cost357

COST 357,

The COST Action 357 has been finished as of 14.11.2009. Its results and impact are summarized as follows:
Powered two-wheelers (PTW), such as mopeds and motorcycles, are over-represented in traffic fatalities, accounting for 18% of all European traffic fatalities. Even more disturbing is that PTW are the only mode of transport for which the annual European fatalities are consistently increasing. One of the most effective protection products for PTW riders is the motorcycle helmet. Although understanding and optimizing motorcycle helmets’ impact protection has been covered by numerous studies, very little is known about how the motorcycle helmet affects its wearer’s riding behaviour, or the behaviour of other traffic participants. Therefore, the objective of the COST Action 357 is to increase knowledge on how motorcycle helmets and their design could be improved in aspects other than impact protection to help facilitate the avoidance of accidents. The Action addresses this objective from two directions - motorcyclists and other road users. The Action focuses on: i) Providing better understanding of the physical and physiological effects of wearing a motorcycle helmet; ii) Providing better understanding of the links between these physical and physiological effects and their impact on the cognitive abilities relevant to the PTW rider; iii) Provide better understanding of how the PTW-rider-helmet systems affect cognitive faculty of other road users perception of PTW riders; and iv) Providing knowledge of how motorcycle helmets should be improved to reduce their negative impact on physiological and cognitive parameters for the rider as well as other traffic participants.
Physical and physiological effect of the helmet on a PTW rider:
A study established that the useful-visual-field reduces with age and with increasing PTW speed. At the same time a survey of helmets in use found no difference between the field-of-view provided by helmets involved in accident cases and controls not so involved. This suggests that the simple field-of-view parameter might not play a large role in PTW traffic safety. The same study found that the status of light transmission of helmet visors is not different between PTW riders involved in an accident, compared to controls. One study has assessed perception thresholds for transmission changes of visors. This information is useful in designing effective visors with different transmission states which are perceptually different from one another, and in assessing whether a used visor’s transmission has changed from its “as new” condition by a perceptible amount. Other work found that motorcycle helmets are excellent thermal insulators causing relatively high microclimates around the head, which are unfavourable for thermal comfort; while their ventilation systems are mostly ineffective in providing a perceivable effect on the rider’s temperature perception. Carbon dioxide levels can reach at least 2% which rapidly drops with the presence of airflow around the helmet. Although only occurring at stand-still these elevated carbon dioxide levels are relevant since they have been shown to negatively affect cognitive performance. Finally, noise was evaluated on the shell of the helmet as well as in the ear, providing initial understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for noise experienced by PTW riders. This understanding will allow better noise reduction methods in helmet design.
Cognitive effects:
A test battery was developed for the cognitive assessment of wearing a motorcycle helmet. It was established that, under well controlled laboratory conditions, wearing a motorcycle helmet causes a subtle cognitive impairment when compared to not wearing any headgear.

Numerous studies have focused on the ability of other road users to spot approaching PTW riders. Brighter coloured helmets are associated with a reduced accident risk relative to less brightly coloured helmets. A pattern of many different colours as perceived by another road user (referred to as a high spatial frequency) is also considered to play an important role in “looked-but-failed-to-see” accidents, or in misinterpretations the speed of an approaching PTW. A survey was developed to evaluate attitudes of automobile drivers towards PTW riders. It appeared that automobile drivers have little empathy for the safety needs of PTW riders. Additional results indicated that the empathy of automobile drivers toward PTW riders can be improved through demonstrating the vulnerability of PTWs in traffic, such as through video-clips. Such training could lead to a better appraisal of PTW riders by automobile drivers. Finally, besides the cognitive test battery and the attitudes survey, riding simulators have been developed allowing future studies to be conducted under more realistic, but still well-controlled, laboratory conditions.
During the lifetime of the COST Action 357, members produced over 25 peer-reviewed publications, two books, a multitude of conference contributions, the organization of a new conference for vulnerable road users (VRU), and two Ph.D. theses, all in the framework of this Action. Many of these scientific contributions advanced the world-wide state-of-the-art, and several projects are still underway. In this timely Action long-lasting European interdisciplinary collaborations have been formed among psychologists, physiologists, and engineers. Young researchers have been greatly supported, producing a total of 13 peer-reviewed accepted publications of which a young researcher was the first author, with an additional 12 manuscript currently under review, and 24 oral presentations at relevant international conferences. Helmet manufacturers have kindly provided helmets for this Action, and the general transport industry has been informed about the results of this Action through a workshop and a symposium, and have been directly provided with published studies. The multidisciplinary approach focussing on both separate and linked physical and physiological effects and their impact on cognition as initiated by this Action should be continued, and new optimized motorcycle helmet concepts should be developed. In such future work helmet manufacturers should play a more active role. The multidisciplinary approach should ensure that one parameter will not be optimized at the cost of another; and especially that the mechanical impact protection characteristics should not be reduced from their current level. Finally, many aspects of the work carried out in this Action are relevant for other types of protective headgear, especially bicycle helmets, for which we hope that the structure of the present Action will serve as an example.