DVSA appoints TRL to test motorcycle helmets sold in UK

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has appointed TRL to carry out independent safety testing on motorcycle helmets sold in the UK. This new 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.

TRL will conduct 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.

The programme is not 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.

The new DVSA programme will operate alongside the Department for Transport’s SHARP helmet safety rating scheme, which is also run by TRL. 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 DVSA programme is concerned with something more fundamental: whether helmets being sold in the UK meet the required legal standards in the first place.

Broadly, the testing methods used for DVSA and SHARP are 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 is not 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 provides evidence for the regulator's market surveillance work, potentially helping it identify products that do not meet the necessary requirements.

The announcement does not 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.

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?”