Family members, helmets really can save lives! It’s not just talk!

When driving on the road, safety is the most important thing. In recent years, with the continuous promotion of relevant departments, "wearing a helmet when riding an electric bicycle" has become widely known. But some friends still have doubts, thinking that electric bicycles are not as fast as motorcycles, is wearing a helmet a waste of time? Of course not, today we will talk about helmets.

Helmets really save lives

First, let’s look at a few cases. A man was riding an electric bicycle and had a traffic accident. His head hit the ground. Fortunately, he was wearing a helmet and his life was not in danger.

The picture comes from Weibo Lanzhou Public Security Traffic Police

Another woman was run over twice by the wheels of a large truck. Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet and only suffered minor injuries. If she hadn't worn a helmet, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Image from Weibo Observer.com

There was another case that was not so lucky. Two electric bicycles collided. The two people wearing helmets were intact, but the one who was not wearing a helmet hit his head on the ground and unfortunately died from his injuries.

Image from Weibo

Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security From these cases, we can see that wearing a helmet when riding an electric bicycle is not a superfluous act, but an effective protective measure. So how should we correctly choose a helmet and use it? Let's talk about it in detail below.

Choose a helmet and look for these standards

Why do helmets protect us?

Some friends may think that as long as the helmet is hard enough and does not break the head, it is fine. This is actually only partly true. Because if the helmet is just hard, the head will not be cushioned in the helmet. Although the helmet will be fine in the event of a collision, our head hitting the inside of the helmet is no different from hitting the wall. In this way, our brain will still be severely concussed, resulting in injury or even death.

Therefore, it is not enough for a helmet to be hard. It also needs a buffer layer in the middle. With a buffer layer, when a hard object hits our helmet, the buffer layer will deform and absorb energy, so the impact on our head will be much smaller and less likely to be injured. In addition to the shell and buffer layer, the helmet structure also includes comfortable padding, wearing devices, goggles and other components.

Helmets are closely related to safety. None of the components mentioned above, such as the shell and buffer layer, can be sloppy, so the country has also issued many standards for helmets. There is the "Motorcycle Passenger Helmet" (GB811-2010) (hereinafter referred to as the "old national standard"), and the "Motorcycle and Electric Bicycle Passenger Helmet" (GB811-2022) mandatory national standard (hereinafter referred to as the "new national standard") that will be implemented on July 1, 2023, and the most common 3C certification. In addition, there are some international certifications such as DOT, ECE, SHARP, etc., but they are mainly for motorcycle helmets.

When we buy electric bicycle helmets, we just need to look for the new and old national standards and 3C certification. Children's helmets can also be checked for 3C certification.

For electric bicycle helmets, you can choose either the new national standard A or B

The picture comes from the screenshot of the e-commerce product introduction

Helmets that meet the standards must pass various tests such as wear resistance, stiffness, fixing device stability, wearing device strength, penetration resistance, and collision energy absorption. Qualified products can provide the necessary protection for electric bicycle riders.

How to choose a helmet?

If you open a shopping app and search for a helmet, you will definitely have trouble choosing one because there are so many types. So how do you choose a helmet?

First of all, I suggest that you don’t have to buy a motorcycle helmet. Because motorcycle helmets do provide better protection, but for electric bicycles, the performance is a bit excessive. After all, according to the new national standard, the speed of electric bicycles is 25km/h, which is not comparable to the speed of motorcycles. And the stronger protection brings a thicker helmet body at the same price, which will put more pressure on the neck. Some good motorcycle helmets can be lighter, but the price may be more expensive than our electric bicycles. Some competition-level motorcycle helmets often sacrifice some comfort in exchange for performance and are not suitable for daily use.

In addition, motorcycle helmets are usually thicker and have a larger protection area, which will slightly affect the field of vision. Motorcycles must be equipped with rearview mirrors to make up for these problems, but electric bicycles often do not have rearview mirrors, which will cause some problems with vision. Therefore, we can actually choose a special electric bicycle helmet that meets the national standard, which is cheap, light and safe enough.

Secondly, it is the helmet type. According to the new national standard, the helmet shapes are divided into the following three types, with the protection ability decreasing from left to right and the lightness and coolness increasing.

Friends who ride for daily commuting can choose 3/4 half helmets or even 1/2 half helmets. Although full-face helmets have better protection, the extra chin structure is more to prevent people from falling forward at high speeds and injuring their chins and faces. According to our daily riding experience, such problems rarely occur when national standard electric bicycles are running normally. Therefore, you can choose a helmet that is lighter and easier to wear, and it won’t be too stuffy when worn in summer. In addition, there is a kind of flip-up helmet, mainly motorcycle helmets, which I won’t go into details here.

The size of the helmet is also very important. If a big head wears a small helmet, the head will be pinched and painful, like torture. If a small head wears a large helmet, it will be a little shaky, and once a collision occurs, the protective effect of the helmet will be affected. Therefore, when buying a helmet, we must be aware of measuring the "head circumference". Measure your own head circumference and ask the store, and you can choose a helmet of the right size. Some helmets can adjust the head circumference within a certain range, which is also a good choice. For friends with extreme head shapes who usually have difficulty buying hats, you must carefully choose a one-size-fits-all.

Finally, you can choose any other small accessories you like.

Image source: pixabay

Wear a good helmet

Choosing a helmet is actually just one step away. We have to wear it correctly to protect our safety to the greatest extent. Specifically, we need to pay attention to the following points:

First of all, the helmet should be adjusted to the right angle, the front should protect the forehead, the back of the head should protect the back, and the size should be adjusted appropriately. After the helmet is put on, it will not shake or fall forward or backward. For those helmets that can adjust the head circumference, we can tighten the adjuster at the end.

The second important thing is to make sure the buckle is fastened! Make sure the buckle is fastened! Make sure the buckle is fastened! I repeat this three times. Some friends, not knowing whether they want to look cool or find it troublesome, just pick up the helmet and buckle it on their heads, leaving the buckle hanging under their necks before hitting the road. If you wear a helmet like this, the protective effect can only be said to be better than nothing, because once a collision occurs, the helmet may fly off first and cannot effectively protect the head.

The third thing is to adjust the straps properly. If the straps are adjusted too loosely, the protective effect will be reduced. So is it better to tie them tighter? No, because tying them too tight will compress the neck, making it difficult to breathe, distracting attention, and unsafe. We can adjust the helmet straps. After buckling them, one or two fingers can be inserted between the neck and the straps, and the tightness is more appropriate. In addition, it should be noted that the hard part of the strap buckle should not be close to the mandible, but should be adjusted to a softer part of the neck, so that in case of a collision, it is not easy to hit the bones.

Finally, a helmet is not like a legendary armor that can be passed down for three generations. It has a service life. After being exposed to wind and sun, the material will age, the buffering capacity will deteriorate, and safety will be affected. Therefore, we must check the service life of the helmet and replace it in time to avoid wearing an expired helmet that does not provide protection.

Author: Ding Zong