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CONVENTIONAL MOTORCYCLE HELMETS PROTECT FROM LESS THAN HALF OF BRAIN INJURY FORCES He bases his claim on the COST 327 report, a Europe-wide study into motorcycle accidents, which shows that 5,000 riders per annum in Europe die and as many as 68% of these deaths could be as a result of rotational forces on the head. Conventional modern motorcycle helmets are principally designed to reduce the effects of linear impact, but offer no specific protection against rotational force. Rotational force causes the skull to move more quickly than the brain inside, resulting in brain tissue and blood vessels being severely damaged. The stress from the rapid rotational movement tears nerve fibres and blood vessels throughout the brain, causing damage to brain tissue. “This type of injury often occurs as a result of motor vehicle crashes and physical violence, such as Shaken Baby Syndrome.” Source, Brain Injury Association of America. However, it occurs with great frequency in motorcycle accidents when the helmeted head hits the road or other object. Dr. Phillips has developed a membrane - called the Phillips Head Protection System (PHPS) - that can be applied to motorcycle helmets during production and dramatically reduces the effects of rotational force. The PHPS imitates the human scalp in being elastically compressible, inextensible and capable of frictionless movement over the shell. These are the characteristics which give the scalp the properties of protection against rotational and, to a lesser extent, linear acceleration. Initial testing of the PHPS principle by The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) showed an improvement of about 60% in protection against rotational forces and about 20% in protection against linear acceleration. Phillips Helmets are currently in negotiation with several helmet manufacturers and the first ever helmet incorporating PHPS technology is expected to go on sale in 2005.
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