Review to lift lid on helmet safety

The latest CRASH results don't do much to improve rider safety.

Of the 29 helmets tested this year in the Consumer Rating and Assessment of Safety Helmets lab, only one made it into the top 10. The helmet ratings body was formed in 2010 and has tested 90 helmets for their protection and comfort ratings beyond the minimum regulatory standards.

Of this year's batch, the M2R-M1 full-face helmet earned four stars for protection. Not bad for a lid costing $120 but the flipside is a two-star comfort rating due to the visor's inability to resist fogging and a small vertical field of view. Only 11 helmets to date have earned a four-star protection rating from CRASH. When it comes to four-star comfort rating, the field narrows to just four — the Shark Vision R, HJC IS-16, AGV Grid and Rjays SP2 (pictured).

All of these helmets could be marginally cheaper next year, after Standards Australia announced it would host a forum to review helmet standards in February. That meeting is tipped to consider harmonising our national standard with international certification and establishing clear regulatory requirements between the states for fitting accessories such as helmet cams and external Bluetooth hardware.

Adopting a major international standard would save helmet makers from having to develop lids specifically for our national AS1698 certification. Such a cost saving should translate into cheaper helmets if bought locally — or the common standard should allow buyers to buy via the internet. Helmet compliance regulations vary between states, as does the policing of them, making life difficult for long distance riders.

To further confuse the issue, Queensland has approved riders using helmets complying with the United Nations ECE 22.05 standard, (though the changes aren't until early next year). That will mean a rider with such a lid can legally ride in Queensland but is breaking the law upon crossing over into NSW — a farcical anomaly that needs to be remedied.