Studies have shown that most of the deaths in road traffic accidents involving motorcycles are caused by head injuries. If safety helmets are used correctly, the direct harm to drivers and passengers caused by accidents can be greatly reduced, and the mortality rate of motorcycle accidents can be effectively reduced. In actual use, inferior helmets not only fail to protect the head as they should, but may even cause parts to break due to collisions, thereby causing other secondary injuries to organs. Therefore, using motorcycle passenger helmets of qualified quality is the key to ensuring motorcycle driving safety. However, the results of the supervision and random inspection of helmet products released by the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Administration recently showed that nearly 40% of helmet products were of unqualified quality. The Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Administration recently released the results of the supervision and random inspection of helmet products in 2020. Of the 26 batches of sports helmet samples produced in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang and other provinces and cities, 10 batches were unqualified, with an unqualified rate of 38.5%. At the same time, the monitoring results of 8 batches of electric vehicle passenger helmets showed that 6 batches did not meet the relevant standard requirements, with a non-compliance rate of 75%.

It is understood that the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Administration commissioned Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd. to test all samples.

Yan Luqi, inspector of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: Among the 26 batches of samples inspected this time, 9 batches were purchased from physical stores and 17 batches were purchased from online platforms. The products cover the current mainstream products, the main channels and major brands purchased by consumers, and 8 batches of electric vehicle passenger helmets were purchased from physical stores.

During the interview, the reporter learned that China's current sports helmet standards were issued in 2009 and implemented in 2010.

Zhang Huifen, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: China's sports helmet standards are mandatory standards. The types of helmets specified in the standards are bicycle helmets, roller skating helmets and skateboard helmets. The 26 batches we inspected this time were tested according to this mandatory standard.

The reporter saw at the testing site that the 26 batches of sports helmets were mainly tested for four main indicators: helmet field of view, wearing device stability, strength performance and collision energy absorption performance. After testing, 10 batches of the 26 batches of samples failed.

CCTV reporter Zhang Yun: These are the unqualified sports helmet samples found in this supervision and random inspection. All samples have a common indicator that is unqualified, that is, the strength performance of the wearing device is unqualified. This is also the biggest quality problem found in sports helmets in this supervision and random inspection.

The strength performance of the helmet wearing device mainly tests the quality of the helmet's laces, connecting parts and other parts.

The reporter found that in this supervision and random inspection, all unqualified sports helmets had the problem of "excessive elongation of the laces, exceeding the national standard range".

Su Hequn, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: For the strength project of the helmet wearing device, the laces should not be torn off, the connectors and lace buckles should not be loose during the test. The unqualified helmets all had excessive elongation this time. Excessive elongation causes the helmet to be easily offset in the event of a collision, and this exposed part is prone to injury in the event of another collision.

During the interview, the reporter learned that the reason for the unqualified strength performance of the helmet wearing device may be the unreasonable design or insufficient strength of the parts.

Zhang Huifen, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: There are three main aspects of the unqualified strength performance of the helmet wearing device. One is the unreasonable structure of the parts; the second is the insufficient strength of the laces and connectors; then the teeth are small and brittle, which are easy to fall off and slip from the connection, causing the helmet to slip off the wearer's head and not play a protective role.

After testing, 10 batches of unqualified sports helmets, including samples produced by Giant (Kunshan) Co., Ltd., Dongguan Meilin Sports Goods Co., Ltd., and Zhongshan Hengxin Sports Equipment Co., Ltd.

When the reporter sorted out the list of unqualified samples, he noticed that two companies failed in this supervision and random inspection, whether they were products purchased in physical stores or in brand flagship stores on e-commerce platforms.

Yan Luqi, inspector of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: All the helmets produced by Giant Kunshan Co., Ltd. in this random inspection were unqualified. One was purchased from the brand flagship store of Tmall Mall, and the other was purchased from a car dealership in Suzhou. The same situation occurred with the products produced by Dongguan Meilin Sports Co., Ltd., one was purchased from the brand flagship store of Tmall Mall, and the other was purchased from a sports goods store in Suzhou.

In further in-depth interviews, the reporter also found that the sports helmets produced by Dongguan Meilin Sports Goods Co., Ltd. in Guangdong Province not only failed to pass the physical store and online store samples in this random inspection, but also failed to pass the products sold by this company in the brand flagship store of the e-commerce platform in the previous year's Jiangsu Provincial Supervision Random Inspection.

This means that the products sold by this company in online stores have failed to pass the Jiangsu Provincial Supervision Random Inspection for two consecutive years. However, during the interview, the reporter learned that when the sampled personnel bought samples from this online store, the customer service staff claimed that this product was certified and the quality was assured.

