Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

Reporting Defective Helmets

Summary: CPSC has a database giving consumers the ability to report defective products on line.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has jurisdiction over the quality of bicycle helmets sold in the US market by virtue of its bicycle helmet standard.

The Rule published by CPSC has the force of law. A manufacturer whose product fails to meet the standard is subject to civil and even criminal penalties. In an extreme case, you can go to jail for refusing to comply with a CPSC standard. At least one manufacturer of a different product did. Here is that story.

Online Reporting

CPSC has a database called SaferProducts.gov giving consumers the ability to report defective products on line. The helmet manufacturer is given the opportunity to review the report before it is posted.

By Mail

You can mail things to CPSC on paper, addressed to:

By Telephone

You can also report an incident or unsafe product by calling CPSC toll-free at (800) 638-2772 or (800) 638-8270 for the hearing and speech impaired.

Here is a list of the bicycle helmet recalls announced by CPSC.