While in the UK there is currently no law making it compulsory for cyclists to wear safety helmets, it is still recommended by most experts. But does wearing a safety helmet actually prevent injury in the event of a bike accident on the road?
There is currently a debate in the UK over whether or not to make helmets compulsory for cycling on the road. The argument on the side of pro-compulsion is that the protection provided by a safety helmet, no matter how small, is better than none for a cyclist involved in an accident.
A cycle helmet will in most accidents prevent a serious head injury, but every accident is different and the outcome can never be judged. However, many bicycle helmets are not designed to cope with a collision with another vehicle travelling at high speed, which unfortunately is the biggest cause of death for cyclists.
Like all safety products, helmets have to be tested and pass certain standards before they can go on sale, however, many people are unaware that these standards are minimal. Cycle helmets are only designed and tested to withstand an impact equivalent to an average weight rider travelling at a speed of 12mph and falling onto a stationary object from a height of one metre. This kind of impact is the equivalent of a cyclist falling from his bike and hitting his head on the kerb.
It is vital that whichever safety helmet you choose to wear when cycling fits correctly as a badly fitted safety helmet will provide no protection in the event of a bike accident.
How do bicycle helmets work?
Bicycle safety helmets are manufactured from expanded foam polystyrene which is structurally rigid and can be moulded into virtually any shape. It is a material which is easy to damage by crushing because it contains a high number of tiny air pockets, which absorb energy. However, these are the reasons why it is an ideal material for bicycle helmets.
The reason for this is that in the event of accident a cyclists head may come into contact with a hard moving surface i.e. a car or the ground. A cycle helmet is designed to act in the same way as a car’s crumple zone. Every moving object has energy known as kinetic and this energy needs to be absorbed in order for the object to stop moving. The helmet acts as a barrier between the ground and the head and absorbs most of the energy.
