You may have noticed that many cyclists have cameras attached to their helmets. Some do this because they want to record footage of themselves flying down the trails.
However, some are not doing it for entertainment. They are doing it because they believe it will keep them safer or make it easier to claim compensation if they’re injured by someone else. Yet doesn’t having a lump or hard plastic on your head come with its own risks?
The jury is out
A BBC team carried out testing in 2019 to look for an answer. While they tested climbing helmets rather than cycling helmets, the results are worth looking at since there are many shared safety standards.
The team entered assuming that helmet cams would increase the chance that the helmet failed. Their reasoning was that the camera sticks out, so it could increase the impact transmitted through a single point. They also thought that if the camera caught on something, it could cause the head to rotate out of line.
Testing standards accept that helmets will “deform,” but there is a specific line when the standard considers the deformation to be considerable enough to be called a failure. In 40% of the tests, the camera came off, reducing the chance it could cause damage. The team was surprised to find that the cameras did not cause any of the 70 helmets they tested to fail.
They even found evidence to suggest that the camera could actually deflect some of the impact away from the helmet if it is the first thing to hit. Despite these findings, they stressed that this did not mean they could declare that helmet cams were safe. Real-world variables can result in different outcomes than lab tests.
As it stands, the general opinion seems to be that helmet cams do not increase the danger to those who use them. This might not be true for helmets that fail to meet the required safety standards. If you are in a bicycle crash and have a camera running at the time, taking it to a legal team for review could help you build your case for compensation
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