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Have You Seen This Commuter Helmet?

Jim’s Tech Talk

By Jim Langley

I’m always on the lookout for interesting bike-related technology and I saw something the other day that has me wanting to learn more about it. Unfortunately, I only caught a glimpse of it on a teenager who was riding away from me as I was walking. I’ve looked around a bit online and found some similar technology, but have not found the same thing I saw yet. So, I thought I’d describe it here and maybe one of you will have a lead for me.

The teenager I saw was wearing a white BMX style helmet. Those are the lids that look to me more like motorcycle helmets with less styling, fewer vents and more full coverage on the back. Bell’s Racket model is an example.

Bell Helmet

A large rear LED display

What jumped out to me on this helmet wasn’t the BMX style though. It was that on the back of the helmet was a large LED display taking up most of that part of the helmet. I couldn’t measure it but it was large and bright enough to clearly see from 100 meters away. It was dusk at the time. Glowing in large illuminated white digits on the screen on the back of her helmet was “14.5 MPH.”

Now, I don’t think I’d want to ride too far behind someone with such a bright display on their helmet for fear of it blinding or distracting me. But, as I was walking at the time, my first thought was what drivers see. And it seemed to me that having the speed so clearly displayed from drivers to see could be a great thing.

Because, besides making cyclists more visible, it provides how fast they’re traveling. This gives drivers something of value to consider in determining if it makes sense to try to pass or not. Coming up on cyclists from behind it’s not easy to know how fast they’re traveling, which is one of the causes of right-turn accidents.

What are right-turn accidents?

I don’t know if this has happened to you, but it has to me and many others. As you’re riding, a driver passes and then suddenly turns right, crossing your path, assuming there’s plenty of clearance to safely make the turn. 

Twice I was hit this way in city traffic. The first time, my bike and I ended up stuffed partly beneath a Nissan pickup truck. Luckily, it only knocked the wind out of me and bent my front wheel. Thankfully, the driver was apologetic and very helpful, “said he never saw me.”

The next time, it was a woman in a Subaru. This time, it happened so fast that I slammed into the side of her car. Remembering going under the Nissan pickup, I used my hands to grip her rear window to keep that from happening. She continued driving and I was dumped into the road. She didn’t stop. I spent about an hour looking for the car in the neighborhood she drove into, but never found it.

There was a kid in a child’s seat in the back of the car looking right at me as I slid down to the ground. I still wonder if that kid ever told his mom that she hit me. I hope so.

Drivers having more information could help safeguard cyclists

I have no idea if such unaware drivers would notice a big lit sign showing how fast the person they’re about to pass is moving, but I’d like to think some drivers would and that it might prevent some accidents. I’d like to find the company that makes the helmet and learn more about it.

You can buy helmets with rear-facing LED displays on Amazon, but only a few. Here’s an example: https://amzn.to/40H4Gk9. These helmets are interesting because it’s possible to set the display to indicate which direction you’re turning, your riding speed and other things. 

signal bike helmet

However, I don’t believe this is the helmet that I saw that day, so I’d like to learn what others are available out there. If you know of any, or if you use a helmet with this feature please let me know in a comment. Feel free to share your opinion on this technology for commuting too. Thanks!

Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I too have had drivers cut me off by making a sudden right turn in front of me. I think they have the turn in mind and are not observing the cyclist on the edge of the road. So far, at least, there’s been no accident as a result. In one case I was able to do a panic stop. In another case, I made the right turn right along with the car to keep him from cutting across my path. I’m not sure either of those drivers were even aware of what they’d done, but in a third case, I got stopped, and the driver stopped as well and apologized.

  2. Beautiful article and I hope you get some money when I buy the helmet. Thank you.

    this is a design issue. For bicycle visibility, you need something working on the pre-conscious parts of the superior colliculus dealing with object tracking, and NOT CONSCIOUS THOUGHT. Yeah, I’m an expert on this. Yeah, I have some ideas. It will take 100o words and a picture what would be the best way to communicate it?

  3. Having lights on a helmet sounds like a reasonable idea. It seems like it would increase your visible area and perhaps make you more identifiable as a cyclist, or at least show that you’re not a car. I don’t have any expectation that people would read whatever was displayed on the helmet, though. People have a tendency to drive towards whatever they are staring at (i.e. target fixation), so I don’t think I want them to look any longer than it takes to recognize that I’m a person on a bike. There’s also the issue of having a large rigid assembly attached to a helmet, and how that might affect its ability to absorb impact.

