Helmets – Bikesure a UK motorcycle insurance company have shared their video about the evolution of the motorcycle helmet.
Bikesure say, “The motorcycle helmet has been saving the lives of bikers for generations.
Here, specialist insurance broker Bikesure takes to the track to showcase the development of this essential piece of motorcyclists’ kit from the early bowl helmets to the high-tech helmets of today.”
For the UK and Europe we live with European standards that are compulsory for helmets sold in Europe but compulsory wearing of a helmet is mandated by each country.
Bikesure ask What Next?? – “Once again the newest thing in Lidland is being driven by military tech. The new heads up displays (HUD) have turned the motorcycle helmet into something from a sci-fi movie or video game.”
However these helmets are far away from science fiction heads up on screen displays – instead a “box” mounted in the riders vision in the riders peripheral vision…………………..a long way to go we think?
Full Article on Bikesure
Read our own article – Lawrence of Arabia and the Helmet Law – Here
Check out the UK Governments SHARP helmet rating system, which helps riders to make a more informed choice when choosing a helmet – sharp.direct.gov.uk
An interesting discovery relating to a study of helmets from Italy. In Italy the mandatory use of helmets was introduced for all ages in the year 2000. The study carried out in the region of Emilia-Romagna in 2003 highlights that there was a significant decrease in Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) after the introduction (accompanied with enforcement and media coverage regarding the benefits of wearing a helmet).
Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a revised Italian motorcycle-moped-scooter helmet law on crash brain injuries.
Design: A pre-post law evaluation of helmet use and traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurrence from 1999 to 2001.
Setting: Romagna region, northeastern Italy, with a 2000 resident population of 983 534 persons.
Participants: Motorcycle-moped rider survey for helmet use compliance and all residents in the region admitted to the Division of Neurosurgery of the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, Italy for TBI.
Outcome measures: Helmet use compliance and change in TBI admissions and type(s) of brain lesions.
Results: Helmet use increased from an average of less than 20% to over 96%. A comparison of TBI incidence in the Romagna region shows that there was no significant variation before and after introduction of the revised helmet law, except for TBI admissions for motorcycle-moped crashes where a 66% decrease was observed. In the same area TBI admissions by age group showed that motorcycle mopeds riders aged 14–60 years sustained significantly fewer TBIs. The rate of TBI admissions to neurosurgery decreased by over 31% and epidural hematomas almost completely disappeared in crash injured moped riders.
Conclusions: The revised Italian mandatory helmet law, with police enforcement, is an effective measure for TBI prevention at all ages.
Link here for the complete article: http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/9/3/257.full