Delft – August 8, 2016
According to the new EU regulation 168/2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two and three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles, the Speed-Pedelec is classified as a moped: for the Netherlands – as well as for other European countries – this means that wearing a moped helmet (in compliance with ECE R22) is mandatory for Speed-Pedelec users.
However, from 2017 it will also be allowed in the Netherlands to wear a helmet that complies with National Technical Agreement (NTA) 8776: this type of helmet looks like a bicycle helmet, but protects against higher impact speeds and covers a larger part of the head. In comparison with the bicycle helmet, the Speed-Pedelec helmet offers more protection for the temporal and occipital areas of the head.
In drafting the NTA, the project group made use of existing knowledge on head protection (a whole range of existing helmet standards, literature) and the results of tests performed on high-end bicycle helmets. Then, using EN 1078 as the base, the project group redefined its requirements towards the limits of the current technical possibilities in head protection. Next to the increased safety level, other important considerations in defining the requirements were that the helmet should be suitable for use in physical effort and should not impede the hearing ability of the S-EPAC user.
The project group that has developed NTA 8776 consists of: ABUS, Accell Group, BBB Cycling, Belgian Road Safety Institute, Bell Sports, Gazelle, KASK, MET Helmets, Pon, RAI Vereniging, Riese & Müller, TASS International, TNO and CONEBI.
For questions and more information about NTA 8776 please contact Mr Robby Veders at iv@nen.nl
