Study finds safest bike helmets aren’t always the most expensive

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

The safest cycle helmets aren't the most expensive ones, according to a new study.

A $50 Tactic MIPS helmet made by Specialized came out top of 30 models following a series of rigorous tests by scientists, with a safety rating of 4.84 out of five.

Some of the 30 most popular helmets tested, all on sale in Britain, cost more than twice as much as the safest. The average price was $56.62.

The safety testing was conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, and the ratings have been made freely available online so cyclists choosing a new helmet can see how much protection different helmets offer.

The Imperial team developed a simple new safety rating system with easy-to-understand scores from zero to five. 

Testing on the UK’s 30 most popular helmets, funded by The Road Safety Trust, revealed "significant differences" in performance with no link between the price of a helmet and the level of safety it provides the wearer. For example, a helmet costing $130 did not perform better in tests than one costing $40. 

More than 100 cyclists were killed in the UK in 2021 with over 4,300 seriously injured, but the number of casualties has been falling in recent years as the wearing of safety helmets has become more common.

But there had been no objective ratings information about which helmets on sale in the UK offer cyclists the best protection. 

Study lead author Dr. Claire Baker, of Imperial’s Dyson School of Design Engineering, said: “Until now, there has been limited information about how well cyclists can expect their helmet to protect them during head impact.

"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.” 

The results of the testing, published in the journal, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, showed no correlation between price and protection.

The Imperial team tested 30 of the most popular adult helmets on the market, all medium sized, based on a combination of in-lab testing, data from major retailers, and a survey of more than 1,000 cyclists.  

All cycle helmets sold, and therefore all helmets tested in the study, must have passed regulatory standards to ensure they offer protection.

Dr. Baker said: “All helmets sold in Europe must meet the EN1078 minimum safety standard, but we wanted to determine whether some offered better safety protection than others in realistic collision tests.

"We developed a simple scoring system to rate helmets based on the risk of head injury during a collision.

"The risk of injury took account of the likelihood of deep brain injuries from head rotation as well as more surface level injuries and potential skull fractures from direct impact.

"Our scoring ranges from zero for lower protection to five for the best on the market.

“Interestingly, we found no correlation between price and protection, with the highest-performing helmet being one of the less expensive, retailing at around £50.

"Our new ratings give consumers objective, evidence-based data to support their buying decisions.” 

She said evidence from previous studies shows that head rotation is often associated with loss of consciousness and injuries deep in the brain that can be life-changing, for example triggering dementia.  

The overall risk was calculated as an average of the linear and the rotational risk, which assumes they have equal importance and presence in real-world casualties.

But the researchers say the weighting of the risks should be adjusted in future as more data emerges on the distribution of these injuries and their consequences.

The survey showed that a large proportion of the adult population of all genders wear medium helmets.

The use of only medium-sized helmets in this study, which fitted the 57 cm (22.4 inch) circumference test headform, means that future work will test a wider range of helmet sizes to ensure equitable research.

Study senior author Dr. Mazdak Ghajari, also from the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial, supervised the research and is also a member of the working group responsible for one of the European standards on helmet safety.

He said: “The science of brain biomechanics has advanced tremendously and we now know much more about how best to protect the human head from serious injury and injuries with long-term effects in a collision. 

“We are sharing our findings with helmet manufacturers and those responsible for setting testing standards, so that the industry can keep pace and develop products that offer the best possible protection.   

“Thanks to funding from the Road Safety Trust, our research can now help consumers to make an informed choice when they buy a helmet.

"We believe these ratings will lead to further improvements in helmet designs, providing better protection against a range of head and brain injuries if a cyclist is involved in a fall or collision.” 

The Road Safety Trust has extended its funding for three years so that Dr. Ghajari and his team can apply their testing and rating techniques to children’s helmets as well as continuing to test the wide range of adult helmets on the market.   

Ruth Purdie, chief Executive of The Road Safety Trust, said: “In the event of a collision, cycle helmets can play a vital role in preventing and reducing the severity of head injuries.

“That’s why this new rating system is incredibly important."

She added: "It will show riders which helmets offer the best protection, helping them to make better informed choices.”

People can check the rating of the adult cycle helmets tested to date on the helmet impact protection effectiveness rating (Hiper) website.