The types of head and neck injuries in industrial accidents are reviewed, and the causes classified. It is found that concussion rather than neck fracture is the most common injury, yet the test criterion in the European standard appears to be for neck fracture. A modified car-crash dummy with a flexible neck was used to evaluate the linear and rotational accelerations in typical industrial accidents. Oblique impacts are the most frequent, and these can cause high angular rotations of the head. Helmets containing foam liners provide better protection against skull fractures than the traditional industrial hard-hat with a suspension cradle. The“ connection between the kinetic energies of survivable accidents and the 50 J energy in the European standard is investigated.