2Wheeltips

One word of advice if you are considering getting a used motorcycle helmet:  DON'T!   When it comes to helmets, you need to follow this simple rule:  one and it's done... one impact to that helmet, either from an accident or fall, or simply from being dropped several feet onto the floor, and that helmet's ability to protect your head is reduced...and the damage on a helmet is not always visible.  As the operator or passenger on a bike, always buy a new DOT or SNELL certified helmet from a reputable dealer.  And keep in mind that if that used bike you are buying comes with a helmet from the previous owner, keep the bike....but don't use the helmet!

I'd been on holiday with the family and hadn't ridden my bike for two weeks.  Withdrawal symptoms were setting in and it was a beautiful sunny Sunday so I decided to go for a ride.

I'd been out for most of the morning and into the afternoon when I came into a local town (Basingstoke for those of you who know the area) and saw a bike parked on a roundabout exit.  I thought he might be a guide so I took that exit.  Sure enough, on the next roundabout another bike was parked on an exit.  I took that exit and, in this way, followed the bikes out of town.  Eventually I discovered wher they were all going, a Blue festival in a pub just off the A339 in Hampshire.  I wanted to stay for some music but had to get back so I took the next right and thought I'd get back to town along the back roads.  I'd gone a couple of miles along the road and slowed down to take a blind corner.  It was a 30mph road and when I hit the corner I was doing about 20 - 25mph.  I got round the corner and saw a car on my side of the road comming towards me.  I swerved to avoid the car and braked to slow down even more but my front wheel hit a patch of gravel on the side of the road.  As soon as that happened the front end just slid out from under me.  The bike ended up in a ditch and I slid down the road on my face.  The moron in the car didn't even have the decency to stop and see if he'd killed me.  Result: bike written off and I strained my neck and back.  I'm now looking for a new bike and refovering from my injuries so I'll be out on the road again soon(ish).  If I'd been wearing an open face helmet at the time I would now be in hospital while the surgeons tried to rebuild my face.  I'll never wear an open face helmet, ever.

This is a story from one of our members on the importance of wearing protective gear....specifically a full face helmet.

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On the day of the fall, it was sunny but the roads were wet from melting snow and there was a lot of salt and sand on the road. We had just made a left hand turn on to CR-518 and our speed was about 20 mph. As soon as you turn on to CR-518, there is a wooden bridge that goes across the road instead of pavement. It is not a long bridge. The front tire of the bike was already off the bridge but the rear tire was still on the bridge. We believe the throttle may have been hit to hard and it caused the rear tire to slip on the wet bridge.

The bike fell to the right as did the rider. The rider first hit his right shoulder on the road, which broke the fall, and then hit is head. Once the helmet hit the road, the rider slid as is evidenced by the marks on the helmet. Had he not been wearing a full face helmet, his face would have been severely damaged. In addition, had he not had an armored jacket and armored motorcycle pants, gloves and over the ankle boots, he would have had multiple injuries. He did have bruised ribs, a bruised thumb and general soreness on his back, shoulder and legs. The pain lasted for several weeks.

 

Many states have mandatory helmet laws, requiring you to wear a helmet while riding.  Although there are those who protest the mandatory helmet laws, you need to be selfish and think only about yourself:  if you go down, even if it is a minor incident, and you hit your head, the helmet is the only thing between you, the ground, and serious injury.  Surely, you don’t need a mandatory helmet law to get you into the very good habit of always  wearing a helmet when you ride; it’s your life and your head...enough said!

If you find that a helmet is not comfortable, try another one.  Shop for a helmet at a store where you can try on various sizes made by different manufacturers and where there is a salesperson who is knowledgeable about fitting helmets.  You may find that the size and shape of your head is best suited to the helmets of one particular manufacturer.  If a helmet is too large or too small, it is the wrong helmet! Once you find the right helmet, you will know it; it will become so comfortable to wear that you will wonder how you could ever consider riding without one.  Half and 3/4 helmets do not offer near the protection that full-face helmets do.  Your helmet serves functions other than just protecting you from head injury; it protects you from bugs, road debris, etc.  At highway speed, even a bug hitting you in the face or eyes can cause serious injury!   You can also purchase additional visors for your helmet that provide UV filtration and shading if you are riding in bright sunlight and you don’t want to wear sunglasses.  These visors are simple to swap out and you may want to consider having several of them for different riding conditions. Remember that, if you start out on a trip during the day and are using a shaded visor, you will have to bring along a clear visor for any riding that you do after the sun goes down. In some states law enforcement will pull you over for riding with shaded visors after dark.

Helmets are required to be DOT certified.  In addition to DOT certification, some helmets also carry SNELL certification.  What is the difference?  Basically, keep this in mind:  all SNELL certified helmet are DOT certified, but not all DOT certified helmets are SNELL certified. 

Both DOT (Department of Transportation) and SNELL (SNELL Memorial Foundation) have their own standards used to test helmets.   The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 is the one that DOT uses and it dates back to 1974; the SNELL Memorial Foundation uses a standard that is updated every five years.  Some of the other basic similarities and differences between DOT and SNELL certification are:

DOT and SNELL assess each helmet by placing it on a head form that is equipped with sensors. The helmeted head form is then dropped from a specific height onto a steel anvil, and the severity of the impact is recorded.

Both standards drop the head forms on flat and hemispherically shaped anvils in order to simulate different types of impacts. However, SNELL also uses an edged anvil that specifically tests the integrity of the helmet's shell.

While both DOT and SNELL drop their helmets to simulate crash impact, SNELL drops the helmets from greater heights, simulating more severe crash impact and require the helmets to withstand greater impact and more force than the DOT standard.

SNELL certification requires a manufacturer to submit 5 helmets of a particular design, for testing; 4 of the 5 helmets are tested and the last helmet is saved as a sample.  DOT relies on the manufacturer of the helmet to do self-certification.  Periodically, the government will conduct spot audits on the helmet manufacturer.  In 2001, when performing a spot audit on 40 helmets, DOT found a 20% failure rate among some of the helmets.  Once found and reported, it was up to the manufacturers to bring their helmets into compliance.

Although their testing process is very similar, SNELL requires their certified helmets to withstand a greater impact and absorb more force than the DOT standards.

In order for a company to claim that their product is SNELL approved, they have to submit five helmets for testing. Four of those helmets are tested and one is saved as a sample product. If the helmet design passes the tests, the manufacturer enters into a contract with SNELL. This contract allows SNELL Memorial Foundation to buy helmets from the manufacturer and test them on a continual basis in order to ensure quality.

The bottom line:  if you want the safest helmet for your money (and your head!), choose a helmet that has the SNELL certification on it; it will meet or exceed DOT helmet standards.