Bicycle Helmet Manufacturers Disagree With
Consumer Reports Findings
A letter from PHMA
Summary: PHMA wound down its operations in 2009, but at the time of this letter it represented a number of US
helmet manufacturers.
Protective Headgear Manufacturers' Association (logo)
1333 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92154
619-424-49OO
15750 Concord Circle
Morgan Hills, CA 95037
408-779-6229 ext.2327
27 May 1997
Dr. R. David Pittle, PhD
Vice President and Technical Director
Consumers Union
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers. New York 10703-1057
Dear Dr. Pittle,
The Protective Headgear Manufacturers' Association is a not-for-profit organization of manufacturers, whose mission is to
reduce the risk of head injuries. Our goal is to increase public awareness of the need to wear and fit recreational
protective helmets properly. Our membership consists of makers of a number of different types of headgear, who
manufacture approximately 75% of the bicycle helmets manufactured in North America. We fund a number of research projects
and educational programs directed toward reducing the risk of head injuries.
We are concerned about the implications of the article that has recently been published in
Consumer Reports
regarding testing of bicycle helmets. We appreciate that you selected bicycle helmets as a product of interest, but we
question the desirability of the perception that we believe you achieved. Unfortunately, your title, your sub-title, and
an inordinate amount of text concentrate on a few failures that you observed in a particular model of buckle. We believe
that the overwhelming benefits of helmet wearing should have been stressed more than a few failures that have not been
reproduced in any other lab.
Helmet manufacturers, along with consumer advocates, medical experts, and educators, among others, have been working
diligently for many years to inform the public of the importance of wearing helmets when cycling. We have made some
inroads, but there are still many people who are unaware of helmets and the protection they can provide. Your article, in
a single motion, has negated much of the progress we have made, by emphasizing a possible failure in a small number of
products, while never mentioning that helmets are a vital part of the protective equipment that every cyclist should use.
A number of organizations such as the American Medical Association have published statements describing helmets as the
most protective piece of equipment available to cyclists. Your approach in the article would generally, we believe, be
perceived as a disincentive to wear bicycle helmets.
The buckle in question has been used by many manufacturers, including some who were not included in your article. These
manufacturers do extensive testing before releasing a product into the market, usually including both in-house testing
and independent laboratory testing. At least five independent laboratories and certification agencies have tested helmets
using the ITW Nexus TSK63 buckle' and none has mentioned any problems with the buckle. We are not aware of a single
instance of failure of this particular buckle at any lab; your findings are unique. We would appreciate a complete
description of the test procedure that you used, so our members can attempt to duplicate your findings in their own labs.
If there is indeed a potential problem with the buckle, we wonder why the problem was not discovered long before now.
Letters that you have received from several prestigious labs and organizations already on this issue suggest that it
would be advantageous for you to check your test procedures. Your procedures might also account for failures found in
excessive stretching of strapping in some models, as these models have consistently satisfied all requirements at several
independent labs.
We understand that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is beginning tests to determine whether they can duplicate
your results, and that the tests should be completed by about mid-June. We look forward to receiving their findings, and
we would appreciate information from you that would allow us to perform tests identical to yours in our members' labs.
Please send the information to the undersigned.
Sincerely,
Chris Cox
President
cc; Mr. Frank Krivda, U.S. CPSC