Sports and automotive helmets must reduce the risk of injury to the user during an impact by attenuating the impact energy. They must perform over a range of environments (wet, cold, hot etc.), be comfortable to wear. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the biggest causes of death in adults under the age of 45 and survivors of such injuries can suffer long term neurological disability which has significant public health and societal implications. With advances in impact biomechanics understanding and application, legislative effects and a growing awareness of TBI and of risk exposure in sport, there has been a marked increase in the use of protective headgear in recent years and therefore, a greater interest in how helmet standards are developed and implemented. (Author/publisher)
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