Channel 5’s The Gadget Show called on the 19 tonne JCB 457 Wheeled Loader, the 13 tonne JCB 131X Excavator and the JCB Loadall to give the helmet the most rigorous workout possible.
Presenters Craig Charles, Jon Bentley and Georgie Barrat visited the JCB quarry near the company’s Rocester World Headquarters, as part of an ‘Outdoors’ technical gear special episode, and witnessed JCB demonstration drivers Carl Fower and Dan Potter perform a series of punishing trials.
To test its safety credentials, the helmet was:
· dropped from a JCB Loadall man platform 14 metres in the air
· crushed by rocks dropped from a JCB 457 Wheeled Loader
· driven over by a 13 tonne JCB 131X Excavator.
Demonstration Team General Manager Dave Pegg said: “While our machines are more used to being put through their paces on construction sites and farms, we do love a challenge. So when the Gadget Show asked us to devise a series of extreme tests for the helmet we knew exactly which machines to draft in.”
To find out how the helmet stood up to the gruelling tests, tune into the show on Friday, May 10th at 7pm.