A year on from its launch, a website funded by The Road Safety Trust is helping tens of thousands of UK cyclists make informed choices when purchasing new helmets.
The Hiper website was created by researchers at Imperial College London, who developed a simple new cycle helmet safety rating system – and tested the UK’s 30 most popular helmets – thanks to the Trust funding.
The results of the testing revealed significant differences in performance with no link between the price of a helmet and the level of safety it provides the wearer. So, for example a helmet costing £130 did not perform better in tests than one costing £40.
The ratings were published on the Hiper website, helping cyclists to select which helmet to buy and assist manufacturers in future helmet design.
Data shows that more than 120,000 people have accessed the website since it was launched in September 2024, from the UK and beyond.
Zoe Cubitt, a triathlete from Essex, is among those to use the website when purchasing a helmet.
She said: “Having been involved in a collision while riding my bike, I know the importance of having a helmet that I can rely on to keep me safe and protected.
“That’s why the Hiper website was incredibly beneficial when buying a new helmet for my triathlon training, showing there are affordable helmets that offer the same level of protection as those in a much higher price bracket.”
The website is also supporting industry as well as consumers. Academics from Imperial College London have met with a leading UK retailer, along with several manufacturers, with discussions centring around how to improve the quality of helmets being produced and sold, as well as how to train staff on helmet safety .
Dr Mazdak Ghajari, from the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial, said: “The funding from Road Safety Trust has helped my team at Imperial College London’s HEAD Lab to translate our decade-long research on brain injury biomechanics into an accessible helmet rating system, which is delivering real-world benefits to cyclists.”
The Road Safety Trust has extended its funding so that Dr Ghajari and his team can apply their testing and rating techniques to children’s helmets as well as continuing to test the wide range of adult helmets available to buy.
The new findings will also be published on the Hiper website, ensuring its content remains up-to-date and accurate.
Ruth Purdie OBE, chief executive of The Road Safety Trust, said: “The Trust exists to fund projects and interventions that create meaningful change for road safety, now and in the future. That’s why I’m delighted to see that the cycle helmet rating system promoted on the Hiper website is having such a widespread – and potentially lifesaving – impact.
“We’ve now extended funding to include the rating of children’s cycle helmets, and I look forward to seeing what the next stage of this valuable initiative brings.”
More information about the testing process can be found via The Road Safety Trust website.
I wonder if most UK cyclists really need helmets or if the pressure to wear helmets is a con trick by helmet manufacturers to scare people to buy helmets and increase their sales.
Watching TV news this evening there wasa report from Paris with cyclists passing in the background, I think i saw one helmet amongst dozens of cyclists. A few weeks back Dutch cyclists were gathering to respond to the murder of a cyclists, again very few helmets. The same can be seen all over the continent
I accept that there is a case for helmets with racing cyclists in a peloton but why are UK cyclists conned into wearing unnecessary helmets that our continental cousins won’t wear?
Robert Michael Bolt, St Albans
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Is anyone using this as part of campaign? We’ve got our basic campaign graphic promoting helmet use, using COMB B elements for BC but want to have video/site for those interested. Have got the NSW road safety lab video to use – with permission – as our vid bit old and basic. Just aware that though Hiper is based on RST funding it does compare commercial products and from LA point of view not sure what mgmt/cllrs will think. Would like a bit of stiffening experience for my battered backbone…
Keith Baldock, Brighton
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