Biomechanical Engineering Investigation of the Risk of Children Wearing a Bicycle Helmet Suffering an Angular Acceleration Induced Head Injury

The recent successes of British cycling, globally, have propelled cycling into the public consciousness, with an unprecedented increase in children taking up the sport [1]. An increase in bicycle accident related head injury is inevitable and the focus will inevitably turn to whether helmets optimally mitigate the seriousness of head injury in children. Whilst the popularity of bicycle helmets has risen steadily since their introduction in the 1970s, apparently correlating with a significantly reduced risk of head injury across all user groups [2], questions remain as to whether, whilst reducing the incidence of direct focal impact injury, their pronounced geometry adequately mitigates or actually increases the risks associated with rotational head loading. The benefits related to mitigating focal impact may appear obvious, given a helmet effectively provides a ‘cushion’ between the head and an impact surface; however, debate as to their overall effectiveness remains within the scientific community.