A woman died after hitting her head on the ground while holding her helmet while riding a bicycle! What are the rules for the "new national standard" for electric bicycle helmets in July?

In order to ensure travel safety, the "new national standard" for motorcycle and electric bicycle helmets will be officially implemented on July 1. What are the new changes in the new standard? How should we choose a qualified helmet?

Compiled by reporter Ding Lin

June 17

"A woman died after falling on her head while riding a bicycle while holding her hat"

Rushed to Weibo hot search

Many netizens exclaimed after watching it:

Helmets are so important!

On June 16, the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security released a video: A woman in Sichuan accidentally fell while holding her sun hat while riding a bicycle, and her head hit the ground, causing craniocerebral injury and unfortunately died.

Most netizens mentioned that “the main reason was that they didn’t wear a helmet.”

In the hot summer, "sun hats" look good but are unsafe. When riding two or three-wheeled vehicles, you must wear a safety helmet and fasten the buckle properly. In the event of an accident, you can avoid fatal injuries to the greatest extent.

At the same time, how to choose the right helmet is also very important.

The mandatory national standard "Motorcycle and Electric Bicycle Passenger Helmets" (GB 811-2022) jointly formulated by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be implemented on July 1, 2023. The new standard is the first mandatory national standard in the field of electric bicycle passenger helmets. When purchasing safety helmets, riders should pay special attention to purchasing products that meet the new national standard.

01 Pay attention to your head when driving a motorcycle or electric vehicle

This year's CCTV "3.15 Evening Party" exposed many low-quality electric bike helmets sold by illegal merchants, which was really shocking. Due to the fact that some manufacturers cut corners, the helmets not only failed to become a tool to protect the owners, but also posed a great threat to the personal safety of the owners.

It is understood that the number of motorcycles in my country has reached nearly 100 million, and the number of electric bicycles has exceeded 300 million. These two types of vehicles have become important means of transportation for people's daily travel.

If cars are "iron wrapped in flesh", motorcycles and electric bicycles are "flesh wrapped in iron". The role of helmets for motorcycle and electric bicycle drivers and passengers is equivalent to the seat belts worn by car drivers. They are the last line of defense for riders when they encounter danger.

In motorcycle and electric bicycle traffic accidents, the number of deaths caused by craniocerebral injuries accounts for more than 80% of the total number of deaths. Wearing a safety helmet correctly can cushion the impact on the rider's head and prevent the head from directly hitting the ground or hard objects and causing injuries, thereby greatly reducing the direct damage to the driver and passengers in the accident and effectively reducing the death rate of accidents.

▲After the implementation of the "new national standard", people still need to wear helmets correctly when riding to complete the closed loop of the protection chain (Photo source: Dezhou Public Security)

Hu Di, deputy secretary general of the Beijing Bicycle and Electric Vehicle Industry Association, said in an interview with the media that helmets are "life-saving artifacts" on the road - in emergency situations such as collisions, most riders will have their heads hit the ground first due to the twisting of the frame or the tilt of the body. At this time, the helmet can absorb most of the impact force and can effectively play a protective role in buffering and shock absorption. It is the last line of defense for motorcycle and electric bicycle drivers when they encounter danger. "Wearing a helmet can play a vital role in reducing casualties in electric bicycle accidents."

02 The "New National Standard" for Helmets Makes These Adjustments

This revision of the "new national standard" has three characteristics. First, the scope of application has been expanded . On the basis of the original motorcycle helmets, electric bicycle helmets are also included in the standard for the first time, filling the standard gap and solving the problem of "no standard to follow" for electric vehicle helmets.

In the new standard, helmets are divided into two categories according to their applicable objects: Class A helmets and Class B helmets. Class A helmets are motorcycle helmets, which are applicable to motorcycle passengers and electric bicycle passengers; Class B helmets are electric bicycle helmets, which are only applicable to electric bicycle passengers with a maximum speed of no more than 25km/h.

In order to clearly identify motorcycle and electric bicycle helmets and prevent motorcycle passengers from misusing electric bicycle helmets, the requirement of "each helmet shell should have a logo for identifying the type of helmet on the rear part of the outer surface" has been added. The logo of motorcycle helmets is "yellow circular pattern + letter A", and the logo of electric bicycle helmets is "sky blue diamond pattern + letter B". Each type of logo has two sizes, large and small, to accommodate helmets of different specifications, shapes and designs.

Secondly, the relevant product specifications were refined . Taking into account the head shape characteristics of the Chinese people, the original helmet size specifications were increased from 3 categories (large, medium, and small) to 5 categories (extra small, small, medium, large, and extra large), taking into account the wearing requirements of minors and adults; and in terms of helmet shape, three types of helmets were proposed: full helmet, 3/4 half helmet (spring and autumn helmets) and 1/2 half helmet (summer helmet), to meet the usage needs of different seasons.

(Photo source: Hainan.cn)

Third, safety requirements have been improved . The "new national standard" has added three helmet performance indicators, including the wear resistance of goggles and the surface strength of helmets, and has improved requirements such as the stability of the fixing device, the strength of the wearing device, the collision energy absorption performance, and the penetration resistance performance.

(Photo source: Hainan.cn)

1. Abrasion resistance (haze) of helmet goggles. The new standard stipulates that after the falling sand test, the degree of damage to the goggles should not affect their normal use, and the haze value of the lens should not be greater than 10%.

2. Shear force of raised structures on the surface of helmets. The new standard stipulates that the raised structures to be tested should be able to be sheared, separated, or not block the cutter from sliding over the raised parts. This is mainly to prevent the rider from wearing a helmet with raised structures and rubbing against the ground during an accident, where the raised structures block the forward force of the wearer's head, causing secondary injuries to the rider.

3. Helmet surface friction. This indicator also simulates the resistance of the helmet rubbing against the ground when a rider has an accident. The greater the friction, the greater the resistance, and the more serious the damage to the rider.

03 How to choose to buy a helmet?

How to choose a helmet for motorcycle or electric bicycle passengers? The market supervision department reminds you to pay attention to the following steps when buying a helmet:

First look: Check whether the product has standardized Chinese labels, including standardized factory name and address, product name, implementation standards, qualified marks, etc., whether the product has a foam material cushioning layer, and do not buy helmets without a foam material cushioning layer. Do not buy helmets without a factory name or an irregular factory name, without implementation standards, and without a product certificate.

Second, smell: Use your nose to smell the helmet to see if it has any pungent smell, and choose products with no odor or less odor.

Three presses: Press the foam material buffer layer of the helmet with a little force with your hands, and choose products with a dense buffer layer or a slight rebound feeling, without pits or debris.

Fourth, wear: Try to wear a helmet, make sure it fits your head and is comfortable to wear. If it is equipped with goggles, choose transparent lenses with better light transmittance.

Question 5: Different types of helmets have different protective performance. Currently, all motorcycle helmets are suitable for electric bicycle passengers. When purchasing motorcycle helmets, you should choose products with the 3C certification mark. After the implementation of the new national standard, Class B helmets are only suitable for electric bicycle passengers, and Class A helmets are suitable for both motorcycle passengers and electric bicycle passengers.

In addition, please note that if there are helmets at home that have exceeded their service life or have been hit, their protective performance will be affected and should be eliminated in a timely manner.

(Photo source: Zhongguancun Subdistrict Office)

(This article is compiled from Xinhua News Agency, Hainan.com, Beijing Traffic Radio "1039 Investigation Team", etc.)