Smith v Finch

In the case of Smith v. Finch, Mr. Justice Williams cites the well-known precedent Froom v. Butcher, but I believe this is not a valid comparison. In Froom v. Butcher the device at issue was car seat belts, which are specifically designed to protect occupants in the event of road traffic collisions. I am not aware of any bicycle helmet manufacturer that claims its products are designed to provide protection in collisions involving motor traffic.

This is an important point. Even if helmets do coincidentally provide some level of protection in some such cases - and in this case the judge clearly found that they would not, nor is there any cyclist population in which changes in helmet use are known to have had an effect on head injury rates - it is clearly the case that they are not designed for road traffic collisions. Helmets designed for road traffic collisions are impracticable for cyclists due to weight and ventilation. I believe the original Snell standard would have been met by a then-current moped helmet; current standards are greatly weaker.

Tests for seat belts model restraint of an adult-sized crash dummy in a low-speed vehicle collision. Bicyle helmet tests do not come even close to modelling this kind of crash. They consist of a drop from approximately standing height onto a flat or profiled anvil, modelling a simple fall with no other vehicle involved, and it is in this context that they should be viewed. This does not mean they are specified for impacts at up to 12mph, that is just the speed at which the headform hits the anvil in the test. Newtonian mechanics means that as soon as the cyclist turns a wheel, this limit is already potentially exceeded. There is no hint that these tests are intended to model anything other than simple falls from the cycle.

There are many cyclists who have read extensively on the issue and have made an informed choice not to wear a helmet. This may be due to the fact that cycling is not especially dangerous or it may be because they are aware that there is no known correlation between helmet use and head injury rates in populations (other than the obvious fact that helmet use is rare in those countries where cycling is safest).

If anyone is aware of a cycle helmet that is claimed to be effective in collisions involving motor traffic then I would very much like to hear of it.