This paper presents testing and compliance problems in the safety helmet field. Important problems are as follows: (1) There are a great number of certification marks that differ in terms of compliance testing and quality assurance; (2) No test method exists to date in any helmet standard; (3) The consistency level of compliance testing can be affected by the cost and commercial pressures that bear on the testing organizations; and (4) there are major differences between the specifications within the currently available helmet standards. The paper briefly describes the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive approach to testing different headwear product types. The technical requirements within the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) draft helmet standard for pedal cyclist could be said to contain the best performance against hazard elements from across a number of national standards. The consumer will be served well by this CEN market product, provided that it is introduced with precision and against a sensible module of type and audit.
Samenvatting