The Helmetization of America: Mostly a Good Thing

The L.A. Times reports its realization that there is now a helmet for everything from surfing to soccer, and the paper tells us that in the past six years, the American Society for Testing and Materials–just one of four bodies that approves this stuff- has approved headgear standards for 13 sports. What’s wrong with that?  Maybe nothing, but the Times finds more than one head injury specialist who suggests that poorly designed helmets could diminish an athlete’s field of vision and/or hearing, and end up doing more harm that good. This piece is an interesting, and lengthy, read,  and it’s topped off with this list of sports and recreational activities with the
most head injuries in 2004, the latest year for which data were
available. The rankings, based on the estimated number of people
treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms, are:
•  Cycling: 69,476
•  Powered recreational vehicles (ATVs, dune buggies, off-road motorcycles): 27,213
•  Football: 25,515
•  Basketball: 24,320
Read more in the L.A. Times.