you're not ...
// in the habit of leaving it undone //
Absolutely the reverse. Problems occur when Standard Procedure is interrupted, i.e. stop bike, select neutral, stop engine, kickstand down, fuel cock off. Get off bike, remove gloves, remove helmet, put gloves in helmet, thread loop on key onto helmet strap, latch strap, walk away and set alarm.
Except when it's raining hard there is a temptation to keep the hat on until shelter is gained, at which point it is possible to have forgotten about the chinstrap ...
Maybe it is Alzheimer's, after all ... <wanders off, muttering>-- 8th of 7, Feb 16 2010 The movement you're making when lifting a helmet with your hands is pretty unique. I wonder if a helmet could somehow "know" that e.g. its sides are being touched by hands and let go of the strap much more easily; or if something about the area you touch could feel differently when the strap's still on.
(Trying to solve ergonomic problems not with warning lights, switches, signs, beeps, but within the material itself.)-- jutta, Feb 16 2010 Would it work if, instead of a release mechanism under the chin, the release mechanism were a button on the side, where you hold the helmet to release it? The button would have to be flush or slightly recessed, so that your helmet didn't come off in mid-accident.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 16 2010 reasonably sure that in an accident; you know when the actual helmetness comes into play, that you wouldn't want a button or something undoing your chinstrap for you... might be better to practice removing the helmet without the traditional flourish.-- FlyingToaster, Feb 17 2010 //(Trying to solve ergonomic problems not with warning lights, switches, signs, beeps, but within the material itself.)//
I bun this concept.
Perhaps the chin strap unlatching mechanism could be built into BOTH sides of the helmet, each requiring both the pressure of the hands, and some manner of twisting motion. In this manner, the hand motions to remove the chin strap could be an integral part of the hand motions to remove the helmet.
Presumably, an accident would not involve simultaneous pressures and twistings on both sides of the helmet unless the owner of the head inside it was already being horrifically crushed by multiple objects... and the pressure would likely keep the helmet on the head at that point anyway.-- ye_river_xiv, Feb 18 2010 I dunno.. I remain neutral on this being that if you make a mistake that causes you physical pain, you are less likely to repeat that action.-- Jscotty, Feb 18 2010 random, halfbakery