Cycle Seahaven Helmets – A matter of choice Cycle Seahaven is now beginning to put on rides for its members, ensuring COVID-19 safety regulations are maintained by limiting the number of riders per ride leader. On our rides, safety is of utmost importance and for this reason, one of our rules when joining a ride is that a helmet is worn at all times. During the pandemic, many people dug out their bikes, or treated themselves to a new one, but one thing I noticed was either the lack of, or ill-fitting helmets. Some of the sights I saw included helmets being carried on the handlebars rather than worn, or helmets that were so far back on heads, they were almost vertical and offering no protection to the forehead or temples. A common sight is when families are out riding – quite often the children are wearing helmets but the adults don’t. I can’t help but wonder if they have thought about the impact on their children, if their mum or dad were no longer around, or suffered injuries so severe they were unable to care for their children? Whilst the use of helmets for cyclists is not law within the UK, research has shown that they can be very effective in reducing serious head injuries and even death, but it is important that they are worn correctly. The following information is from RoSPA article written in March 2018: Although helmets cannot be expected to be effective in preventing or reducing the extent of head injury in all scenarios, evidence does suggest that helmets are effective in reducing injuries.The effectiveness of the helmet is therefore dependent on the type of collision that the cyclist is involved in, the injury tolerance of the rider and the surface that the helmet makes contact with (e.g. a kerb or a car bonnet). A Cochrane Review found that five case-control studies from different countries showed the large protective effect of helmets.The review suggested that helmets decreased the risk of injury to the head and the brain by 65%-88% and the upper and mid-face by 65%. However, the review
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did acknowledge that little to no protection is offered to the lower face and jaw. Recent studies have found that helmets do offer protection to the cyclist’s head, but often to a lesser extent. A French Would you rather have study found that helmets this damage to your contributed to a 24%-31% helmet or damage to reduction in head injury and a your head? 70% reduction in head injuries categorised at more than a level 2 (moderate injury) on the abbreviated injury scale. Cycle helmets must adhere to standard EN1078, (EN1080 for children) which states that a helmet must be designed to withstand an impact similar to an average rider travelling at 12mph falling onto a stationary kerb-shaped object from a height of one metre. To ensure that your helmet meets this standard, look for a CE marked EN1078 sticker. Helmets should be replaced on average every three years, or if they have received any kind of impact. With nearly 400 members in Cycle Seahaven, we have seen some injuries but thankfully, all who have experienced some horrific crashes, have been able to get back out on their bikes and many of these are due to helmets being worn. So whilst it is a matter of choice, we do urge you to consider it, whilst you can and remember, if you are a member of Cycle Seahaven, you are entitled to a 10% discount at Mr Cycles who can help ensure you get a properly fitting helmet. Membership starts at just £7 per year. Information can be found on our website www.cycleseahaven.org.uk.
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