Motorcycle Helmets

A number of factors come into play for a rider when considering a new helmet purchase. One factor all riders must consider, and the number one reason to wear a helmet in the first place, remains safety.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2003, when comparing mile for mile, motorcycle riders faced a 32 percent greater likelihood of dying in a wreck compared to drivers in a car. In fact, the simple practice of wearing a helmet can dramatically reduce the number of road fatalities for cycle riders. The NHTSA estimates that between 1984 and 2004, nearly 11,000 motorcyclists would be alive today if they were wearing a helmet while riding.

Snell and Department of Transportation (DOT) ranking remain an industry standard by which customers can judge the safety "effectiveness" of a helmet. But what do the DOT and Snell standards mean for the average rider?

For starters, these ratings were created to offer objective criteria for certifying helmet safety. As a result, instead of relying on what a manufacturer or dealer might tell a buyer, now the buyer can identify real criteria in judging the measure of protection offered by a particular helmet.

But what testing procedures are employed in determining that criteria? Let's begin with the DOT rating.

DOT Rating

The DOT performs a straight forward impact test. Using a simulated head placed inside a helmet, testers drop the helmet from a height of ten feet. The head cannot receive more than 400 G-force units on impact. A G-force unit measures the force of gravity exerted against an object in motion.

Now here's the kicker with DOT rated helmets--manufacturers don't need to test their helmets in order to claim a DOT rating! A helmet manufacturer simply needs to feel that a helmet is meeting the DOT specifications to brand it as "DOT rated." The DOT might occasionally pull helmets to perform testing, but the majority of helmets sold as DOT certified do not undergo any level of testing.

Snell Rating

The Snell certification stands in rigorous contrast to DOT specifications. Helmet manufacturers voluntarily submit their products to the Snell evaluation service and pay for the testing procedures. These procedures are extensive and include seven test types, from impact to shell penetration tests to flame resistance testing. The type and degree of testing is dependent on the type of helmet and its application.

Snell cites the following areas as critical in helmet safety:

* Impact management: how well the helmet protects against collisions with large objects;
* Helmet positional stability: whether the helmet will be in place, on the head, when it's needed;
* Retention system strength: whether the chin straps are sufficiently strong enough to hold the helmet throughout a head impact; and
* Extent of protection: the area of the head protected by the helmet.

Snell Memorial Foundation, Inc. ( 2005). 2005 Standard for Protective Headgear, 4.

In short, Snell offers the highest certification standards regarding helmet safety. But a buyer will pay a higher price for Snell certified helmets, as the added costs of production and testing add to the overall value of the helmet.

Safety Matters

A number of points exist in the mind of a buyer when considering a helmet purchase. Style, color, fit, and comfort are extremely important factors when purchasing a helmet. Price is also a consideration for many buyers. However, safety should be paramount when purchasing a helmet. If you scrimp too much on price, you might get a nice looking helmet that unfortunately doesn't hold up in those critical moments. So take the time, do your homework, and find a helmet that will keep you alive and allow you to keep riding for years to come.

Motorcycle helmets are very important in keeping people alive. In fact, there is nothing that will help you more in a crash situation than wearing one. A motorcycle helmet protects the head, and is also used as a face shield, for ear protection, and for intercom purposes.

Modern helmets are made from plastics, and are often reinforced with Kevlar or a carbon fiber. For comfort and protection they generally have fabric and foam interiors. During a crash situation, a motorcycle helmet will break, which is what they are designed to do. In essence, the helmet will absorb the energy and impact of the fall instead of the rider’s skull. As a result, they don’t offer much protection after their first impact. An impact may come from other reasons outside of a crash situation, ie. dropping the helmet from a high place, which may not cause any external damage. As a rule, helmets should be replaced after any type of major impact. But, it’s a good idea to replace it after three to four years, regardless of whether it has sustained impact or not; it’s a good safeguard.

