November 22, 2005 Seeing behind you on a motorcycle has always been a problem. Sometimes the mirrors vibrate, and sometimes they offer a terrific view of your elbows, and most of the time they offer a distinctly inferior view of the rear compared to that you get in a car because you can’t see the parts directly behind you. As a soldier in combat will tell you, when your situational awareness is down in a hostile environment, the risk of injury multiplies enormously. And hence when a helmet with an integrated rear view mirror system was launched last week in Munich we think it’s worth a look. Manufacturers Reevu spent ten years developing the helmet, which has a built-in 180 degree unbreakable rear-view mirror system in the hope it will save lives on the roads by improving situational awareness and hence preventing accidents. The innovative technology allows the wearer to see the road behind, using a system of unbreakable mirrors constructed out of ABS, which are contained inside the helmet shell and provide a window in the top of the helmet opening – a robust, low cost heads-up display.
Designed and created by UK –based Reevu, the helmets are being hand-assembled by specialist helmet manufacturers in Italy. The helmet has been designed to ensure it meets all international safety standards, and is of a similar size and weight to conventional helmets. Reevu expects this tricomposite helmet to retail at circa US$399, putting it in a mid-price bracket when it hits the shops in early 2006.
Reevu is based in the North East of England, and was established in 1999. The company now has an international distribution network across 20 countries. The launch of the motor-sport helmet is the culmination of ten years of research and design and an investment of around £2million. Its long–term aim is to establish the Reevu brand across a wide-range of sports and leisure equipment.
Billy Morgan, Chief Executive of Reevu, said: “This is a world first that has been ten years in the making. It is far better to prevent accidents that merely provide protection, and the world-leading technology we have incorporated in to the Reevu motor-sport helmet will make this product a complete revolution compared with what is currently available.”
He added: “We are making a conscious decision to ensure that Reevu helmet arrives on retailers shelves with an affordable price tag. I believe that this safety innovation is so important that it will transform the way people ride motorbikes, and significantly reduce deaths and accidents on the road. Every other vehicle on the road has to have rear view mirrors, but with motorbikes it just doesn’t work efficiently enough because as you turn the handles your view moves. This helmet removes that problem, and that is why it will be such a revolution across the world.”
