Helmet Protection: Why Not More?

Every day, people of good intention sell Americans safety helmets tested to antiquated performance standards that have failed to take advantage of test methodology and scientific advances available for the past decade. It's important to understand how and why helmet protection has failed to be “all it can be.” Let this analysis serve as a lesson to those responsible for the creation of safety standards and the design and sale of helmets. This paper is written to motivate, not criticize. Virtually every helmet sold in this country, whether it is a bicycle helmet, a football helmet or a motorcycle helmet, is designed to meet a test standard established by either a government agency or a private industry-based organization. These standards have all been derived from very primitive biomechanical work and allegorical information dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. From Darrel Stingly to Dale Earnhardt, countless injuries and death may be a by-product of myopic standardization. Let's see why.