SHARP ...Hemet Ratings

[freddytin]

As eagerly awaited by all cheapskates....That'll be me then.

Today SHARP published its first ratings for 56 full face motorcycle helmets. A comprehensive list of ratings are available now from http://www.direct.gov.uk/sharp , where you will also find information to help you get the right fit when selecting your next helmet. Remember, the most important aspect of a helmet is that it provides the right fit for you. That's why it's vital you try before you buy. When you have a choice of helmets that fit well you can consider the SHARP rating.

We are still testing helmets and will be adding ratings on a rolling basis throughout the remainder of 2008.

We'll keep you informed as we publish more results over the coming weeks.

Best regards,
The SHARP Team

Edited by freddytin on Thursday 12th June 16:57

[Hyperion]

http://dft-1-sharp.eduserv.org.uk/ 

Edited by Hyperion on Thursday 12th June 16:00

[freddytin]

Thanks H.

[dern]

I've just looked for my lid and it has 4 stars... to be honest I'm none the wiser. I understand that a lid with more stars would be 'better' and a lid with less would be 'worse' but there's no context. I guess you could use it to choose a lid in a price range - that is I would go for the one that had the most stars. However in a measurement sense it's meaningless as it stands because firstly I don't know which if the tests my lid didn't do so well on to lose a star and would the extra star mean a significant gain in accident surviveability or does it mean a measurable statistical difference but insignificant actual difference as most lids are the same? Does an extra star buy you significant extra protection or a small amount of extra protection?

Regards,

Mark

[TL84]

Just spent £330 c**ting quid on a Viper GT, for it to get 3 stars.

[Hyperion]

El cheapo Lazer LZ6 - £49.99 - 5 stars
My Arai - £250 - 3 stars


I suppose to put it into context, most Renault cars have 5* NCAP ratings and they're pretty cheap.
More money does not equal more safety, although it does buy you more comfort.

ETA- I have an Arai Condor (entry level Arai) which scored 2 stars in the Sharp test, yet it scored a respectable 56/65 in the RiDE test.
The SHOEI Raid II was RiDE's best buy scoring 61/65, yet Sharp only gave it 4 stars.
http://www.ridetriangles.com/pdf/643/221609.pdf 
How does that work then?
It's excellent to have some ratings at last, don't get me wrong - but how can RiDE's best overall helmet only have 4 Sharp stars?

Edited by Hyperion on Thursday 12th June 16:36

[black-k1]

dern said:

I've just looked for my lid and it has 4 stars... to be honest I'm none the wiser. I understand that a lid with more stars would be 'better' and a lid with less would be 'worse' but there's no context. I guess you could use it to choose a lid in a price range - that is I would go for the one that had the most stars. However in a measurement sense it's meaningless as it stands because firstly I don't know which if the tests my lid didn't do so well on to lose a star and would the extra star mean a significant gain in accident surviveability or does it mean a measurable statistical difference but insignificant actual difference as most lids are the same? Does an extra star buy you significant extra protection or a small amount of extra protection?

Regards,

Mark

Mark, you are totally correct, we need a context!

[dern]

TL84 said:

Just spent £330 c**ting quid on a Viper GT, for it to get 3 stars.

Presumably though it fits well and is comfortable enough not to distract you. It may well be that the difference between 3 and 4 and 5 stars is actually quite small and the benefits of having something that you find very comfortable is actually significantly greater than simply having another star or two. This is the crux of my question really.

To illustrate this if you look at the car ncap tests the newer cars have 4 or 5 stars and the older ones may have say 2 stars. The popular view people take of this is that the 2 star car are death traps and that the 5 star cars are very safe. Now these tests are done at some speed, say 40mph, in to a particular type object. Now you can use these star ratings to compare the cars but not come to any kind of objective point of view as the ability of any given car to allow you to survive any given crash. You could say that one probably is a bit better than the other but above 80mph this might manifest itself as what's left of you is a 3in layer of matter rather than a 2in layer of matter... it's makes no odds as you've still not survived it.

Does that make sense?

What I'm saying is that the number of stars is a comparative aid but without a context it's almost a meaningless one.

I like the ride tests because they give you lots of detail.

[freddytin]

As I read it , the Tests performed are more Real World incident related than the Lab puncture tests that are performed to meet current standards.

As N Cap ratings have boosted car safety standards, I believe SHARP tests will boost motorcycle hemet standards. Which can only be a good thing, No ?

[dern]

freddytin said:

As I read it , the Tests performed are more Real World incident related than the Lab puncture tests that are performed to meet current standards.

As N Cap ratings have boosted car safety standards, I believe SHARP tests will boost motorcycle hemet standards. Which can only be a good thing, No ?

First off I don't want to discourage anyone from doing safety tests on our behalf and agree to the essence of what you say about the ncap boosting car safety. However, what I do want to know is that if all a manufacturer has to do to get a star is to improve the result of a specific test by only a small amount then that's not something I'm prepared to spend, say, a hundred quid extra on. If in the real world a 3 star lid allows me to survive headbutting a wall at 30mph and a 5 star lid allows me to headbutt it at 33mph then that's not worth the extra cash and it's certainly not worthy of the villification of the 3 star lid.

In short I believe 'better' needs to be measurable.

[freddytin]

One thing this test will do, is enable the purchaser of a £70 pound lid with 5 Stars to politely stick 2 fingers up at the Safety Nazis.

[dern]

freddytin said:

One thing this test will do, is enable the purchaser of a £70 pound lid with 5 Stars to politely stick 2 fingers up at the Safety Nazis.

Indeed, you shove a well aimed url up the arse of any "five pound head, five pound lid" muppet

[FeatherZ]

Good if you wanna choose a cheap track helmet, might go any buy a cobra vent rst this weekend, 4 stars at that price aint bad, and them helmets aint too sad, aslong as it fits.

[dern]

FeatherZ said:

Good if you wanna choose a cheap track helmet, might go any buy a cobra vent rst this weekend, 4 stars at that price aint bad, and them helmets aint too sad, aslong as it fits.

As long as the stars don't incorporate value for money and then the whole thing goes out the window

[FeatherZ]

thats the problem at the moment dern as you point out

[m3psm]

I'm shocked at the ratings for Arai so far but pleased that you don't actually have to spend hundreds to get a 5 star lid.

I bought an Arai GP5X this week which turns out to be the best scoring Arai, yet it's been discontinued so Arai must be gutted that their only top scoring lid is no longer available.

Edited by m3psm on Thursday 12th June 17:04

[freddytin]

FeatherZ said:

thats the problem at the moment dern as you point out

I understand your concern, and agree the tests would have been a nonsense had they taken costing into consideration. However reading through their comprehensive test procedures it would seem costing has no bearing on their rating system at all.

[hiccy]

Excellent, at least we have some sort of information regarding the relative performance of different lids in a crash. I would love to have access to the reports, I think a PDF summary would be a good inclusion as that way you could see the weaknesses and strengths of each lid. However, given that a 5 star rating is the goal perhaps that isn't totally necessary.

I'm also glad to see that further refinement of the tests is already being planned and proposed. Ultimately as materials and design improves then we have a right to expect better protection. Overall I think SHARP is very positive.

[RabD]

TL84 said:

Just spent £330 c**ting quid on a Viper GT, for it to get 3 stars.

Just what I was about to say.

[WestYorkie]

I'm glad that this SHARP test has been done as isn't it true that the old British Standard/Kite mark was superior to the new E rating?
As said I'd like to know how the SHARP guys measure "A star" as this will then give us a level on how to compare Helmets.

Does anyone know why Caberg helmets haven't been tested yet?