How Safe Is Your Helmet? New Study Gives Safety Rankings of Helmets

"Wear your helmet" is solid advice. But not as much thought is given to the differences between various helmets. The general belief is that as long as you are wearing a helmet, any helmet, your head will receive some protection in case of a fall or a crash. As death and injury rates for bicyclists grow, researchers at Virginia Tech University and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety decided it was time to analyze which helmets reduce the risk of injuries for bicyclists.

Virginia Tech performed this study which focused on helmet impact tests to evaluate a helmet's ability to reduce linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the head resulting from a range of impacts a cyclist might experience. The researchers spent months researching how cyclists were most likely to hit their heads in crashes and used that information to replicate a dozen scenarios to replicate those hits. What they found may surprise you.

Urban-style helmets (Bern, etc.) are often purchased for their sleek design and with the thought that since the helmet covers more of your head, it must give you more protection. That thought process follows the conventional wisdom that "more is better," but this study proved it wrong. This style of helmet didn’t perform as well due to the fact that they have a thinner layer of the foam that compresses upon impact. This means that although there is more area of the head covered, the impact can still cause a significant head injury because there is less cushioning even though there is more surface area to the helmet.

One of the key findings is that a relatively new technology known as Multi-Directional Impact Protection System (MIPS) can lessen the risk of concussion. Helmets that have MIPS have an inner layer that lessens the forces that cause trauma. Of the 30 helmets tested so far, only 4 of them have been awarded Virginia Tech’s top five-star rating, all of which had the MIPS technology. Of those four helmets, the prices ranged from $200 down to $75, so protecting your noggin doesn’t mean you have to break open the piggy bank. 

The evidence is also clear that any helmet is better than no helmet. There are many steps cyclists can take to protect themselves, but making sure that they are riding with the safest helmet possible is one that easily in our control. 

Chicago Tribune writer offers "8 Rules of Butt Preservation"

The "Eight Rules of Butt Preservation" are the basis of the biking wisdom gained by Kevin Williams over 26 years covering 280,000 miles on his bike. Here's Kevin's 8 Rules, followed by 5 extra from IllinoisBicycleLaw.com for a "baker's dozen" of tips to keep you safe while riding in the Windy City:

Eight Rules of Butt Preservation:

1. Establish best practices. Do everything in a safe, defensive manner. Obey traffic laws—period. Signal your intentions with hand gestures, and never be the first one into the intersection (cars run red lights too).
2. Never be where you aren't expected. No zipping between cars, scooting by on the wrong side of turning traffic or riding on the sidewalk, which is illegal for anyone past the age of 12, by the by. Wrong way down a one-way street? You know better.
3. Be smooth and predictable. Ride as straight a line as possible, no weaving, no swerving. Most drivers are as freaked out about you as you are about them. Predictability helps everyone.
4. Be a politician. Make contact, from saying "good morning" or nodding if you make eye contact to looking at drivers as you maneuver in traffic. Stump for votes and bonhomie as politicians do. No, cyclists shouldn't have to. So suck it up.
5. It isn't you. Motorists don't hate you. They want to get from Point A to B as quickly as possible, and hate any impediment to that progress, which is everything else on the road, including you. Not taking it personally will make the following tip easier to manage.
6. Never, ever engage. If an angry driver does something dumb, chill. Let that person find someone else to fight. If the problem escalates, you could lose—ugly. Being right won't console you as you're lying on the pavement.
7. Manage your space. Place yourself in the road in a way that defines your space. This includes things such as riding on the left edge of the bike lane to leave space for car doors, and moving a foot or so to your left when approaching an intersection to prevent the right turn across your front.
8. Be vivid. Unnatural colors are highly visible. Use head and tail lights from dusk on; go supernova if you have to. (See: IllinoisBicycleLaw.com post on this issue).

Five more Rules of Butt Preservation from IllinoisBicycleLaw.com:

1. Take the safest route. Only birds fly in a straight line. If there is a route that involves a few more turns or a little bit of a longer ride, but gets you out of heavy traffic or into a bike lane, error on the side of safety and take the safest route. A couple of minutes of time isn't worth a couple of days in the doctor's office.
   
2. Signal your intentions. Sometimes I think the most commonly used hand signal involves solely the middle finger. The Illinois General Assembly recently amended the laws to make signaling a lot easier to recognize. Take advantage of it. (See: IllinoisBicycleLaw.com post on this issue).
3. Use your "height." Even the smallest of stature are taller than a car when on a bike. Use this to your advantage. "Look alive" as they say in sports; keep your eyes active and moving and stay aware of your surrounding. Also remember that just because you see a car doesn't mean they see you in return.
   
4. Take a brake. Remember the "Two Second Rule" from Driver's Ed in high school? Utilize it on your bike. Always be aware of how much room you will need to stop. Ask yourself, "if that car slams on its brakes, can I stop in time?" Under the law, you have a duty to be able to stop. If you rear end a car, no matter what the car did, chances are the police and the insurance companies will view you as the one who was wrong.
5. Trust your instincts. That "gut feeling" you get or the "little voice in your head" are actually your instincts at work. Your instincts have been honed over thousands of years of evolution, fine tuned during times when your ancestors faced life and death risks every day and your body and mind evolved to meet these challenges. These instincts are now part of your hard wiring. Use your instincts to your advantage. If that truck "feels" like it is acting weird and creeping up on you unnecessarily, it probably is. Does that car "look" like the driver is driving drunk? Might be the case. Never tell yourself you are overreacting; it is better to be safe than sorry.
   

If you have any questions regarding this post, bicycle law in Illinois, or even personal injury law in general, please contact Attorney Mike Keating at MKeating@KeatingLegal.com or 312-208-7702. All initial consultations are free.