The Helmet Update
Vol. 7, No. 3 - October 27, 1989
All issues index
STAPP Car Crash Conference Report
This year's Stapp car crash conference featured an interesting paper on
bicyclists' injuries by a West German researcher, Dr. Dietmar Otte. Dr. Otte's research showed the typical injuries
suffered by child and adult cyclists when striking cars, including what part of the car produces the injury. His data
indicate that 74.5% of the adults had head injuries, more than 40% of them serious, and that 40.4% of them had brain
injuries. Curiously, the paper did not mention helmets, but we asked about them in the question period after his
presentation and he said that the question of helmet standards and helmet promotion is being considered now in
Germany.
During the conference we met with Dr. Richard Stalnaker and Vichai Rojanavanich, who have a contract from NHTSA to design
a bicycle helmet standard from the ground up. Dr. Stalnaker is a respected researcher in the head injury field
specializing in mathematical modeling, and Vichai Rojanavanich is a grad student under him who will also design a bicycle
helmet to meet their recommended standard. If you are interested in their research, write to Vichai Rojanavanich,
VRTC/USDOT, Post Office Box 37, East Liberty, OH 43319. An article about their project is attached.
In the same week as the Stapp conference we also attended a conference on angular (rotational) injury to the brain
sponsored the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine and Volvo. It was evident from the presentations
that we are a long way from having a commonly-accepted criterion for predicting brain injury from angular acceleration,
and consequently even further from being able to add a requirement to the ANSI standard that helmets protect from this
type of injury.
ANSI Committee Moving on Revision of the Standard
The ANSI Z90 Committee met in New York in June to mark up a
draft of the new ANSI standard for bicycle helmets, due in final form sometime next year. In September the revised draft
was sent around to committee members for comment. It is nearing final form. As we noted last time, the biggest changes
will be an increase in the flat anvil drop height from 1.0 to 1.5 meters and testing for strap strength after the impact
tests. The draft is nearly done, so there is a reasonable prospect that we will have a new ANSI Z90.4 standard sometime
next year.
Standards Comparison Revised to Add French and New Zealand Standards
We have just finished translating the new
French draft bicycle helmet standard and have added it to our standards comparison (BHSIDOC #185). We had also added the
New Zealand standard, which has interesting wrinkles on strap fastener "creep" and conspicuity. The comparison now
includes 9 standards, and we send it out for $2.
Note: since 1995 available on the web only.)
BHSI Documentation Center Tops 250 Documents
The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute Documentation Center now has
available a total of 251 documents. Attached is an update of
the bibliography you have already
received adding 46 documents. Most of them are available from us. Please remember that we are always looking for studies,
articles, pamphlets, and almost anything about helmets not on our list. We update the bibliography almost daily. You can
get a new copy by phoning or writing us, sending $5. We provide it on paper or an IBM PC compatible 5.25" DSDD disk.
(Note: BHSI closed its Documentation Center after putting up its website in 1995.)
Wayne State Study on Sliding Resistance of Hard Shells vs. Soft Shells is Almost Ready for Release
Dr. Voigt
Hodgson of Wayne State University in Detroit has completed a series of lab tests designed to show if soft shell helmets
are "stickier" when they hit pavement than hard shells. In a high-speed crash that extra sliding resistance might
increase rotational injury to the brain or strain on the neck. Dr. Hodgson's preliminary comments indicate that there are
indeed differences, and that they are in part dependent on the angle of the impact, with 45 degrees the worst. His full
results will be available when released by the Michigan Department of Public Health, which is expected to take two
months. If you are keenly interested in this research, you might write to: Leslie Lynch, Michigan Department of Public
Health, Post Office Box 3195, Lansing, MI 48905 to let her know.
Note: the BHSI website now has the Hodgson study up.
Johnson & Johnson/Safe Kids Runs Helmet Coupon in Sunday Papers
The attached copy of an ad for a cheap helmet ran
in Sunday papers last August. The coupons obtained by writing to the address given are good until December 31, 1989. The
helmet is a Bell Streetrider, normally selling for $40 or more in shops, so the price is good, even factoring in the cost
of the J & J products for which you need proof of purchase. Bell certifies that the Streetrider meets the ANSI standard,
and it is Snell-certified as well. This good deal is brought to you by Johnson and Johnson in coordination with the Safe
Kids helmet campaign. We continue to be most impressed by what Safe Kids has been able to accomplish this year.
BHSI Still Seeking Funding for Our Test Rig and Other Encouragement
We are still searching for funding for our
test laboratory. We have been turned down by an amazing number of foundations--large and small, local and national. If
you can help with that we would like to hear from you. We like to hear from you anyway to stay in touch and keep you on
our mailing list. Send us a new document, an endorsement letter we can show to foundations, or a postcard from your
winter vacation so we know you still care. Thanks!
The Helmet Update - Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
Randy Swart, Editor
4611 Seventh Street South
Arlington, VA 22204-1419 USA
(703) 486-0100 (voice)
(703) 486-0576 (fax)
www.helmets.org