    • Thanks Trippe. Yes, helmets with integrated lights have been around for a long time. What I thought was unique was specifically a rear screen not for lighting but for displaying information/messages to drivers. But thanks for trying, appreciate it,

      Jim

  5. There’s a disparaging term for this right-turn cutoff: “right hook”.
    It’s happened to me a few times, but in each case I saw the car in my rear-view mirror and was either able to stop before being hit, or take the lane. I think some motorists may not consider bikes as vehicles with mass and momentum, which could lead to inconsiderate behavior.
    An air horn can be useful in “reminding” a car that they’re encroaching on a cyclist’s space, but the cyclist has to be aware of the car, which is why I think the mirror is such an important safety feature.

  6. Early Easter morning several years ago (I mention the date to emphasize that there were two vehicles on the road at the time…..me, on my bike and a woman driving a car) a nurse on her way to work right-turned “on top” of me as I had just begun to ride away from a signal controlled intersection less than 1/4mi from my home. I was going about 4 mph on the bike and just flopped. Just beginning my ride. Driver stopped, apologised profusely for her inattention. Got her insurance info, etc. Picked myself up and as I limped home (no bike damage, no road rash but hurt like hell), I wondered what hurt so much. After time in the ER, etc. found out I had a fractured pelvis and it was another 6 weeks before I was back on the bike. ALWAYS expect that when you are approaching (or stopped at) an intersection where a driver can make a turn on top of you, that they may do just that!

  7. I have had a Lumos helmet for several years. The display is very bright and can signal turns and stopping, but not speed. This may be what you saw: https://www.amazon.com/YouRfocus-Bicycle-Cycling-Customizable-Rechargeable/dp/B0DGL6NNKK?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A1Z0M76FS9TV2B&th=1

    It has a programmable rear display, and the description suggests you could display your speed: “Enhanced Safety Features: Our bike helmet offers real-time status updates, including speed, left/right turn signals, and stop indicators. These functions help ensure that drivers and pedestrians can see you, significantly enhancing your safety during rides, especially in low-light conditions.”

    • Simple, by increasing your visibility (even if only in the rear) car drivers are less likely to not see you which means that they are less likely to hit you because they see you. Got it?
      Gary Pearson wrote:
      “I like the visibility, but I wear a helmet to protect my brain! How does the helmet with lights affect it’s ability to protect my head?”

      • Sorry. How does the light affect the ability of the helmet to protect my brain. I think it might cause increased risk of brain damage. as a GoPro camera on a ski helmet has been known to cause brain damage.

  9. Lights on a helmet have a place, but not alone. For some strange reason, Road riders tend to remove the required reflectors from their bikes. On a dark night, I was following a cyclist as he took the left lane to make a turn. He had lights on his helmet, but a dark jersey, a dark bike, and no reflectors. When he turned his head sideways, he completely disappeared from sight. Scariest thing I have seen in awhile.

  10. There are drivers that don’t notice the bike rider like Jim mentions. An illuminated helmet and taillights may help with that. There are also drivers that see the bicyclist and, rather than wait, decide to speed up to make the turn in front of the bike. If they judge the relative speeds poorly, you can have a collision.
    Also be wary of drivers that cut to the inside very near to the curb when turning. One of my riding buddy’s once made a right turn, then was hit immediately by a car turning right into the road shoulder from behind.

  11. Not trying to sound negative, but I won’t consider any helmet that hasn’t received a very high crash protection score from Virginia Tech, and that particular helmet in this article hasn’t even been tested yet. I place the safety of my pea brain above a fancy stop taillight.

  12. One comment and one suggestion:

    1. The MOYACA helmet (link to Amazon in the article) is a clever idea that goes beyond the usual light, but I can’t recommend the helmet for a different reason: It has no MIPS helmet liner to mitigate concussions in a crash. I’m proof it works and will not buy a helmet without it. Its been around for more than 10 years and its advantages have been proven. At the least, there are no downsides.

    2. As to “right hook” avoidance here’s something to consider: If you have a mirror, radar, your ears or your eyes to know when I car is about to turn right, or you think it might turn right, drop your left hand down and swing it parallel to your body with one finger pointing down to indicate to drivers you’re going in a straight line, not turning. Whether your in a bike lane or not, it is legal in 50 states for cyclists to take the lane.