Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

In its 2005 rules proposal, AMA Pro Racing issued a new requirement, that “all helmets used by riders in on-track activities would be required to be equipped with a commercially-manufactured emergency helmet removal device such as the Hats Off® device or the Arai helmet removal device.” But what is “Hats Off?”

Hats Off is a trademarked and patented emergency helmet removal device which is designed to allow quicker and safer helmet removal, with less discomfort to the wearer but more importantly less risk of causing or furthering cervical spinal damage.

Personal experience led to the invention of Hats Off by motorcyclist John Deagan, of Long Grove, Illinois. “I was in a motorcycle wreck some years ago (1985),” the 66-year-old retired salesman told Roadracingworld.com. “I was T-boned at about 35 mph and went over the handlebars. I came in (to the ground) just like an arrow (head-first).

“Luckily, I was wearing a full-face helmet, which saved my life. The paramedics got there and wanted to get to an airway, of course, so the first thing they did was yank the helmet. They didn’t even take my glasses off first, so I don’t think their training level was all that great.

“But when they took off the helmet it was an extremely painful thing. I thought my head was going to stay in the helmet. As they pulled it off, I realized there’s got to be a better way to do this. The only alternative to pulling it off is pushing it off, and you have to do that from the inside.”

Deagan’s Hats Off system is quite simple. A folded-up polyethylene bladder is inserted into the top of any helmet, between the shell and the padded liner preferably, or below non-removable padded liners and a new crown pad, which is included with the kit.

The bladder does not have to be centered perfectly on top of the head to be fully effective, according to Deagan, and therefore can be positioned so as not to interfere with the helmet’s ventilation channels.

An inflation tube is run behind the padding down to the bottom rim of the helmet, where a sticker on the outside of the helmet alerts safety crews to its existence and location.

First responders to the scene – who need to be trained to use the system effectively – immobilize the victim’s head and neck, remove their eyeglasses, unbuckle the chin strap, attach a hand air pump (like those used with common blood pressure testers) to the inflation tube and start pumping the bladder full of air. As the bladder inflates, the helmet is quickly and gently pushed (with help from safety workers) above the victim’s nose and ears with little trauma to the head and/or neck.

The bladders are reusable for training purposes, but it is recommended by Deagan that the bladder be replaced after a true extrication.

Another system, the “First Response” kit, allows medical personnel to slide the bladder into the top of a victim’s helmet with a flexible piece of plastic “with some degree of difficult, I must admit,” said Deagan. “This is much better than nothing.

“We’ve got a number of rescues in the United States, several in IRL racing, and in Great Britain, with civilian (motorcycle) wrecks on the road,” continued Deagan. “We’re imperfect. We’re a small company, but we’re really doing our best to make a difference.”

Hats Off is currently mandatory for all racers in the American Speed Association (ASA) and Indy Racing League (IRL), strongly recommended in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and NASCAR, endorsed by the Snell Memorial Foundation, recommended by the FIA and widely used by both racetrack and civilian medical personnel in England.

AMA Pro Racing has proposed mandatory use of Hats Off, or similar helmet removal devices, for all of its motorcycle racing disciplines for 2005.

Currently, Deagan is the sole U.S. distributor of the Hats Off Helmet kits ($34.00) and the First Response kits (approximately $20.00), from his home office in Illinois.

To order the Hats Off systems or for additional information (including a training video), call John Deagan at (847) 438-7142, FAX (847) 438-8404, e-mail [email protected] or go to www.hatsoff.info.