The Helmet Update
Vol. 8, No. 1 - April, 1990
All issues index
Consumer Reports Will Publish a Helmet Article!
The May issue of
Consumer Reports, which should be
out when this
Update reaches you, will contain a full-blown article on bicycle helmets, complete with impact
testing results. This is the first article on bicycle helmets they have done. We are very pleased that the country's
premier consumer product testing service is rating helmets. The article should provide a boost to helmet promotion
campaigns. CU never discusses articles prior to publication, but this one is guaranteed to be worth reading. Because of
their reprint policies we do not expect to be able to offer it as a BHSIDOC, but you can get a copy for $4 by sending
your request for the May issue to: CONSUMER REPORTS, P. O. Box 53016, Boulder, CO 80322-3016. You can count on seeing a
review of the article in the next
Update.
ANSI Committee Moving Slowly on Revision of Standard
The revised ANSI Z90.4 Bicycle Helmet standard is still
under revision. In September a revised draft was sent around to committee members for comment, and comments have been
submitted to the Committee's secretariat. A "final" draft should be in the works as this Update is mailed, and the
revision could be in place by the end of this year. As we have noted before, 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.
Wayne State Study on Sliding Resistance of Hard Shells vs. Soft Shells is Almost Ready for Release
As we reported
in the last issue, Professor 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. Prof. Hodgson's preliminary
comments indicated that there are indeed differences, in part dependent on the angle of the impact, with 45 degrees the
worst. In some cases a helmet with more sliding resistance (read "without hard shell") was observed to "hang up" on the
pavement block, then release suddenly, snapping the neck into extension. This is a very dangerous situation for the
rider.
Professor Hodgson is publishing his results soon through the Michigan Department of Public Health. We hope to send you
the published report with a future
Update. He is also resuming his testing with
additional variables such as pavement roughness and different angles of impact, so we can look forward to more data from
him sometime this summer.
Johnson & Johnson/Safe Kids Campaign was a Smashing Success
The helmet promotion sponsored by Johnson and Johnson
in coordination with the Safe Kids Are No Accident campaign achieved visible results in our area. Judging by the comments
of parents who contact us for information it had a nationwide impact. Safe Kids' year of exclusive concentration on
helmets has ended, but their staff says they will continue to be active on helmet promotions. They have just published a
nicely-done teachers' guide jointly with Scholastic News (sponsored by Bell Helmets) which is available from them (see
Safe Kids on the attached listing of new documents).
EPP Helmets Hit the Street
Expanded polypropylene (EPP) helmet liners or complete helmets are being introduced to
compete with the ones now made of expanded polystyrene (EPS). Manufacturers using EPP claim some advantages over EPS,
including multi-impact capabilities which may not require the user to throw away a helmet after the first crash. We are
skeptical, particularly after examining an EPP helmet (the AKTA from Sweden) and finding that it closely resembles EPS.
We will not know until it is tested by an independent lab, and of course we do not have our own lab yet. So the
helmet-using community will have to wait a while for the verdict on this new material.
Standards Comparison Adds Canadian Standard
We have revised our
Comparison of Bicycle
Helmet Standards (BHSIDOC #185) to include the final published version of the new Canadian standard. We hope to have
a copy of the Italian standard soon, and are still looking for a translation of the Japanese standard. The comparison now
includes seven standards and we send it out for $4.
(Note: available now only on the web.)
BHSI Documentation Center Tops 300 Documents
The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute Documentation Center now has a
total of 302 documents. Attached is an update of the annotated bibliography you have already received with previous
Updates. Most of the documents 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 at least once a week. 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 the Documentation Center after putting up its website in 1995.)
BHSI: Some Things Change But We Are Still Seeking Funding for our Test Rig and Other Encouragement
As you will
note, BHSI has a new logo and new address. We also have a fax machine, which we are using daily. It is on the same line
as the voice telephone, but a switch keeps the two separate.
We are still seeking funding for our test laboratory, and continue to be unsuccessful with the foundations we have
approached. If you can suggest possible sources of funds 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, a note on something you observe about helmet
use in the field, or whatever. 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