U.S. transportation regulators on Wednesday called for stronger rules for motorcycle helmets, proposing additional safety requirements in an effort to crack down on “novelty” helmets that do not meet federal standards. The Department of Transportation said such uncertified helmets are unsafe and do not protect riders in crashes despite being sold and marketed for use on the road.
Its proposal would further define what makes an acceptable motorcycle helmet, from its thickness to its compression ability, in an attempt to help riders and state law enforcement officials identify inferior helmets. Such proposed changes aim “to reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from traffic accidents involving use of motorcycle helmets” that fail to meet federal standards, Department of Transportation regulators said.
Deaths stemming from motorcycle crashes are disproportionately high, they said, in part due to the high number of motorcyclists wearing substandard helmets. Novelty helmets generally cover a smaller area of the head, have thin liners and lack the ability to absorb the force of a crash, the department said. They are often sold with disclaimers stating that they are not for highway use “yet they are sold to highway users and used in great numbers by motorcyclists,” the regulators said.
It is not clear why so many riders use inferior helmets, but part of the problem seems to be that riders do not understand the risks, the regulators said. Novelty helmets can also be cheaper and appear “more comfortable or stylish,” they added.
Tougher standards are expected to help authorities prosecute sellers of noncompliant helmets in states where helmets are mandatory, regulators said.
The public can comment on the proposal for 60 days before the department moves to issue its final regulation.
While I’m sure there will be plenty of folks who bemoan this move as infringing on riders’ liberty, I have to say that I’ve met plenty of people who really ought to know better who think these are the same as DOT helmets. Even worse are the new riders seeking a cool image who like the low profile look without realizing its basically useless on impact
I can understand not wanting to wear any helmet. I can’t understand at all the desire to strap a plastic beanie on your head. I think novelty helmets look rediculous. And, it seems it’s usually the guys that don’t want a helmet that gives them “mushroom head” are the same ones that feel the need to tell me they don’t care what anyone else thinks. If you don’t care what others think then why the concern over looks?
the good part is they are going to go after the sellers and manufacturers. Right, you bet. Nope local donut squad will instantly be using that as the reason to pull us over and inspect our helmet then start writing equipment violations. Applied correctly I have no issue but we all know the LEO’s suck when it comes to motorcyclists.
CW,
DOT helmets?
Mike
I’ll put it more bluntly . If it is not capable of performing as a helmet then it should not be sold as a helmet . Period !
Which is to say . Either wear a real helmet where it is required . Or suffer the consequences therein .
As far as takehikes comment ? Need I remind you that a high percentage of LEO’s are in fact bikers … either on duty .. off … or both ? No TH .. the problem is not with the LEO’s . The problem is with the few that chose to ride irresponsibly on public roads … or worse define themselves as .. or portray the image of being 1%ers . That last part aimed directly at all the Yuppie Outlaw wanna be’s out there
Yes, I know my novelty helmet will not protect me in a crash. I also know my government should not have any say in what I choose to do as long as I don’t harm someone else.
I would prefer not to wear a helmet at all! It should be MY choice and no one else’s!
Maybe the first thing the decision-makers should do is evaluate their own safety standards. Check out this article about helmet testing/certification:
http://rideapart.com/articles/kickstand-u-s-helmet-law-restricts-rider-choice-time-change
It is not clear why so many riders use inferior helmets,
I think a lot of times “Its not going to happen to me ” syndrome
Motorcyclist fatalities drop for second straight year
http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/21/motorcyclist-fatalities-2014-study/
@TJ Martin, I think takeikes is probably correct to some extent, particularly during the major US rallies like Sturgis and Daytona where you will get yanked in a heartbeat for missing mirrors, vertical licence plates, two feet not hitting the ground at stop signs, etc.
I don’t care if people wear a helmet or not,its their choice,this is just what I think.
When I road raced in England many years ago we used to wear small helmets
we called “pudding basin” they looked similar and gave about as much protection
as the small skull helmets people wear now,
I fell off at Brands Hatch and came down on my head (I was already screwed up
before this) the helmet moved on my head and the strap hit me so hard in the
throat I had a bruise, apparently it put a lump inside the artery in my throat and
about 15 years ago I was doing something just as stupid and the lump came loose,
stopped the Oxygen to my brain and gave me a stroke.
I don’t think would have happen if I was wearing a modern with a half or full face
helmet that covers the side of the head,and if I wasn’t wearing a helmet I would be dead.
