Quick Answers
- Quick Answers!
- Fast info for Frequently Asked Questions.
- Buying a helmet?
- Our Buyer's Guide to Bicycle Helmets
- Helmets for 2013
- Our report on this year's helmets.
- Cheap vs. Expensive Helmets
- Lab tests showed no difference in impact protection.
- Do shared bicycle rental users need helmets?
- Our advice on riding rental bikes.
- How to fit a helmet
- How to get all the protection you paid for.
- Toolkit for helmet programs and teachers
- Resources, statistics, pamphlets, videos, more.
- The Media Room
- Quote of the Day and how to quote our other text
- Teachers and student teachers
- Classroom materials
- Helmets Made Simple
- If our pages seem hard to read, try this.
New Stuff
- CPSC complaints database has a helmet case
- Case illustrates good and bad features of the database.
- British Medical Journal poll opposes helmet laws
- Some believe requirement will reduce cycling in the UK.
- Danish iconoclast deplores helmets
- Video paints helmet promotion as evil.
- Should I wear a helmet?
- Would you believe our advice?
- Cardboard helmets?
- The Kranium's designer attempts to break new ground.
- Are Ribcaps OK for cycling?
- They do not provide the protection you need.
- Are Raskullz OK for kids?
- Cute, but we don't recommend them.
- Where can I report a helmet defect?
- On March 11 CPSC opened up a new place to post your problems.
- Testing products that can attack helmets
- BHSI is testing hair products, sunscreens, repellants.
- Free helmet offer is bogus!
- BHSI did not call you and offer helmets!
- Shared bicycle programs/cycle hire schemes.
- Rentals always pose helmet questions.
- Hövding airbag headgear
- Not a real helmet, too early to tell
- NYU study does not expose hidden danger in foams.
- Another university PR department gets headline wrong.
- The Consumer Reports blog featured us.
- A nice article on our founder, Randy Swart.
- Response to British Study on passing clearance.
- British study on how close cars in UK pass helmeted cyclists
- What's New
- What we have added or modified recently.
- Briefs on recent developments
- News about helmets and the helmet industry.
- Our latest email newsletter
- The Helmet Update.
Helmets
- Helmets for the 2012 season
- Our report on helmets for the current year.
- Cheap vs. Expensive Helmets
- Lab tests showed no difference in impact protection.
- Consumer Reports has a page up on Kid's helmets.
- Most are rated Good for impact protection.
- Helmet recalls
- All CPSC helmet compliance actions since 1995.
- Types of helmets
- Road, mountain, downhill, skate, chrono
- Helmet terms and definitions
- Meanings for the helmet terms we use.
- Folding helmets
- Few folding models are available.
- Plastics in your helmet?
- Helmet plastics are probably not a cause for concern.
- Cheap helmets!
- Sources of helmets for promotion campaigns.
- Yard sale helmets
- Should I buy a used helmet at a yard sale?
- Full Face helmets
- Do you want facial protection?
- Very large helmets
- Our advice for riders with very large heads.
- Very small helmets
- Why can't I find a helmet small enough?
- Hairstyles and baseball caps
- Baseball caps, pony tails, beads, braids, "helmet hair"
- Do-rags and head covers under helmets
- Does a head cover affect helmet fit?
- One-size-fits-all helmets
- Can ring fit systems fit your head?
- Vents and squared-off lines
- You can have too many vents in your helmet!
- Visors: good and bad experience
- How to report shattered or snagged visors
- The helmet industry
- Industry news on a few of the manufacturers.
- Bell's True Fit system is worth a look
- System simplifies the fitting process.
- How to Fit a Helmet
- How to fit a helmet for best protection.
- Helmet fit checklist
- How to make sure your fitting worked.
- Helmet sizing
- How to measure your head for a helmet.
- Winter helmets
- Warm headgear for winter commuting and riding.
- Giving a helmet as a present.
- May not be a simple task.
- Reflective helmets
- Should you add reflective tape to your helmet?
- Stickers on helmets
- Should you add stickers to your helmet?
- Painting helmets
- Can you paint a helmet?
- Other helmets
- Ski, soccer, skating, equestrian and more.
- Multi-purpose helmets
- Can't I just use the same helmet for everything?
- Helmets for motorbikes and scooters
- Why a bicycle helmet is not ok for motor vehicles.
- Crash stories
- Stories where the helmet worked.
- Other crashes
- Helmet, no helmet or non-bicycle. These are downers.
- When can I ride again?
- Ask your doctor before riding after a crash.
- Response to "truck ran over cyclist's head"
- A helmet can help, but will crush if squarely run over.
Children
- Consumer Reports has a page up on Kid's helmets.
