Safety rating system for cycle helmets revealed by new research

Testing on the UK’s 30 most popular helmets, funded by The Road Safety Trust and Innovate UK, revealed significant differences in performance with no link between the price of a helmet and the level of safety it provides the wearer.

The Imperial researchers converted their findings, published in Annals of Biomedical Engineering, into a searchable ‘helmet impact protection effectiveness rating’ (hiper) website.

“Until now, there has been limited information about how well cyclists can expect their helmet to protect them during head impact,” Dr Claire Baker, from Imperial’s Dyson School of Design Engineering and lead author of the study, said in a statement.

“This is because current safety standards are simply pass/fail and only test direct impact sustained during straight-on head impact. However, evidence from previous studies shows that lasting brain damage occurs in more serious impacts or when the head undergoes rapid rotations during an impact.”