I came across a really cool gadget recently - a decorative helmet cover designed to attach to a protective sport helmet encouraging its use. After all, if you don’t wear it, it can’t protect you. These unique covers come in a variety of really cute designs- some with flashy lights, adding to their conspicuousness - especially at night.

While it must stay on the rider’s head to protect it from hits, the helmet should have a slow release buckle after a few seconds of steady pressure to avoid strangulation. To stay on your head, it must be level on the head and not tilted back exposing the forehead. Try it on before you buy it and confirm its interior can conform to your particular head bumps. A particular problem may arise if you wear a ponytail or braided hair. Few helmets accomodate these problems. It should hold securely and not stretch or change over time from wear, sweat, lotion, or tugging. Something as simple as wearing a sweatband might help alleviate these problems.

Making your helmet conspicuous can have a big impact on safety since if a driver can see you they will be more likely to try and avoid hitting you. The nogin sox certainly do this - after all, how often do you see someone with a flashing dinosaur, a synapsing brain, or a spiked mohawk? Beware of reflective tape on helmets as it is rarely effective; active lights are far superior to reflective materials.

Another important fact: your helmet is good for only one bad crash. After that the interior is usually damaged and the helmet should be replaced.

Some grim statistics: non-helmeted riders are 14 times more likely to die in crashes than helmeted riders; head injuries account for more than 60% of bike related deaths and it is estimated that anywhere from 45-88% of cyclists’ brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet. Moral of the story: find  a helmet that fits and wear it! And do it in style with nogin sox.