- Most are rated Good for impact protection.
- Taking your baby along?
- Helmets, trailers, childseats and shaken babies.
- Very small toddler helmets
- Helmets for toddlers with very small heads.
- Very large toddler helmets
- Helmets for toddlers with very large heads.
- What size is my child's head?
- How to measure.
- Getting My Child to Wear A Helmet
- Ten ideas for encouraging your kids to use helmets.
- Why kids don't like to wear helmets.
- Reasons the kids give when asked.
- Warning: No helmets on playgrounds!
- Advice after deaths of two helmeted children.
- Helmets for poor kids
- Factors affecting promotion in poor neighborhoods
- Hairstyles and baseball caps
- Baseball caps, pony tails, beads, braids, "helmet hair"
- Lice! Headlice can be a problem
- Cleaning helmets for rentals and schools
- Kids in Dublin Ohio mount bike safety campaign.
- Lots of energy, new ideas as kids conduct their own program.
Special Helmets
- Helmets for teens
- "My teen won't wear a helmet!"
- Helmets on campus
- Is a college brain worth protecting?
- Helmets for seniors
- Does an older brain need different protection?
- Helmets with Hearing Aids
- Where to put a hearing aid and how to deal with sweat
- Helmets for special needs
- Suggestions for developmental disabilities and seizures
- Helmets for head injured riders
- What to wear if you have a previous injury.
- Helmets for bald riders
- Avoiding tan lines and other tips.
- Helmets for very small adult heads
- Why look like a mushroom?
- Helmets for police
- Helmets for police officers, with police graphics
- Helmets for bicycle polo
- What you need to protect your head in cycle polo
- Helmets for time trialing
- Chrono helmets with extreme aero shapes
- Helmets for shared bicycle programs
- Cycle hire schemes pose particular helmet problems.
- Rental helmets
- Rentals need easy fit, sanitization and damage indicators
- Helmets and turbans
- How can a Sikh wear a bicycle helmet?
Standards
- Bicycle Helmet Standards
- Our quick summary of bike helmet standards.
- Standards for bicycle helmets
- The long version: ASTM, ANSI, Snell, CPSC, CEN and others.
- Quick helmet standard comparison chart
- Detailed Standards Comparison
- Long item-by-item comparison.
- Drop heights and test lines for a number of standards
- The ideal helmet standard
- Our idea of the perfect bicycle helmet standard.
- Making progress in standards
- What is needed for further standards improvement.
- Helmet performance limits
- How much a helmet can take and keep on protecting.
- Helmet testing
- How helmets are tested in the lab.
- Helmet test labs
- Labs who test helmets or supply test equipment.
- ASTM headgear subcommittee section
- Materials from ASTM F8.53 subcommittee.
- ANSI Z90.4 Committee - Inactive list.
- ANSI replaced the Z90.4 standard with the ASTM standard.
Maintenance and Repairs
- How to inspect a helmet
- The points to check, and a checklist.
- Replacing a helmet
- Our advice on when to replace your helmet.
- Repairing a helmet
- How to fix your helmet when it comes unglued.
- Replacing a buckle
- Can you find a replacement buckle? Maybe!
- Threading straps through a buckle
- Illustrations and photos to help you rethread.
- Recycling helmets
- What to do with your faithful old helmet.
Construction and Design
- How Helmets Work
- Basics on construction and testing standards
- How bicycle helmets are made
- A summary of manufacturing steps
- Bicycle helmet foams
- Info on EPS, EPP, EPU and more.
- Molded-in-the-shell helmets
- It can make better helmets, but not necessarily.
- Buckles
- Most are one basic design, but there are others.
- Sliding resistance
- Rounder helmets help you slide on impact
- Helmet Cooling
- Info on ventilation and cooler riding.
- Helmet Designers
- Our short list of indepedent helmet designers.
Statistics and Research
- Helmet and Injury statistics
- They don't agree, so take your pick!
- New York City data on bicycle deaths
- NYC found 97% of dead cyclists had no helmet.
- Journal articles and Studies on helmets
- Links to scientific journal articles and studies on helmets.
- Helmet documents
- Materials we have scanned in or downloaded.
- Helmet construction and materials
- Helmet design for students and researchers.
- Researchers' page
- Info for a thesis or a science project.
- Designers' page
- Info for a helmet design project.
- Term papers on bike helmets
- Where to find the info to write a term paper
- A workshop on bike helmets
- Points to cover when you do a workshop.
- Helmet Patents
- Some significant patents and how to find others.
- Advice for Inventors
- We are interested in new helmet technology.
- The cost of making a bike helmet
- Our guesses on manufacturing and sales costs.
