DVSA appoints TRL to test motorcycle helmets sold in UK

Motorcycle helmets sold in the UK are about to come under closer scrutiny, with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) appointing TRL (formerly the Transport Research Laboratory) to carry out independent safety testing on helmets already available to buy.

The programme is designed to support the DVSA’s market surveillance work and check whether helmets being sold to riders continue to meet the legal safety requirements they are supposed to meet.

For those of you who are sitting there wondering how this differs from SHARP ratings, the first thing to note is that it isn’t a replacement. The Department for Transport’s (DFT) SHARP helmet safety rating scheme, which is also run by TRL, will operate alongside each other, just with slightly different jobs.

SHARP is designed to help riders compare the protection offered by different helmets, awarding products a safety rating based on their performance in testing. The new DVSA programme is concerned with something more fundamental: whether helmets being sold in the UK meet the required legal standards in the first place.

According to TRL, the results of the DVSA testing could help identify helmets or sellers that need further investigation.

What will DVSA actually test?

TRL will carry out impact absorption testing based on the requirements of UN Regulation No. 22, the established international standard governing motorcycle helmet approval.

The testing will cover a range of helmet models and multiple shell sizes, with the helmets tested under conditions designed to replicate those used during type approval.

That means the programme isn't simply looking at whether a helmet carries the correct approval marking. It will independently test helmets available on the UK market to see whether their performance matches the safety requirements they are supposed to meet.

TRL says its specialist facility in Wokingham uses dedicated helmet-testing equipment to assess performance during impacts. Its twin-wire drop rig can deliver controlled impact energies and velocities, while instrumentation records measurements including linear and rotational acceleration.

Is this the same as SHARP testing?

Broadly, yes, although the two programmes have different purposes. TRL says the testing methods used for DVSA and SHARP are broadly similar, with both based on the safety requirements contained within UN Regulation No. 22. The precise tests used can differ depending on what the respective programme is trying to establish.

The same specialist facilities in Wokingham are used for SHARP, DVSA testing and other helmet-safety programmes.

The key difference, then, isn't necessarily the equipment or the underlying safety standard. It is what happens with the information produced by the testing.

SHARP gives consumers another way of comparing helmets when deciding what to buy. DVSA testing TRL provides creates evidence for the regulator's market surveillance work, potentially helping it identify products that don't meet the necessary requirements.

What happens if a helmet fails?

The announcement doesn't set out a specific enforcement process or say that every failed test will result in a helmet being immediately removed from sale.

TRL says its findings can help DVSA identify products or sellers that may require further investigation. Any subsequent action after that realisation would therefore sit with the DVSA rather than TRL.

For riders, however, the principle is fairly straightforward. A helmet carrying the required Type Approval marking is supposed to meet the applicable legal requirements. The new programme gives the regulator another way of checking that products available on the market continue to do so.

And that's where this programme potentially adds something useful for riders. Type Approval is not simply a one-off promise to consumers, while SHARP isn't a legal approval scheme. Having a regulator independently testing helmets that are actually being sold provides another added layer of scrutiny.

TRL says the DVSA programme will now run alongside SHARP, rather than replacing it. So riders will continue to have SHARP ratings to help compare helmets, while DVSA market surveillance testing will work in the background to check that products being already offered for sale meet the standards required of them.

The important bit for riders is that the two schemes are doing different jobs. SHARP helps answer the question “which helmet offers better protection?” The DVSA programme is aimed at answering the more basic question: “does this helmet being sold in the UK meet the basic safety requirements it is supposed to?”

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