In further testing, the testers also found that the sports helmets produced by Meilin Sports Goods Co., Ltd. in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, failed to meet the requirements for absorbing collision energy.

Zhang Huifen, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: This project simulates the protection of the wearer's head by the helmet when the head hits the road surface, the edge of the road and other corners during a collision.

The testers believe that the helmets that failed this indicator are mainly caused by the poor quality of the raw materials.

Zhang Huifen, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: The main reason for the failure of the collision energy absorption performance project is the poor selection of materials. For example, ABS engineering plastics or PVC materials, or secondary recycled materials. When absorbing collisions, these materials are prone to brittle cracking and fragments falling off, causing harm to the wearer, and some are even secondary injuries.

When the reporter read the unqualified sports helmet test report, he observed that 60% of the unqualified samples were purchased from e-commerce platforms.

The reporter randomly visited several stores selling unqualified samples for investigation. In the flagship store of this e-commerce platform, the merchant claimed that this unqualified sample "has passed the national standard certification, and all indicators have been tested according to international standards, and all have passed", as well as EU certification. At the same time, the customer service staff also said that "the helmet has a quality inspection report and the quality is qualified."

Su Hequn, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: Some helmet manufacturers are actually manufacturers of sports equipment products, or manufacturers of other types of plastic products. In order to save production costs, they lack processing technology. In addition, they take advantage of the fact that it is difficult for consumers to distinguish the quality of the product from the appearance, so they sell products with unqualified product quality through online channels, resulting in a high unqualified rate of products in online channels.

During the interview, the reporter learned that the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau has notified all relevant companies of the unqualified results of the sports helmet supervision and random inspection to make rectifications.

Su Hequn, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: The unqualified results of this sports helmet random inspection were sent in writing to the production companies, e-commerce platforms and sales stores.

However, after the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau issued a written notice, the reporter visited the online stores of these unqualified products again to investigate and found that only some of the unqualified products had been removed from the shelves, while the unqualified products sampled by the three online stores Giant, Cinemax and ESSENSPORT had not been removed from the shelves and were still on sale.

The customer service staff of the official flagship store of Giant told the reporter that they are the official flagship store of Giant China Company, 100% authentic, and shipped directly from the factory, so please rest assured to buy. At the same time, it was also stated that the quality of this helmet is qualified. Under normal circumstances, it will be shipped the next day after the order is placed, and it is generally received about 48 hours after the order is placed. The reporter then placed an order in this store to purchase this unqualified helmet. After submitting the information, the reporter saw that the order information showed that the order was placed on the same day and was expected to be delivered the next day. When the reporter investigated in the other two stores, he also received the same reply and was able to successfully place an order to purchase.

In addition to sports helmets, there is another type of helmet that is very important in life, that is, electric vehicle passenger helmets. As we all know, electric vehicles are very popular in China, and the most important safety equipment for riding electric bicycles is helmets. However, the results of risk monitoring show that the safety risk of electric vehicle passenger helmets is extremely high.

While the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau conducted supervision and random inspections on 26 batches of sports helmets, it also conducted risk monitoring on 8 batches of electric vehicle passenger helmets. It was found that 6 batches did not meet the relevant standard requirements, with a non-compliance rate of 75%.

Su Hequn, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: In this monitoring, we collected products with the product name marked as electric vehicle passenger helmets. However, since there is no enforceable national standard for electric vehicle passenger helmets, most manufacturers implement a product standard of national standard 811-2010 motorcycle passenger helmets. For example, this helmet implements the national standard 811-2010 standard, and our test this time also uses the national standard 811-2010 standard for testing.

During the interview, the reporter learned that although there is no corresponding national standard for electric vehicle passenger helmets, the current market demand is very large.

Lu Bing, senior engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: For example, takeaway and courier boys all use electric bike helmets. Our office workers, those in second- and third-tier cities, all use electric bike helmets. At present, there is no enforceable standard for this manufacturer, and the quality of electric bike helmets varies greatly, making it difficult to guarantee the safety performance of electric bike helmets produced by these companies.

The reporter saw at the testing site that some electric bike passenger helmets had varying degrees of cracking after being hit during the test. After testing, the helmet's ability to absorb collision energy was the most problematic item for electric bike passenger helmets this time. Among the 8 batches of samples, 6 batches did not meet the requirements.

Xu Xinkang, inspector of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: This sample broke after only one impact on the helmet shell during our test. According to relevant national requirements, helmets need to undergo 8 impact tests in 4 directions of the helmet, and no cracking should occur. This sample broke very seriously after only one impact, which is a serious quality problem.