- The total market for bike helmets
- How many helmets are sold each year?
Helmet Laws
- Mandatory helmet laws
- States, counties, cities, positions, opponents.
- Studies on mandatory helmet laws
- Journal articles and studies on helmet law effectiveness.
- Australian paper on helmet laws is misleading
- Helmet laws normally do not reduce cycling here.
- Issues from the usenet "helmet
wars"
- Our slant on the endless helmet law arguments.
- Importing bicycle helmets to the US
- Just a start on the regulations that apply for importing bike helmets.
Media
- The Media Room
- Quote of the Day and how to quote our other text
- Washington Post article based on faulty study.
- Reporters can't find a real helmet issue, so . . .
- Examiner article perhaps the worst ever?
- What we do when we see one of those.
- New York Times Article
- "Head Injuries Piling Up?" Times' reputation sinking?
- Media coverage with unsafe riders
- Messages to the media from the outraged.
- Crash!
- NYU study does not expose hidden danger in foams.
- Another university PR department gets headline wrong.
Beyond Helmets: essential safety stuff
- National Strategies for Bicycle Safety.
- An attempt to fix all of the problems!
- Rider education
- Our pamphlet on teaching kids, plus links.
- Lights on Helmets
- Headlights and taillights mounted on helmets can be useful.
- Other bike safety equipment
- Gloves, mouthguards, lights, flags, tires, more.
- Bike Safety Month
- When is bike safety day, week or month.
Who We Are
-
- Welcome! We are the helmet advocacy program of the Washington
Area Bicyclist Association. We are a small, active, non-profit consumer-funded program providing bicycle helmet information. We try to explain the technology of helmets to consumers, and promote better helmets through improved standards. Last year we served 3.1 million pages to more than 975,000 distinct users. Our volunteers serve on the ASTM helmet standards committee and are active in commenting on actions of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We are members of the National Bicycle Safety Network. We provide a Toolkit of materials for helmet programs and a periodic email helmet newsletter, both free. We are all volunteers, funded entirely by consumer donations. We maintain our independence by never accepting funds from the industry. As much as we believe in helmets we still consider them a secondary safety measure and urge that primary measures such as safer roads and education programs for riders and drivers not be neglected. This is our 22nd year, and our 16th year on the Web.
- Our FAQ: can you trust this site?
- Where we came from, what we do and how.
- Some nice words from Consumer Reports
- BHSI's founder named Safety Crusader.
- ASTM's Hulse Memorial Award
- Recognition for BHSI's work on helmet standards.
- Our Program
- What we hope to accomplish this year.
- How to support our work!
- We are funded 100% by consumer donations.
- What we need today
- Graphics, crossword or teaching skills?
- How we run our site
- Our philosophy, design, page hits and more.
- Promises, promises
- What we hope to add to our site some day.
- How to cite our pages
- Citing us in footnotes for scholarly papers.
What we can do for you
- Our publications
- Newsletter, pamphlets, list of laws, more.
- Our email newsletter
- The Helmet Update, our periodic free newsletter.
Between news events, check our Briefs.
- Media guidance
- Quotes and a few rules on quoting our site.
- Webmaster guidance
- You can quote us but not use our pages.
- Access to our data
- Web, email, telephone, postal mail.
- Teachers, educators, scout leaders, workshops, rodeos.
- Check out our resources, including lesson plans.
- Bike shop owners - We encourage you to use our pamphlets.
- We provide free duplicating masters.
Search our Site
- Search our site.
- Finds anything on our site.
- A Map of our site.
- A page by page map in outline form.
Links
- Helmet links
- Links to other helmet-related pages.
- Head Injury Survivors
- Links to people who have survived a head injury.
- Graphical pages for young riders
- Want graphics? Comics? Superheroes?
- Our links policy
- When we add a non-helmet bicycle link.
Translate Our Pages
Feedback
- Problems With Our Site?
- Here is a page of tips on problems.
We care about making our content accessible!
- Virus or spam message apparently from BHSI?
- Here is how a spoofer sent you that message.
Virus-bearing messages do not originate here! We never send anything to anyone from "info@helmets".
- Sending us an email:
- Please use this link for comments or questions
We like to hear about what you wanted to find here.
- Our contact info:
- Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
4611 Seventh Street South
Arlington, VA 22204-1419 USA
Voice: (703) 486-0100
Email.
© All pages on this site are copyrighted by the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, 1989-2012. Reproduction for non-profit use is encouraged, but on the Web please link to our pages rather than reproducing them--we update frequently and a copy will be quickly outdated. Webmasters please see this page.
A page on this site was last revised on: March 6, 2013.
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