Survey lifts the lid on poorly-fitting helmets

WE HAVE ALL, at some point or another, worn a poorly fitting helmet. Be it a borrowed piece for your test, or a bargain lid that was a little too big, worries were brushed aside with a firm ‘it’s better than nothing’.

But recent research has suggested that in fact, it’s probably not.

The Transport Research Laboratory are expanding on research into helmet fitment, originally conducted in 2014, in order to improve rider safety in the event of an accident.

An ongoing survey has produced some shocking results, with 20% of respondents claiming that their lid had almost come off in a crash. This was attributed to the fact that 25% of motorcyclists own the wrong sized helmet, half of whom are wearing a helmet one size too large. And equally as at risk are riders whose helmets are the wrong shape for their head.

Even if the poorly-fitting lid doesn’t come off in a crash, the likelihood of a head injury is seriously increased.

Twenty-five per cent of survey respondents reported buying helmets online, while only 3% of those tried it on before buying.

In order to learn more about bikers buying habits, the TRL need you to fill out their brief survey.

And in an attempt to reduce the number of bikers wearing poorly-fitting lids, the research organisation are scanning bikers’ heads, and then comparing then to the generic dummy used to test helmets. Eventually, the TRL hopes to create a more realistic headform for use in testing and producing helmets.