The testers believe that the performance of absorbing collision energy is the most important safety indicator of helmets.

Su Hequn, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: According to our understanding, about 75% of the fatal riding accidents that occur each year are caused by head injuries. The mortality rate of electric vehicle drivers and passengers who do not wear helmets correctly is about 3 to 4 times higher than that of electric vehicle drivers and passengers who wear helmets correctly. Relevant medical research shows that wearing a helmet can reduce about 85% of head injuries.

During the on-site interview, the reporter also found that another major hidden danger of electric vehicle passenger helmets is the defect of "puncture resistance". Among the 8 batches of samples, 6 batches did not meet the relevant standard requirements.

In addition, unlike sports helmets, electric vehicle passenger helmets generally have goggles, and the transmittance of goggles affects the safety performance of riders. The test found that the transmittance of goggles in 3 batches of samples did not meet the relevant standard requirements, posing a safety hazard.

During the interview, the reporter learned that many of the companies currently producing electric vehicle passenger helmets mainly produce motorcycle helmets or other types of helmets. However, different types of products have different production technology requirements, which to a certain extent causes quality risks for electric vehicle helmets.

Lu Bing, senior engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: According to the survey, there are currently no manufacturers specializing in the production of electric vehicle helmets on the market. Some companies have transformed from helmet manufacturers. The production process, production environment and technical requirements of helmets and electric vehicle helmets are different, so it is difficult to guarantee the safety performance of electric vehicle helmets produced by these companies.

The reporter saw at the testing site that some companies produced electric vehicle helmets with obvious differences in design, fabrics and production processes. The testers believe that some companies have lowered costs in materials and assembly, and blindly lowered prices in sales, which inevitably reduced the quality of the finished products and the safety performance of the products.

Lu Bing, senior engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: Both of these helmets are nominally electric vehicle helmets. They are different in appearance and safety performance. This one is a typical electric vehicle helmet in the style of a helmet; this one is safer, and it has a protective mask for eyes. From the lining, this one is a typical helmet-style electric helmet, which has only one layer of hard plastic; this one is better, it has foam material inside, which has better impact and shock resistance and is safer.

During the investigation and interview, the reporter learned that the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau has continuously conducted spot checks on helmet products in recent years: in 2016, 120 batches of sports helmets were spot checked, and 96 batches were unqualified, with an unqualified rate of 80%; in 2019, 50 batches of sports helmets were spot checked, and 12 batches were unqualified, with an unqualified rate of 24%; in 2020, 26 batches of sports helmets were spot checked, and 10 batches were unqualified, with an unqualified rate of 38.5%.

Su Hequn, engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: Compared with the spot check results in recent years, the unqualified rate of sports helmets is generally high, and the unqualified items every year are basically quality issues related to user safety. For the first time, we used the national mandatory standards for motorcycle member helmets to monitor electric vehicle member helmets. It was found that nearly 80% of electric vehicle helmets did not meet the relevant requirements, posing great safety hazards.

In addition to the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau, the reporter found that the national random inspection has also conducted random inspections on sports helmets many times. The unqualified rate of national random inspections of sports helmets in 2016 was 16.7%; the unqualified rate of national random inspections of sports helmets in 2018 was 22.2%.

It is understood that China's annual production and sales of sports helmets exceed 10 billion yuan. Sports helmet manufacturers are mainly concentrated in Hebei Province, Shandong Province, Guangdong Province and other regions, and their output accounts for about 80% of Chinese companies. There are more than 200 manufacturers of electric vehicle passenger helmets, with an annual output of about 15 million helmets.

Experts believe that the production threshold of helmets is actually not high. As long as manufacturers produce in accordance with national standards and strictly control material quality and process flow, they are fully capable of producing qualified products and greatly reducing the unqualified rate of the helmet industry.

Lu Bing, senior engineer of Jiangsu Guojian Testing Technology Co., Ltd.: China's product standards for sports helmets have been implemented for more than 10 years, and the failure rate has always been high. Enterprises need to pay attention to product quality in terms of consumer safety, strictly implement mandatory standards, and control the quality of materials and processes. On the other hand, the product quality of electric vehicle helmets varies greatly, and the country urgently needs to introduce mandatory standards for electric vehicle helmets to ensure the safety of consumers.

Helmet, more importantly, is a safety helmet. The long-term high failure rate actually shows that the safety of many helmet consumers is not basically guaranteed, and they are even more unsafe because they wear unqualified helmets. Nothing is more important than life. I hope that helmet consumers can get safe helmet protection as soon as possible.

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