- Sikhs who wear turbans are exempt from wearing bicycle and motorcycle helmets
Turbans can protect against head injuries almost as well as bicycle helmets, scientists have discovered, in a blow to one of Del Boy’s clever business ideas.
Researchers found that Sikh cyclists can be saved from a traumatic head injury if they crash while wearing their traditional caps made of thick, winding fabric.
It could be bad news for Only Fools and Horses legend Del Trotter, who famously designed a ‘shock turban’ in a 1996 episode of the classic comedy.
The dubious trader Del wrapped a torn motorcycle helmet in a white scarf and declared: ‘There are millions of Sikhs out there riding motorcycles who are completely unprotected. “This is our chance to do something for our neighbors.”
It could be bad news for Only Fools and Horses legend Del Trotter, who famously designed a ‘shock turban’ in a 1996 episode of the classic comedy.
He called his invention the Trotter Crash Turban and forced his long-suffering brother Rodney to try it on.
Rodney complained: ‘I look like a human cannonball that just crashed into a clothesline. People would rather suffer serious injuries than use this.’
Now, experts at Imperial College London say the turban already provides good protection against impacts and believe their findings can help engineers develop lightweight protective fabric hats.
Sikhs who wear turbans are exempt from wearing bicycle and motorcycle helmets in the United Kingdom.
Dr Gurpreet Singh said: “Our findings show that simple Sikh turbans have the potential to mitigate head impacts.”
“This provides important evidence that we hope will prompt the broader scientific community to invest in the best helmet fabrics for impact absorption, which will in fact open commercial markets to people from all walks of life dealing with concussions.” and head impacts.
Using crash test dummy heads, researchers tested five different turbans, using two wrap styles and two different fabrics, and compared them to conventional cycling helmets and bare heads.
The study found that the risk of skull fractures and brain injuries was even higher with turbans than with conventional bicycle helmets.
However, the danger could be reduced by covering a larger area of ​​the head, placing energy-absorbing materials between the layers of the fabric, and reducing friction in the material.
For impacts to the front of the head, the Dastaar turban style performed the best, while the Dumalla turban style performed best for impacts to the side of the head.