41% of UK motorcyclists wearing helmets that should be replaced

Around 400,000 UK motorcyclists are currently wearing helmets that ‘need to be replaced’, according to industry experts and new figures from insurance broker Carole Nash.

Carole Nash surveyed over 1000 active UK riders, with the results showing 41% are wearing helmets that are at least five years old. Helmet manufacturers and independent safety experts like the Snell Foundation all agree that helmets should be replaced every five years due to degradation of glues and resins used in production.

Pete Horton, online Product Supervisor at sportsbikeshop.co.uk, said: “As the single most important piece of safety equipment a biker wears, it’s obviously vital a helmet’s integrity isn’t compromised in any way to ensure it can provide as much protection as possible. Due to the inevitable degradation of the materials used in their construction, we recommend that helmets be replaced after five years of use.”

Six in ten motorcyclists who took the survey said they wouldn’t buy a replacement helmet unless they had been involved in an accident, with an addition two in ten saying they would not buy a new helmet while their current one still ‘looked fine’.

The full results from the survey can be seen here.