Bennetts Bike Social
We’re delighted to see Bennetts Bike Social get behind us to raise awareness of helmet safety.
When we spoke with John Milbank, Consumer Editor at Bike Social, John explained he was recently involved in a motorcycle road accident where he was hit from behind by a car.
While John sustained horrific injuries, consisting of broken ribs and a collapsed lung, he doesn’t think his lid took an impact. Nevertheless, John is keen to understand if his helmet remains safe to use, and in this video, he explains why.
Industry Research
According to industry experts, close to 410,000* UK motorcyclists are wearing crash helmets that should be replaced.
Based on the responses of over 1,000 active UK riders, survey data commissioned by a UK motorbike insurance broker shows that 41% of the nation’s bikers are wearing helmets that have been in use for five or more years.
The consensus across helmet manufacturers and independent safety experts, like the Snell Foundation, is that bikers should replace their lids every five years.
This is due to degradation in the glues and resins used in production, along with normal wear and tear, that reduces the performance of seemingly undamaged helmets.
However, the data shows a startling disconnect between UK riders and this safety advice.
A massive six in ten (62%) motorcyclists said they wouldn’t buy a replacement helmet unless they had been involved in an accident, with an additional one in five (22%) stating that they would not buy another while their current one still ‘looked fine’.
The research also shows six out of ten (63%) bikers would continue to use their lid after having dropped it, risking the possibility that it has suffered internal damage that cannot be seen.
*410,000 motorcyclist figure has been put forward as it represents 41% of approximately one million motorcycle license holders in the UK.
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