According to commercial and leisure marine safety helmet manufacturer Gecko Head Gear, in the last twenty years helmet safety has come a long way; in attitudes towards wearing helmets, the technology within them and the legislation governing them.
The UK’s marine lifesaving charity, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has been a pioneer in driving the development of a standard to certify safety helmets for the marine environment, but why was this development necessary?
HISTORY OF SAFETY STANDARDS
The first BSI helmet standard was born in 1953 to certify motorcycle helmets and just two years later the UK Government introduced the compulsory application of this BSI Kitemark for all such helmets. Initially this was the only recognised British standard for safety helmets but as new variables were identified for different applications it became clear that a range of helmet standards governing different areas of the commercial sector was necessary.
One of the most recent standards to be developed was PAS 028:2002, the standard for marine safety helmets that the RNLI were consulted on alongside the Metropolitan Police Service, the Ministry of Defence Police and marine safety helmet manufacturer Gecko Head Gear. This standard adopted relevant tests from a range of existing helmet standards, combining them to create performance requirements that are appropriate for people operating fast watercraft such as RIBs and jet skis. Also included in this standard were some new mandatory requirements that are specific to the marine environment, such as the use of materials that do not corrode in salt water and the requirement for the helmet to be positively buoyant.
WHAT DOES PAS 028:2002 MEAN?
PAS stands for Publicly Available Specification, which in practice means a standardisation document that closely resembles a formal standard in structure and format but which has a different development model; a PAS is always developed in response to a commission by an external sponsor to satisfy an immediate business need. In the case of PAS 028:2002 the external sponsors (consultees) were organisations who had collaboratively identified a need for a marine specific helmet standard that would meet the very specific requirements of their organisation; a motorcycle helmet level of protection in a marine appropriate product.
WHO USES PAS 028:2002 CERTIFIED HELMETS?
Besides the consultees of PAS 028:2002, numerous organisations worldwide now use PAS 028:2002 certified helmets including the British Navy, the Royal Air Force, Gibraltar Police, the German Navy, the German Coastguard, Hong Kong Police and Fire Services, the Canadian Coastguard, the French Coastguard and the Australian Navy to name a few. In fact, in 2014 a government backed ruling was passed in Germany that allowed its coastguard and rescue organisations to make repeat purchases of PAS 028:2002 certified head gear without putting out a traditional tender or repeating the testing scenarios; all because it was recognised that this was the only standard that met their demanding safety and environmental regulations.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A MARINE SAFETY HELMET
The two key factors when it comes to buying a marine safety helmet are;
-Choosing an appropriately certified helmet: choosing a helmet that is not certified for marine use may offer appropriate protection for your head but has potential to underperform in other areas. Helmets that are designed to be used on the road, such as motorcycle helmets, will become very heavy from water absorption when used in a marine environment and the RNLI who once used motorcycle helmets for rescue situations, discovered that their weight and negative buoyancy actually increased the risk of neck injury and drowning in a man overboard situation. Similarly, using a kayaking helmet (that has been designed to be used in fresh water) in salt water can cause corrosion of the metal components on the helmet, which poses a risk to its long-term integrity. It is a recommended to obtain a copy of the test certificate from the helmet manufacturer prior to purchase to ensure that your helmet does meet all the right credentials.
-Choosing a helmet that fits: not only will a correctly fitted helmet offer the maximum protection in the event of a collision but it will be more comfortable to wear! Pay attention to the liner and retention system and look for a fully adjustable custom-fit helmet interior to achieve maximum safety and comfort.
By following these golden rules you’ll end up with a fit for purpose helmet that is comfortable to wear and stays on your head when you most need it to.
HELMET SAFETY STANDARDS COMPARED
Helmet safety standards were not developed in sync with one another and while similar testing methods have been adopted between standards the performance requirements vary and are often given using different units of measurement, making them hard to compare! Gecko Head Gear has done some analysis on the impact absorption safety tests to provide a quick overview of the different impact energies that helmets are exposed to during testing, for each of the main BSI helmet standards.
The performance requirement for these tests is that less than 10kN (+/- 5kN) of force is transferred to the headform inside the helmet when the external energy is applied. It is clear from this data that helmets that are designed to be worn by vehicle users or by people who risk falling from height, have the highest shock absorption qualities. PAS 028:2002 is actually the most stringently tested helmet in the shock absorption test, demonstrating that they are indeed fit for purpose for users of fast watercraft and there really is no better certification credential to look for in a marine safety helmet.
