The bicycle helmet isn’t just a hat and the way you wear it can’t be left to a sense of flair or flight of fancy. Too often we see people with helmets pushed back above their forehead — and especially when it’s the vulnerable skulls of children that are thus left unprotected, it’s cause for alarm.

The helmet has to be essentially horizontal when your head is straight up. Some say you should have two finger-widths between the top of your nose and the helmet. The official rules for helmet adjustment go like this:

• Fit comfortably touching the head all the way around; level and stable enough to resist even violent shakes or hard blows and stay in place
• Adjust fit pads or rings to secure helmet. It should sit level on your head, with the front just above the eyebrows or frame of glasses. If you walk into a wall, the helmet should hit before your nose does!
• Adjust straps so when you look up, the front rim should be barely visible to your eye; the “Y” of the side straps should meet just below your ear.
• The chin strap should be snug against your chin so when you open your mouth very wide, you feel the helmet pull down a little bit. (Bike Helmet Safety Institute)