SHARP, the Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme was launched by the UK Minister of Transport in 2007 as innovative government safety scheme designed to save lives, helping motorcyclists to make a more informed choice when buying a helmet.
In 2013 SHARP was awarded a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award and the FIM Road Safety Award.
SHARP has now published safety ratings for five new helmets. This takes the total number of helmets that have been rated by SHARP to 401, conducting more than 13.000 high impact tests.
UK Road Safety Minister Andrew Jones stated: “We have some of the safest roads in the world but we are determined to do more to improve safety for all road users including motorcyclists. The confidence riders put in the ratings shows how vitally important they are in helping reduce the number of tragedies we see on our roads”.
“The Department for Transport and its SHARP project team deserve great credit for this pioneering safety initiative that has promoted biker safety in the UK and also attracted attention around the world”, added David Ward, Secretary General of Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP). It shows how consumer information can be a powerful force for improved safety on our roads”.
“With more than 400 listings SHARP gives riders objective safety information with the star rating, FIM recognised SHARP with the FIM Road Safety Award”, stated John Chatterton-Ross, FIM and FIM Europe Director of Public Affairs. “I used it when buying my current helmet. SHARP does more – the website contains advice on how to get the correct fit too”.
“We very much appreciate the SHARP Programme in guiding motorcyclists on safer helmets”, added Silvio Manicardi, FIM Europe 2nd Deputy President. “Obviously in the choice of the proper helmet, not only the impact result has to be taken in consideration but also other items, as properly stated by SHARP in its website. In particular we’ve appreciated the very comprehensive guidelines on how fitting one’s own helmet, which is often overlooked by many customers” (The guide “How to fit your helmet” is at the following link: http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/content/how-fit-your-helmet).