“It is not clear why so many riders use inferior helmets, but part of the problem seems to be that riders do not understand the risks, the regulators said”.
The regulators must be stupid as they buy them to have the most unrestrictive,lightest,uncumbersome and less wind drag in helmet law states.
Mike Greenwald – I mean DOT certified helmets
You don’t see people wearing novelty helmets in non-helmet states. They’re only used to skirt helmet law states requirements.. Using Themis almost like riding helmet less by choice.
As much as I prefer to ride sans bucket I’ve been in a couple of crashes where my helmet saved me from potentially serious head injuries. What I’ve learned to do is to purchase a DOT helmet from Daytona Helmets. I buy the size small because it has the smallest shell size in the industry. Then I take a piece of 40-grit sand paper and sculpt out the Styrofoam in the thing until I can strap it on my size 2XL gourd. I excavate more material from the front than the back so that there’s less wind resistance. There’s still enough impact absorbent Styrofoam to cushion my head during both of the crashes I’ve been involved in over the past several years but the profile is only slightly larger than a novelty helmet. Plus my novelty helmets typically weighed somewhere in the range of 16 oz. My modified Daytona model weighs 22 oz. as compared to 32 plus oz for normal un-modified DOT helmets I’ve only been pulled over once in the 8 years I’ve been wearing one of my modified helmets. I had replaced the fabric in the thing and even sewed the tag back inside. The cop checked out the tag while I explained that the liner was so thin because it was made of a special impact absorbent Styrofoam. Although he gave me an incredulous look he let me go without even a warning. Oh yeah; I almost forgot. Daytona DOT half helmets are also very reasonably priced.
If youre going to go thru the trouble of wearing a helmet, might as well wear one that will actually save your brain from damage in the event of a crash…as well as spare the sunburn & rain fun Im so fond of…oh, and dont forget the really big bugs out there gunning for my face…
The Law of Natural Selection works just fine- this is just the usual government money/power-grab…..
Full face is business for anyone doing serious riding.
As I was purchasing my current Schuberth the sales man remarked: “No sense spending more on a helmet than the contents are worth…”
I crashed in the dirt on my quad when I was 21 and if I did not have a helmet on I would have likely died. However, I do not wear a helmet on the street. There is no empirical bi-partisan data that proves that a helmet in fact reduces the risk of head injury let alone increases the chances of staying alive.
If you crack your skull open in a crash, they say, “well if he had a helmet he would still be alive or would not be a veggie” but there is zero way of knowing if a helmet would have made a difference. If you hit your head off the ground hard enough no helmet will keep your brain from crashing against the inside of your skull. It doesn’t take much to get a brain bleed and die.
I use this example a lot: back in the day professional football players used leather helmets that clearly did not do much to protect the head. They learned from a young age how to tackle without using the crown of their heads. Now, I would not debate that head injuries happened but it’s clear that once technology advanced to what it is today, football players have gotten lazy and have forgotten how to tackle, thinking that the helmet will protect them. So, if I (and I am only speaking for me) do not wear a helmet, I am less likely to get lazy while riding because I know that my alertness is the only thing keeping my face from being cheese grated on the tarmac.
Both sides of this debate offer facts that are both skewed to validate their given points. Wear a helmet if you want or if you legally have to but wearing a non DOT helmet in a state that does not require helmets is akin to wearing a SOA shirt to your local Mc. Donalds bike night. It’s just plain stupid and unnecessary.
A lot of great ideas . The best deal with personal rights . When I get on my bike my thoughts Grampa Out to The damage my getting here will Dad Out to my family and friends . If you still think you are industructable . Get a good helmet . If you don’t about others , get a good helmet . If you have no one or you are a selfish bas. Or you want to exercise your right . You should be able to Dad Out that . What ever okay the law or work to change it .
C.W.,
I did not know that D.O.T. certifies helmets. Is there a list of certified helmets?
Mike
Cyril,
You are always spot on on your articles, so it pains me to say this. The bottom picture is actually a DOT approved Helmet, not a novelty helmet. Thank you
Tim and C.W. As far as I know. DOT doesn’t test or approve helmets. Just make recommendations about what should be a road legal helmet. It means that many manufacturers/resellers affix a DOT sticker without consideration of the helmet passing a DOT test…because it doesn’t exist. So, to pretend that the bottom helmet is “DOT Approved” is a big stretch.
The answer.
NHTSA does not test helmets against the DOT standards before they can claim DOT certification; rather, each helmet manufacturer marketing their helmets for road use in the U.S. must test and self-certify the models they want to sell and then permanently affix the “DOT” emblem signifying compliance with FMVSS 218.
