SHARP 2025 roundtable: Advancing motorcycle helmet safety information for riders (Workshop)

This roundtable will take place on Thursday 25 November (12:30-17.00) and will require pre-registration to attend. Click here to register.


Roundtable summary:

For motorcyclists unfortunate enough to be involved in a collision, your helmet is your last line of defence against potentially debilitating, and sometimes fatal, head injuries. But do we really know how safe our helmets are?

The Department for Transport’s Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme (SHARP) scheme has been leading the way since 2007 by providing riders with information about the relative safety of their helmets. To ensure the SHARP scheme remains at the forefront of rider safety, the DfT has recognised the need to update the SHARP scheme with the latest advances in evidence-based research.

This roundtable will provide attendees with an opportunity to learn about and deliberate on the evidence base behind the opportunities to update the SHARP test and rating protocols. Featuring guest presentations by World-leading experts, alongside focused debate sessions, this technical workshop will engage attendees interested in shaping the future of the SHARP 2025 test and rating scheme.


Facilitators:

Roundtable chair: Dr Phil Martin, Principal Consultant, Vehicle and Vulnerable Road User Safety, TRL

Dr Phil Martin is a Principal Consultant at TRL and has been leading R&D and consultancy projects in the field of vehicle and vulnerable road user (VRU) safety for over 10 years. Phil is the SHARP 2025 project lead and has led multiple research and consultancy projects that investigate the effectiveness of motorcyclist PPE, including evaluating the safety of helmets, armour and inflatable protective clothing.

Phil has represented the EC, BSI and TfL as a technical expert for topics as diverse as heavy vehicle direct vision, VRU detection systems, pedestrian passive safety and automated advanced collision notification systems.

Chuks Oguibe, Senior Engineer, Vehicle Safety, DfT
Chuks Oguibe is a Senior Engineer, vehicle safety, at the Department for Transport International Vehicle Standards division. He is also the programme manager of the Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme (SHARP) and sponsors the SHARP 2025 project. Chuks is a chartered mechanical engineer with over 20 years of experience, across a varied career, within the private and public sectors.

Dr Mazdak Ghajari, Senior Lecturer, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London
Dr Mazdak Ghajari is a Senior Lecturer in Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London. He had a pioneering role in establishing the TBI (traumatic brain injury) biomechanics research area at Imperial College, founding the HEAD lab, an interdisciplinary research lab bringing together engineers, neuroscientists, biologists and designers to understand and prevent injury through design. Mazdak is a member of the head protection committees of the BSI and CEN, where he is contributing to the development of a new oblique impact method.

Prof. Peter Halldin, Founder MIPS AB, Assistant Professor, KTH
Prof. Peter Halldin is an Assistant Professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm Sweden. He is also one of the founders to the company MIPS AB and has been working part-time in the company since 2001. His background is in head and neck injury biomechanics and since 1995 has been working to better understand how to protect the head and spine. Peter's research has for 20 years been focusing on helmet test methods and how to design safer helmets. Since 2012, Peter has also been the convener for working groups CEN TC158/WG11 which focuses on designing a test method to mimic a realistic oblique impact situation without making the test too complicated or expensive.

Dr Shiyang Meng, Research Specialist, Autoliv
Dr Shiyang Meng is a research specialist at Autoliv Development AB, Sweden. His area of focus is on vulnerable road user protection in pursuit of Autoliv’s vision of Saving More Lives. He has a PhD in head injury biomechanics and prevention from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and a MSc in composite materials from Imperial College London.


Roundtable programme:

1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS FROM THE CHAIR (12:30-12:40)

2. SETTING THE SCENE (12:40-13:30)

SHARP: Gearing up for change
− The origins of the SHARP scheme, what it has achieved on its journey and the need for change.
− Presenter: Chuks Oguibe (Department for Transport)
• Motorcyclist head injuries: An in-depth analysis of GB collisions
− An in-depth analysis of motorcyclist head injuries captured by the DfT’s Road Accident In-Depth Studies (RAIDS) database
− Presenter: Dr Phil Martin (Transport Research Laboratory)
• Roundtable deliberative discussions

3. ADVANCED TEST AND RATING PROTOCOLS – PART 1 (13:30-14:40)

Oblique impact tests: Angling for an answer
− The evidence base justifying the adoption of a 45° anvil angle for UNECE R22.06 oblique tests and the risks of other impact angles.
− Presenter: Dr Shiyang Meng (Autoliv)
• Higher energy impact tests: Does bigger mean better?
− Epidemiological and kinematic observations for testing helmets at higher energy linear and oblique impacts.
− Presenter: Dr Phil Martin (Transport Research Laboratory)
• Roundtable deliberative discussions

BREAK (14:40-15:00)

4. ADVANCED TEST AND RATING PROTOCOLS – PART 2 (15:00-16:10)

Headform geometry, inertia and friction: Getting things moving
− Advances in headform biofidelity, including inertial properties, coefficients of friction and representative morphology
− Presenter: Prof. Peter Halldin (KTH, MIPS)
• Injury criteria, weighting star ratings and FE or not to FE?
− Existing injury risk criteria, FE vs. kinematic injury risk criteria and the use of
collision data for weighting the star ratings.
− Presenter: Dr Mazdak Ghajari (Imperial College London)
• Roundtable deliberative discussions

5. CREATING AN EFFECTIVE SCHEME (16:10-16:55)

• What do riders need from an effective SHARP scheme?
− A deliberative discussion on motorcyclist awareness of the SHARP scheme and approaches for effectively providing riders with helmet ratings at or before the point of sale.
• How can SHARP work closer with the motorcycle helmet industry?
− A deliberative discussion on the motorcycle helmet industry’s perspective on how the industry currently uses SHARP and how engagement with industry can be made more effective to best support the objectives of the scheme.
• How do we prepare for the future of the SHARP 2025 scheme?
− A deliberative discussion on the actions that the DfT could take to ensure the successful transition to SHARP 2025 protocols and the future evolution of the scheme.

6. CLOSING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR (16:55-17:00)