Heads Up on Recreational Helmet Standards

2005-10-18

Governments, industry and consumers have come to rely on standards as enablers of public safety. Nowhere is this truer than in recreational safety where expert minds have come together to help protect Canadians from injury. Over the past three decades, a truly remarkable record has been achieved.

In the early 1970s, a committee of dedicated volunteers pioneered the first Canadian standard for ice hockey helmets, CAN/CSA-Z262.1. Their work has not only helped reduce the frequency of severe head injuries, but garnered international recognition for advancing performance levels for hockey helmets.

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) first published face protector and visor standards for hockeyplayers in 1977. Since then, the number of reported eye injuries has dropped from about 290 per year to less than 10. All the while, participation in the sport has grown.

Turning its attention to cycling safety, CSA recognized that a child’s tolerance to a head impact differs from an adult’s. The result was the only standard in North America to have separate helmet performance criteria for children five years and under. The number of young children killed in cycling accidents has declined significantly since CAN/CSA-D113.2, Cycling Helmets, was approved as a national standard of Canada.

These are impressive results, but if we, as a society, wish to continue to reduce head injuries during recreational activities, more work needs to be done.

Pain and prevention

Almost 10 per cent of hospital admissions for head trauma are related to injuries sustained during recreational sports and there is plenty of evidence to show that helmets reduce the severity and incidence of these types of accidents. Field studies from around the world indicate that helmets can reduce the risk of head injuries in cyclists from 45 to 88 per cent.

A study of young skiers and snowboarders conducted by Children’s Hospital in British Columbia concluded that helmets reduced the risk of head injury in children 13 years and younger by 50 per cent. This is consistent with other studies in the U.S. and Sweden. Other recent U.S. studies of the incidence of injury and effectiveness of protective equipment for in-line skating concluded that the use of wrist guards, knee pads, elbow pads and helmets does prevent injuries.

With our health care system under increasing pressure to contain costs, helmet use has taken on a legitimate public policy dimension. The Ontario Brain Injury Association estimates the direct hospital cost of acquired brain injury at more than $2,800, yet a helmet which can help prevent such injuries costs just $30 to $50. What’s more, brain injuries tend to be more severe than other types of injuries sustained at play, take much longer to heal and can lead to lifelong disability.

Rising tide

With findings like these, it’s no wonder that public support for helmet use is rising. National and provincial polls conducted in the last five years show that 79 per cent of parents favour mandatory use of helmets for adults and children (Environics, 2002). Some ski operators in the U.S. have adopted policies requiring children to wear helmets while skiing or snowboarding at their facilities.

Today, over 30 per cent of Canadians are subject to cycling helmet legislation (British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, as well as various municipalities). With injury rates, 25 per cent lower in these provinces, many jurisdictions are also considering mandating helmets for other recreational activities such as in-line skating, skateboarding and scootering. Nova Scotia already has such regulations and Ontario is proposing a similar bill.

A Call to Action

While helmets are widely available across Canada, there is no consistent approach to ensuring their safety. Recreational helmets, beyond those donned for cycling and hockey, are not required to meet safety standards. And there is no consistent, national standards framework for recreational helmet standards. Meanwhile, the popularity of inline skating, snowboarding and skateboarding is on the rise.

Governments, health care providers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers are all looking for solutions – standards that can be used to support regulation and injury prevention initiatives.

For that reason, CSA is partnering with SMARTRISK, a leading national injury prevention organization, to establish a recreational helmet standards program with an education component aimed at recreational facilities and the general public. Earlier this year, the B.C. government generously donated $50,000 towards the program, and more funding is being sought. Standards development is expected to start in late 2005.

CSA’s partnership with SMARTRISK will serve both regional and national goals to promote healthy living and injury prevention. Industry Canada, Health Canada and various provinces and territories have signaled support for such a program, combining standards with education.

The standards development process will include a Canadian peer review of existing standards (ASTM, CEN), incorporating data and best practices to update any gapsv identified. It will build and leverage partnerships with key injury prevention organizations that have expertise in recreational helmet safety to reflect the needs of Canadians. And it will embrace industry and government stakeholders so that any resulting recreational helmet standards – be they sports pecific or multi-purpose – serve the interests of people and business.

Facing the many challenges of recreational safety head-on, requires support, cooperation and persistence. Given the interest shown by jurisdictions across Canada, the increased consumer awareness of recreational safety issues, and the need being expressed by manufacturers to create a fair, level and predictable playing field, the time to act is now.

Prepared by Pat Keindel, President of the Standards division of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). One of four SCC-accredited standards development organizations (SDOs) in Canada, CSA standards play an important role in protecting and preserving the health and safety of Canadians.

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This article first appeared in Volume 32 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 2005.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

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