NHTSA enforces the standard by acquiring random samples of the product and sending them to an independent testing lab to verify compliance. Penalties to manufacturers for marketing non-compliant products can be steep—up to $5,000 per helmet.
FMVSS 218 sets standards in three areas of helmet performance: impact attenuation, basically energy absorption; penetration resistance; and finally the retention system effectiveness, and there are new product labeling requirements.
The standard also requires peripheral vision to be not less than 105° from the helmet midline. Projections from the surface of the helmet (snaps, rivets, etc.) may not exceed 5 mm.
The impact test measures acceleration of a headform inside the helmet when it is dropped from a fixed height onto a spherical and flat surfaced anvil. The standard allows a peak acceleration energy of 400 G (G being “gravity constant” or an acceleration value of ft. per second x seconds).
The penetration test involves dropping a piercing test striker onto the helmet from a fixed height. The striker must not penetrate deep enough to contact the headform.
The retention system test involves placing the helmet’s retention straps under load in tension. For this test the load is progressive; first a load of 22.7 kg (49.9 lb.) is applied for 30 seconds, then it is increased to 136 kg (299.2 lb.) for 120 seconds, with measurement of the stretch or displacement of a fixed point on the retention strap from the apex of the helmet.
Some new standards in FMVSS 218 will go into effect in May 2013.
As a result of confusion over the specifications in the test procedures for impact attenuation and the retention system, new test procedures have been put into place.
The apparatus for testing a helmet retention system under DOT (FMVSS 218) standards.
Those changes won’t be noticeable to the buyer—but one change will be: the DOT label that must appear on the helmet. Under the new standard, the simple “DOT” sticker of old won’t cut it.
In an effort to make counterfeit labeling of non-compliant helmets more difficult and legally risky to those who do it, the DOT label displayed on the back of the helmet must now include, in order from top to bottom:
The manufacturer’s name
Model number or name
“DOT” below the manufacturer’s name
“FMVSS 218” centered below DOT
The word “Certified” below FMVSS 218
For additional information, visit the National Highway Safety Administration.
Even one knows what helmet are dot full face and half Hemet s will break your neck in a wreak small helmets do save lives no matter what helmet you wear you still can be kill in a bike wreak
Easy fix to all this. Make every state a helmet choice state. End of problem.
I don’t ride a trike , not sure why these guys should wear a helmet . They aren’t motorcycles . They have 3 wheels and not much of a balance issue . Bottom line , should be our choice
I guess Polaris Slingshots are not considered motorcycles in California as m/c endorsement and helmet is not required to operate one in the land of fruits and nuts.
An increasingly inept public keeps yammering for the government to “protect them” from any possible harm, as though such a Utopia could actually be created….
Look, motorcycling is dangerous. Get used to it (or take up Golf).
It isn’t the government’s job (or mine through taxes) to take care of you
Pay attention to what your doing, be responsible for yourself, and vote only for those who aren’t trying to turn the world into a human ant hill.
The less able people are of doing even the most rudimentary of tasks, the more likely they will become solves to those who do.
Just as example, how any people do you know who can still operate a manual transmission, a skill that was once considered to be “standard?” The next step is driver-less cars that will take you anywhere you want to go (or “They” want you to go).
-nicker-
wouldn’t it suck if you died any ways with the big bulkey government approved safety NAZI “protective headgear” that you were forced to strap on, when all you wanted was a little wind and a smile on your face. Leave me alone, I don’t need your “protection”, I got this, and for anyone who feels the need to analyze me, don’t waste your time.
Ride naked!
I do most of my riding in Delaware where we have the most stupid law – if you are over 19, you do not have to wear a helmet but you do have to have one ‘in your possession’ (two up requires two helmets, but if both are over that age, no one need wear one).
Many strap a crappy helmet, often a novelty helmet, onto the bike to ride unhelmeted while complying with the law, but, surprisingly, many wear these worthless helmets, too.
Such helmets do serve one purpose – they are a good place to display such witticisms as ‘I snatch kisses and vice versa’.
B.D. Thanks for taking the heat off California, for having the goofiest laws, Delaware now trumps that
John Reed, I too had a porridge bowl back in the day, probably Davida, went to a 3/4 for early dirt racing, then to a full face when road racing ( the best Bell, at the time.)
It’s interesting, some can thank the Angels, for putting black full face helmets on about every flat black Dyna owners head, now that it’s OK and cool …..funny that.