Does anyone like to wear helmets? Probably not.
Does anyone like trying to get their kids to wear helmets? Definitely not.
But as we’ll show in this quick guide to protective scooter headgear, they’re also incredibly important!
With some commercially available scooters reaching speeds of 15mph (and way beyond in many cases) it’s worth spending a bit of time and money getting something that will keep you safe when you or your child are out you’re enjoying your new e-ride.
Do you really need a helmet for an e-scooter?
I’m sure the last thing you want to read about when you’re shopping for a scooter are things like fractures, head injuries and neck trauma. But, according to the Library of Medicine, the truth is that around 30% of all e-scooter accidents are head injuries.
A two-year study found that:
“Patients presenting to the hospital with injuries tend to be young males between 20 and 40 years of age, presenting at night. Head and extremity injuries are common, and patients often do not comply with helmets and other protective gears.”
The study recommended that policies be brought in to make universal helmet wearing laws.
There is really no reason anyone should not wear something to protect their head (and face) when riding any kind of scooter, especially ones with powerful electric motors attached to them.
There are many ways you can take a spill from an e-scooter, or collide into an object and it’s essential if you want to walk away from it, to wear a decent helmet.
Another recent study shows that head injuries from electric scooter use are also on the rise and in the US has tripled in the four years in the study.
Even if you’re really good on a scooter, there’s always that driver
We’ve all seen bumps, dunches, dings (call them what you like) between two cars at the side of the road. Usually, they don’t result in anything more than a few awkward exchanges, a call to the insurance company and not having your car for a couple of days. But if one of the parties in the collision is a scooter rider, it can be a different story.
You might be the best scooter driver in the world, and never end up taking a fall but no one can control the driver who pulls out without looking on a junction and hits someone on an e-scooter.
[infoBox text=”It’s important to wear a helmet on your e-scooter, even if you’ll hopefully never need it.”]
Do children need to wear helmets on e-scooters?
It’s safe to assume most parents aren’t going to need to read this section and you can skip to the bit below on what kind of helmet you need for your little one. If you’re not sure whether or not you should get one, here are a few good reasons and some data.
Some good reasons to make your child wear a helmet on their e-scooter
(even if they really don’t want to…)
There are probably some kids out there who don’t mind wearing helmets on their bikes and scooters. My two don’t really like the feel of it and would much rather bomb about without one. I’m also guilty of letting them use their kick scooters without one.
Most children have a kick-scooter at some point and even the non-powered ones make a good case for wearing protective headgear when out and about. It’s surprising the injuries a child can get from what amounts to falling from their own height.
According to research by Sage, even the humble kick scooter can result in some pretty grisly injuries to the head. In the study, children from 7 – 15 years old were treated for a range of injuries; minor bruises, concussions all the way up to fractures of the skull and internal injuries.
And that’s going a few miles per hour on a foot-pedalled scooter.
As with adults, it’s essential for children to wear a scooter helmet
Why don’t more people wear helmets when they’re using an electric scooter?
When you think about the injuries your poor nut could sustain if you don’t wear a helmet, you might be wondering why there are so many kids and adults bombing around on their scooters without one.
They don’t like the way they look
One massive factor for this is down to how they look. While e-scooters are now an accepted and cool kind of way to get around, a lot of the headgear is stuck in the past and looks a bit dorky to some.
They don’t want to carry it around
Another reason that came up in our research on why people don’t like to wear protective gear for their noggin is simply down to inconvenience. A lot of users commute to work, or use them to drive to a bar or club and don’t want to have to carry the shell around with them once they arrive.
They are victims of invincibility theory
There’s actually a well-documented and researched phenomenon whereby adolescents are prone to behave as if they’re in god mode on a video game and are feel like they’re invincible.
This leads to all kinds of risky behaviour, least of all not wearing a helmet on an e-scooter. This could account for the high number of accidents in this age group.
Are scooter helmets expensive?
No, the good news is that buying a decent helmet for e-scooting isn’t going to set you back a fortune. Scooter helmets are not expensive and prices start at around £30 for a good one. You can buy them at places like Amazon and Pure Electric, and they come in a range of styles, colours and shapes to fit every head.
What kind of helmet do you need for an e-scooter?
There are several helmet types that we’ll cover below. Each has strengths, weaknesses and different levels of protection. The main types of helmets you can get are:
- Full face helmets – this is more like a motorbike or BMX helmet.
- Half-shell (open face helmets) – The round skater style helmet is most common on e-scooters.
Whether you’re buying an electric scooter helmet for yourself, or for a child, there are a few different kinds to look out for and some important differences between them.
Full face protection
If you’ve spent any time researching into what you need to buy to protect your head should the worse happen, you’ll see a lot of pretty compelling evidence for what’s known as a full-face protection helmet.
While traditional scooter helmets protect your skull and brain, they don’t do much to protect your nose, facial bones, teeth or your jaw. That’s where a full-face helmet comes in. They’re a bit more like what you’d expect to see on a moped or a motorbike, but not quite as cumbersome or heavy.
They might be overkill and kids may put up some resistance, but if you want the most protection, this is the one to go for.
[infoBox text=”If you are going to be travelling at more than 20mph, it is recommended that you wear a full-face protective helmet.”]
What should you look for in a helmet?
Materials
Most good UK electric scooter helmets are made from tough ABS material which is a very robust and durable shell that can withstand impacts. Within that, look for an EPS foam liner that will absorb the shock when it comes into contact with something.
Secure fastening
We’d definitely recommend finding one that has a ‘turning knob’ on the back of the helmet. Basically, you loosen this off, put your helmet on and then tighten it up. It pulls a band tight around the skull, forming a snug fit. It sounds less comfy than it is but it feels good and keeps the helmet where it should be.
Choosing the right size
While you can send a poorly fitting electric scooter helmet back easily enough, it’s not as easy as trying it on in a shop. That being said, you can cut down on the need to send it back by taking some measurements before placing an order.
So where do you start figuring out which size helmet you need for yourself or your child? You’ll need to take two measurements to be able to match your head size up with the sizes shown online.
- The circumference around the head – This is the easy one. Grab a tape measure (or print one out) and measure the distance around you or your child’s head. This is one of the measurements you’ll need to pick a scooter helmet.
- Width and length of the head – This one’s a bit trickier. The easiest way to do this is to place a couple of cereal boxes on the table, put your head between them, then carefully remove your head and measure the distance.
Armed with these measurements, you should have a better chance of getting a good fit first shot.
Choosing for kids
Whereas adults are normally happy with the plain colours, one trick you can pull with kids is to pick one with a really good design. There are some brilliant electric scooter helmets on places like Amazon, with bright colours and even monster head designs. It’s much easier to get children to wear these and, in some cases, they’ll actually enjoy it.
Is it law to have a helmet on an electric scooter in the UK?
So so you have to wear head protection when you’re out and about on an e-scooter in the UK? Although it’s strongly recommended that you do protect your head when while using an e-scooter, it’s not currently a legal requirement that you do.
According to the department of transport in the UK:
[infoBox text=”You should wear a cycle helmet when using an e-scooter. Helmets are recommended but are not a legal requirement.”]
You can read more about that on the gov website, here.
Final thoughts: look after your noggin
- E-scooter helmets aren’t a legal requirement in the UK.
- But it’s highly recommended to wear one in any case.
- A high-speed spill or impact could be catastrophic without a helmet.
- Kids should also wear helmets before hopping on a scooter.
- Pick one that looks good, is made from the right material and is a good fit.