Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings - What to Know

The evolution of helmets is most commonly reminced through the timeline of the National Football League. It was only in 1949 that the NFL required all players to wear a helmet made of plastic (no more leather helmets allowed). Since then, helmets have evolved and become more specific to each sport. Now, we have hundreds of options across every impact sport that fills some kind of niche requirement. Information overload is an understatement, so Virginia Tech started this program by studying the impacts that their football team was experiencing on the field. By analyzing thousands of different hits and cross referencing hit types with injury types, scientists have been able to narrow down which types of hits most commonly result in a traumatic brain injury, thus leading into parameters for successful impact testing that could then be altered and refined based on the sport type.  

By developing sport-specific, real-world testing protocols, consumers can learn more about what they need to get so their helmet performs best for its intended use. By using the STAR evaluation system, Virginia Tech’s tests evaluate a helmet's ability to reduce linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the head, which are directly correlated to concussion risk. They test a range of impact types a cyclist could experience and assign 1-5 stars as an overall rating. What do the ratings mean? Virginia Tech explains that: 

To rate bike helmets, Virginia Tech tests 6 locations within the helmet  against 24 impact tests that reflect common cycling head injuries. Each test factors in how often a biker might experience the same impact to the same location to see how well the helmet can withstand multiple impacts. The better the helmet withstands multiple impacts to the same area, the better the overall score is. Take a look at the top 3 bike helmets currently rated on Virginia Tech's Bicycle Helmet Ratings page shown below. Here, you can navigate through hundreds of rated helmets or sort the page by a specific type of biking. 


                         
 

For snowsports, the testing parameters differ to test 3 impact locations, the front, side, and rear of the helmet at two different angles against 12 different impact tests. The high impact angle testing is designed to represent falls on steeper slopes where forces would be distributed across the snow while the low angle impact testing represents less steep terrain where forces of a fall would go into the snow. As previously mentioned, all of these testing parameters have been created and refined based on extensive research into real- world head injuries in snowsports. 

The rigorous R&D that Virginia Tech has taken on is not only providing clearer information for consumers to make informed purchases, but it has also started to transform the manufacturing industry. Previous safety ratings and certifications are becoming less valuable and we expect to see the grading system re-scaled to reflect these more precise safety metrics.