Irish research is setting new safety standards for bicycle helmets and is trying to encourage more GAA players to wear helmets, writes Erin Golden
On the playing field and in the cycle lane, wearing or not wearing a helmet can mean the difference between jumping up from an accident with a few bumps and bruises and being sidelined by a major head injury.
But not just any helmet will make that crucial difference in the moment of impact.
New research under way at the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT), Dublin, has found that many helmets certified under European safety standards do not protect the wearer in a variety of common accident scenarios.
Traditional bicycle helmet impact tests, in which the helmet is placed on a head-form and dropped to the ground, test strength and impact tolerance with focus on the crown of the head.
But, according to Stephen Tiernan, a lecturer in ITT's department of mechanical engineering, the tests do not replicate the true anatomy of an accident.
"There are two different problems with the standards that have been produced: how representative they are of how an accident occurs and the level at which they set the threshold for pass or fail," he says.
"The helmets are tested in drop tests, but mostly on the crown of the helmet as opposed to the front and back - and it's pretty hard to fall off your bicycle onto the crown of your head."
Despite the limitations of the current standards, wearing a helmet does improve a cyclist's chances of avoiding major injury.
Australian researchers have found that up to 93 per cent of bicycle accident fatalities are related to head injuries and additional studies in the United States has confirmed that helmet-wearing cyclists reduce their risk of head injury by 85 per cent and risk of brain injury by 88 per cent.
Some regions of both countries now have mandatory helmet-use laws.
Ireland does not make wearing helmets compulsory while cycling, but some sports authorities have begun to make helmets a fixture in their games. In recent years, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) added a mandatory helmet rule for hurlers under 21 years of age.
As a result of an increased interest in hurling helmets, Tiernan and his team have shifted their focus, running tests and computer simulations based on common hurling injuries.
Earlier research on hurling was been limited because the helmets are fairly new, evolved out of ice hockey helmets worn by Canadian players.
A study of eye injuries between 1994 and 2002 at Cork University Hospital and Waterford Regional Hospital revealed that appropriate head and eye protection would significantly decrease the number of serious eye injuries sustained by the sport's players.
But, according to Tiernan, adult hurlers often eschew safety in favour of comfort.
"A lot of the players, especially at the senior level, don't wear the face guard or remove bars from it because it impairs their vision," he says.
"What we want to do is look at the whole helmet and improve it, to make it more acceptable to the players."
Growing awareness of the role of safety equipment in hurling has already changed the mindset of some senior players, according to Pat Daly, the GAA's head of games.
"I think there is sufficient awareness now, where you wouldn't have seen it five years ago," he says.
"If one looks at adult players today, you'll find maybe 80-85 per cent of them already wearing helmets, and most players now get used to them when they're young."
The GAA is currently considering making helmets mandatory for all players, regardless of age. Daly says the regulation could be in place as soon as 2009.
Meanwhile, the new helmets redesigned by the ITT team are already on shelves and are reportedly selling in high numbers to young players.