History

• Bicycle helmets have been around since the 1880’s. The most primitive ones were made of a material called pith, a soft sponge-like substance that would not hold up upon impact. In the 1900’s, helmets were made of leather and wool and later in the 1970’s the Snell Foundation passed the first bicycle helmet standard. In order to conform to the standard, helmets today are made of a plastic shell, a foam liner, nylon or polyethelene straps and a plastic buckle. Even though there was a helmet standard, it was not until the 1980’s that helmets started being tested for safety and protection ratings.
  
  

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

• When you look inside a helmet and see a sticker inside the lid, the helmet has been tested by the CPSC. The CPSC puts the helmets through testing to rate the level of protection they provide to your head in the event of an impact. A law was passed in March of 1999 requiring helmets to pass specific standards created by the CPSC in order to be sold to consumers. These standards mean your helmet is meant to help protect your head. They do not however offer 100 percent protection from a head injury.
  
  

Fit

• Your helmet should fit comfortably but snug. Everyone has a different head shape and size, so not every helmet may fit you. When the chin strap is buckled your helmet should sit level on your head, and, per the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, "the bottom edge of the helmet should be one to two finger widths above" your eyebrows. When you buckle your helmet straps, the straps should come together at the bottom of your ear forming a “Y” shape, and there should be only one finger’s width space between your buckle and chin.
  
  

Cost and Safety

• Consumer Reports Testing has shown there is no correlation between the price of a helmet and its safety value. In fact, some of the inexpensive models have rated better than the more expensive ones. Make sure if you purchase a helmet online or from somewhere outside the United States, you look for a CPSC-certified helmet. Other countries do not necessarily have the same safety standards.
  
  

Durability

• If you happen to have an accident while wearing your helmet and impact to the helmet occurs, you will need to replace your helmet. The foam material in a bicycle helmet is made to endure one impact. It is not made to protect you a second time. Even if you can not see any signs of damage to your helmet, you will need to purchase a new helmet.