New SHARP ratings released

Added on Friday, November 26th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

New safety ratings for motorcycle helmets were published today by Road Safety Minister Mike Penning ahead of Carole Nash Motorcycle Live in Birmingham.

An extra 16 motorcycle helmets have been rated by SHARP – the Department for Transport’s Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme – taking the total number of ratings published to 218.

“We estimate that 50 deaths could be prevented each year if all riders wore the safest helmets available,” said Mr Penning, who will be at the show on Monday 29 November. “That is why I am delighted to be announcing new SHARP ratings today ahead of my visit to the Motorcycle Show next week. I urge anyone going to the show who is thinking about buying a new helmet to visit the SHARP stand to find out more.

“By making sure that motorcyclists have access to the best safety information, promoting further training and safe riding, and reminding drivers to look out for bikers I hope that we can improve safety for motorcyclists and reduce the number of tragedies we see on the roads each year.”

All helmets must meet minimum legal safety standards but the SHARP scheme uses a wider range of tests to provide riders with more information on how much protection a helmet can provide in a crash. The objective advice, which includes important guidance on how to select a good fitting helmet, will help riders to choose the safest helmet suitable for them.

The SHARP tests – which award ratings of between one and five stars – showed that the safety performance of helmets can vary by as much as 70%. With helmets across a wide price range scoring highly all riders should be able to find a high performing helmet in a size and style that fits them and at a price they want to pay.

Proposed SHARP Launch November 2010
No	MAKE	MODEL	Rating	Latch %
1	GREX	R2	4
2	NITRO	N250-VX	4
3	LAZER	KITE	4
4	LAZER	SOLANO Superskin	4
5	LAZER	PANAME	4	90
6	LS2	FF369 Delta	3	70
7	SHARK	RSI CARBON	4
8	SHARK	S600	4
9	BELL	M3R	5
10	SHOEI	QWEST	5
11	HJC	FS-11	3
12	HJC	ZF10	4
13	NOLAN	N90	4	100
14	NOLAN	N85	4
15	CABERG	V2 407	5
16	VEMAR	MIDAS	1