Thursday, May 22, 2008
Doctors say stylish helmets less safe
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 10:07:17 Vietnam (GMT+07)
Doctors say stylish helmets less safe
Helmets with large plastic brims may be more stylish than normal
helmets, but are also more dangerous, doctors say Doctors and officials
say that stylized crash helmets are often poorly made and more dangerous
than normal ones.
Since Vietnam's helmet law came into effect last December, helmets have
gone from being a matter of necessity to a new fashion vehicle.
Many women now wear helmets with large plastic brims that look more
feminine and protect them from the sun while men have begun to prefer
cloth-covered cap-like helmets that match their clothes and motorbikes.
But doctors at city hospitals have said that they often treat women with
deep lacerations on their faces after accidents shatter their plastic
brims into sharp pieces.
Many of the victims suffered serious eye injuries or even brain damage
when the plastic was made too cheaply and shattered too easily.
Cho Ray Hospital's Brain Injury Department director Duong Minh Man said
since March this year, his team had received some 40 motorbike accident
cases everyday, most of whom were women wearing brimmed helmets.
Man said that the round cover of ordinary helmets was able to diffuse
impact and lessen the effects of a crash.
But he said that brims were not able to absorb impact as effectively and
that when the plastic brims were struck, the helmet itself often
cracked, leading to more serious head injuries.
Nguyen Manh Am from the Ministry of Science and Technology's Directorate
for Standards and Quality said safety, not beauty, should come first
when driving.
A typical helmet had a plastic cover and an inner soft layer that
diffused impact, said Am, adding that the soft layer in stylized helmets
was too thin.
Both Man and Am suggested that stylized helmets be banned to reduce
traffic accident deaths.
A test by Vietnam Standard and Consumer Association (Vinastas) last
month said over 70 percent of the helmets sold in HCMC, including
stylized helmets, did not meet safety standards.
Neither did 80 percent of helmets with quality control stickers, said
Vinastas.
HCMC Department of Science and Technology said it would work with the
city's Market Management unit this month to test the quality of more
helmets sold in the city, especially stylized helmets.
Two earlier Vinastas tests in March with the HCMC Quality Measure
Standard Bureau found that some 73-83 percent of crash helmets with
quality control stickers did not meet safety standards.
The bureau has called on authorities to crack down on helmet
manufacturers that produce substandard products, saying that better
management and enforcement mechanisms were needed.
Vietnam's compulsory motorbike helmet law states that all motorbike
riders on all roads must wear a helmet at all times.
Reported by Duc Trung
