Helmet safety standards vary widely across countries and continents, but they have something in common — they are woefully out-of-date and inadequate for proper protection. Oh yeah, that helmet will protect you from dying in a serious crash, but what about your quality of life? If you crash and suffer serious brain injuries because your “approved” helmet was inadequately-equipped to absorb the impact, yeah, you’re still alive, but there’s got to be something better.
To help wag the dog, Koroyd is leading the charge and urging governments, safety watchdogs and the cycling industry to become more aware of the lapses in helmet safety and the lack of protection the current standards provide. These laws were written in the 1990’s and technology has come a long way since then. Koroyd knows that too and wants helmets to get with the times.
From Koroyd’s Helmet Safety Initiative web site, they state:
Among injured cyclists, head injuries account for approximately two thirds of hospital admissions and three-quarters of fatal injuries. Helmets reduce the probability and the severity of skull fractures and traumatic brain injuries as a result from deceleration of the head.
Many helmet safety standards were issued about 20 years ago and still have the same limitations in maximum deceleration. While the automotive industry advanced the safety of cars continuously for decades, sports markets clearly need to catch up.
Last week, at PressCamp, I was given an extensive look into the technology behind Koroyd and came away wondering how we got to this point. If governments are not going to adopt higher standards then the cycling industry needs to step up and voluntarily fill that gap. The solutions may not be cheap to manufacturers or to the end-user, but it’s clear that an educated consumer will certainly pay extra for added safety. I’d say the recent success of MIPS is a great example of that.
The combination of MIPS and Koroyd, as well as other technologies may just be the perfect blend of protection, reduced weight, comfort and breathability to get us to a more acceptable safety standard. Currently, only the Smith Optics has both Koroyd and MIPS-equipped cycling helmets with the new Route and Rover and the Overtake MIPS. To learn more about this initiative, visit their site below. And, urge your favorite helmet manufacturers to take notice.
Learn More: HelmetSafetyInitiative.com
