Some states require motorcyclists to wear helmets, and other states and agencies encourage the use of helmets. But is it really necessary if you know how to ride your motorcycle and ride carefully? In short, yes. Although proper training, respect for the rules of the road, and avoidance of alcohol greatly reduce the chance of being involved in an accident, accidents often happen in situations where the rider has too little time to react regardless of her riding abilities. In those situations, proper gear can make all the difference between a life ending injury and walking away. In 2009 the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) report Motorcycle Helmet Use and Head and Facial Injuries, revealed the statistics that twice as many non-helmet wearing riders suffer head, neck and facial injuries serious enough to require hospitalization as compared with riders wearing a helmet. The statistics also showed that when an injury occurred, the severity was greater for riders who did not wear a helmet.
So, in an effort to act responsibly you have chosen to wear a helmet, but choosing the right helmet for you can become a daunting task. Is one helmet style better than another? Is one rating agency better than another? How can you figure it all out?
Starting with helmet styles, in general there are beanies, three quarter helmets, full-face helmets, and modular style. To understand the answer to the question of whether one style protects you more than another style, you need to be familiar with a diagram that shows where helmet impact occurs in most motorcycle accidents.
A beanie helmet that only covers the head above the ears protects the head from impact about 38.6% of the time. Adding a back on the helmet, thus making it an open-face three quarter helmet will protect against impact about 55.5% of the time. Since neither style has a face shield, you will have to wear separate eye protection to keep bugs, and assorted road grime out of your eyes. You will also need to be more cautious to protect your skin not only against sunburn, but also against windburn. Both modular and full-face helmets protect the entire head, but there is a lot of anecdotal debate as to whether a modular helmet can withstand the same level of impact on the chin bar as a regular full-face helmet. Keep in mind also that in general, a full-face helmet will protect against more wind noise than other styles. Given all that, you can make an informed decision as to what style helmet you want to wear.
Now to the main rating agencies in the United States. The Department of Transportation (DOT) rating on helmets signifies that the helmet is designed to meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218. SNELL is a private organization that tests helmets, and advertises that it has the industry's toughest standards. Both agencies test impact resistance, but use different criteria. The DOT has a lower standard than SNELL in the amount of impact it allows transferred to the head, but places a limit on how long that impact can continue. SNELL has no duration of impact standard, but allows less impact transfer to the wearer's head. SNELL also independently tests the helmets and does spot checks on models previously approved, whereas the DOT allows companies to test their own helmets, and does not conduct follow up testing.
According to the Comparison Tests of Motorcycle Helmets Qualified to International Standards, a report found on the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's website, the ECE is the European Community standard and is also the required helmet standard for international motorcycle racing. BSI stands for the British Standards Institution. It has two levels of certification; Type A for competitive use, and Type B for pleasure riding use. Only Type A helmets are imported to the United States. The report itself goes into great detail, but ultimately comes to the conclusion that DOT and DOT-ECE helmets provide the best protection in terms of real life protection from the type of accidents most riders could experience.
Of course no helmet provides protection strapped to the back of the bike, or improperly fitted!
Ride Safe and Have Fun!
Comments