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.

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 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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Finds anything on our site.

A Map of our site.

A page by page map in outline form.

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.

• Ahora traduzca este sitio! - - Español
  
• Traduisez ce site maintenant! - - Français
  
• Übersetzen Sie diese Site jetzt! - - Deutsch
  
• Ora tradurre questo luogo! - - Italiano
  
• Traduza este local agora! - - Portuguese
  
• Canadian, Eh!
  

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Here is a page of tips on problems.

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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.