Fumbling with biker helmet straps may soon be a thing of the past

With revised standards, quick-release straps may be allowed if such helmets pass tests here

- Lee Nian Tjoe

When content creator Winston Chuang rides his motorcycle across the border each week, he dreads having to fumble with the chin strap of his helmet when he removes it to clear immigration first on the Singapore side, and once more before entering Malaysia.

Motorcyclists like Mr Chuang, 42, have reason to cheer after recently revised national standards for motorcycle helmets look set to pave the way for quick-release chin strap mechanisms to be approved for use here.

Announced on Oct 19 at the National Bikers Weekend, a mass motorcycle event at the Changi Exhibition Centre, the change means such helmets can be approved for use here if they pass tests done in Singapore.

Helmets have to be tested before they are approved for use on the roads here.

At present, the tests include determining the strength of chin straps and that of helmets against penetration, and how well a helmet's visor allows light to pass through.

The revised standards were published by trade agency Enterprise Singapore's standards division in November.

The respective regulators will make the final assessment of what goes into their regulations.

Enterprise Singapore and the Traffic Police did not disclose how or when the revised standards will be rolled out when asked by The Straits Times.

Quick-release mechanisms latch like the seat-belt buckle in cars, eliminating the inconvenience of threading a helmet's chin strap through two D-shaped metal rings.

Mr Rex Tan, co-convener of a working group tasked with reviewing the standards for motorcycle helmets, said such mechanisms are quick and convenient, even when a motorcyclist is wearing riding gloves.