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Smart Hat cycle helmet inventor to take idea to NSW government
Usually, articles about cycle helmets here on road.cc polarise opinion. Not so last week's piece on the Smart Hat, a conceptual design from Australia – most of you thought it was bonkers, and a few wondered whether April First had come round unusually quickly.
Undeterred, intrepid designer Toby King plans to take his invention to the New South Wales government, and he also says he has people interested in investing in his idea.
A quick recap. Cycle helmets are compulsory in Australia, but the Smart Hat, currently on the drawing board, is unlike any other.
To say it has bells and whistles is a supreme understatement.
It incorporates – we’ll take a deep breath here – brake lights, left and right indicators, rear view mirrors, proximity sensors, a camera, a visor, a housing for a smartphone, and space for a licence plate at the rear.
Oh, and windscreen wipers, among other things.
Earlier this month, Mr King presented his idea to councillors in Mosman, an upmarket suburb of Sydney.
Some councillors welcomed the design, but ultimately the council knocked it back because it could not endorse a commercial product, albeit one that is still at the design stage.
So Mr King, at the suggestion of Mosman Council, now plans to show his invention to Staysafe, the New South Wales state government’s committee on road safety.
Mr King says it will cost around A$500,000 (£250,000) to get his idea to the prototype stage, and claims the helmet may ultimately be available for A$200 (£100).
Whether, given the number of features he plans to pack into it, that is a realistic price is a moot point.
An article on the website of Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph adds that since news of the idea broke last week, he has had expressions of interest from potential sponsors and people wanting to endorse it.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- froze 5 hours 26 min ago
Just my opinion, but sorry that bike is UGLY! I can't see that sort of price for a completed bike, not alone for just the frame and fork!...
- Boopop 6 hours 4 min ago
I find it deeply jarring and disappointing that Sir David agrees with these people not wanting a cycle lane. Whenever I watch one of his excellent...
- chrisonabike 6 hours 13 min ago
May need insurance, tax and a licence. No problem with the lights though.
- Simon E 6 hours 29 min ago
Yes, they look just like the Lezyne Zecto model. My club bought a couple of sets from the LBS for our midweek TTs so if someone turns up without...
- Hirsute 9 hours 55 sec ago
If you can't see a %^$&ing large tractor what ^%$£"!*ing hope is there that you will see a cyclist ?...
- chrisonabike 9 hours 18 min ago
Well if you *can* interview the original riders at all surely they worked, at least?...
- David9694 9 hours 47 min ago
Live: Car plunges over wall and lands on beach rocks...
- biking59boomer 9 hours 53 min ago
Looks like yet another bike share service that's going to fold because of selfish idiots.
- brooksby 15 hours 46 sec ago
And finally: I wonder how many of the "more than 3,000" signatures on that petition are actually locals, who live or work there (and are not just...
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27 comments
THAT'S AMAZING...Everyone in retardville will be wearing one, with there pants on the outside!
Reminds me of Starlight express: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=starlight+express&FORM=HDRSC2#view=d...
Surely there needs to be some sort of seatbelt, airbag and crumple zones?
I am pretty sure i commented on this but where did it go? Is this censored?
Do you mean this comment?
If so, rather than get all paranoid and shouting about censorship, read the second sentence in the article above and you will discover that this is a new piece following up on the one you commented on previously.- simple and no ones freedom of expression has been impacted
I assume this is a school kids project, if so, well done.
If not, it needs a neck support like in F1 and a rear facing camera.
And a wind turbine.
Still think it's crackers
He just needs to attach an engine, some wheels and a seat onto it, and he'll be onto a winner.
It's a joke designed to make the Australian helmet law look ridiculous by agreeing to fund this monstrosity.
Well I'm glad that all this identification & licence malarkey is taking priority over the basic elements of a bike helmet... which is the ability to keep you safer, & not breaking your neck in the process... hmmmm
Smart hat. Stupid helmet.
I can only hope this is part of a bigger plan to illuminate stupidity by taking it as far as he can before a grand revealing that it was all a hoax. PLease let this be true.
You can't keep a good man down. And now it appears that the same also applies to nutters.
Anyone who thinks the helmets laws are sensible and didn't see this coming is an idiot.
It's the nature of modern government to double down on stupid laws: they can't possibly be wrong, the problem must be that they didn't go far enough. It will take a generation to undo the stupid.
Is that the new design from POC..?
Finally, they are improving the look of their helmets
April 1st come early. You could write an entire thesis on how appalling this idea is. I despair.
Don't give up the day job …………….
What a monstrosity! And for this reason I am out.
I really thought this was a spoof...
But if not, can i ask - does Mr Toby King have a background in head protection design?
The one thing which every successful helmet in history has in common - from the bronze age right up to the latest space helmet - they all recognize that a round shape is important in dissipating energy and protecting the head.
Just waking up and drawing a box on a computer isn't going to work.
And how on earth are the break lights and indicators going to work exactly?
(NOTE: No mention of an actual rear facing light on the helmet - which is one thing which might actually help safety)
Twathat more like.
hmmm these might be more profitable and save far more lives...
http://www.copenhagenize.com/search/label/motoring%20helmet
Wait, so this wasn't a spoof!?
here's an idea mr. inventor, take the blooming thing to kickstarter if you have so much faith in it...
What's the point? He'll get no support for such a dumb idea outside of Australia.
As a Queenslander I can cannot believe that a NSW cockroach needs any more protection than his skelatal shell!
I can't believe he is pursuing this one...
If this happens, it will demonstrate that hate for cyclists, and the need to kowtow to that hate is far greater than any interest in cyclist safety.
Its madness.
I am impressed by this guy's guts/delusion in the face of certain failure... Is it actually Michael Gove who designed this helmet?
With all that kit on it, that thing must weigh a ton. Hello neck injuries.
Good. Hope he gets lots of backers, who all lose a bundle on this idiotic idea.