Reducing the toll of road traffic accidents

Rodger Charlton and Gary Smith (October 2003, JRSM1) refer to the sizeable number of deaths in motorcyclists. Although constituting only 4% of total road traffic accidents they contribute 14% of the deaths. 80% of motorcycle deaths are from head injury. I have patented and produced a prototype of a new design for head protection which has been shown by the Transport Research Laboratory to provide between 47–59% more protection against rotational forces than conventional helmets. This is a development of my observation that the scalp in the human head provides most of the protection against rotational forces, a major factor in head injury: the Phillips Helmet has a membrane which simulates the scalp in being able to slide over the surface of the shell as the scalp does over the skull. That existing helmet manufacturers are reluctant to take on this invention is maybe not surprising. More disturbing is the lack of response from the Department of Transport, to which I have written twice.