There are three types of motorcycle helmets; depending on how much protection you are looking for:

• Full-face helmet: covers the entire head, including the base of the skull. These helmets usually have a protective section that covers the chin as well. A plastic shield covers the eyes. The obvious benefit of a full-face helmet is its level of protection. The drawbacks are an increased level of heat and reduced level of hearing.

• 3/4 face helmet: covers the back of the skull, but doesn’t have chin protection. Some offer a visor, which blocks out bright sunlight or blinding headlights. A 3/4 face helmet provides similar rear protection as a full-face helmet, but not much protection for the face.

• 1/2 helmet: provides the least amount of coverage generally allowed by law in the US. All of these types of helmets are secured by a chin strap, which offers some level of protection by keeping the helmet on the head.

More popular since mandatory helmet legislation was passed are "beanies", which are not certified and are used to by riders to make it appear that they are complying with the law. Such helmets are smaller and lighter than others and usually have a cool, sleek appearance. They are not good for crash protection because they lack the foam layer that protects the rider’s brain.

A typical motorcycle helmet has two major protective mechanisms:

• An outer shell that is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, fiberglass or Kevlar. It is usually fairly thin. The purpose of this hard outer shell is to prevent penetration of the helmet by a pointed object that could puncture the skull. It also provides structure to the inner liner so it does not disintegrate when it hits concrete, pavement or any other hard surface. The foams used on motorcycle helmets usually have very little resistance to penetration and abrasion.

• A thick, soft inner liner made of expanded polystyrene foam or expanded polypropylene foam. The purpose of the foam liner is to crush during impact, which increases the distance and time over which the helmet stops, reducing its acceleration.

There are various types of motorcycle helmets available in the markets and the main purpose of a helmet is to protect the rider from head injury. The well-known and leading motorcycle brands that are available in the market are Bolle, Nolan, Honda, Yamaha, Fox, Vega, Giro, Suzuki, Acerbic, Cobra, Jones and the Icon.

Motorcycle helmets were introduced to cater for safety of the rider on roads. Wearing of helmet is compulsory in most of the countries. With helmet the rider feels secured and protects him from fatal accidents.

The main parameters of helmet are proper ventilation for cooling, technical make, light in weight and design and the shape along with the style. The types of motorcycle helmets include flip up motorcycle helmet, open face helmet, half helmets and the full-face helmets. Nowadays, helmets are available for all types of riding events such as snowmobile events, dirt bike motorcycle events and for automotive motorcycle events.

While choosing a motorcycle helmet, one needs to consider many factors that enable you to select good helmet. Some of the important factors are as follows.

• The color of the helmet should match with your motorcycle; otherwise the different combination will look odd.

• The motorcycle helmet should be of good quality and made of strong sturdy material to protect your head in case of accident.

• It should properly fit and should not either over size or under size.

• The motorcycle should satisfy and be approved from the authorized government agencies.

• The motorcycle helmet should allow you see the peripheral vision so that chances of accidents are less.

• Choose such type of helmet that is bright in color so that it is visible to others in night.

• While selecting motorcycle helmets safety matters are to be concerned first and then style and color.

Doo Rags

Doo rags are as important as the motorcycle helmets. A Doo rag is a piece of fine cloth that is used for covering the head while riding motorcycles. This tying of Doo rags started in 1930 by people of Africa and America. The main purpose of Doo rags during that period was to protect chemically processed hairs. During those days, they were made from cotton or women stocking were used as a Doo rag. But now days they are made from fine quality polyester.

It is believed that civil war slaves in American culture introduced the Doo rags and it is closely related to the culture of Afro-American. The main artist that helped Doo rags to get popular is the LL Cool and Mr. Nelly as they portrayed the Doo rags in their paintings.

The Doo rags are worn under the helmets and they absorb excess sweat in summer and keep the rider’s head cool. Doo rags also enable the motorcycle helmets to fit properly and do not allow moving of the helmet to from its place in case of motor racing. These Doo rags also protect your hairs from hot Sun and allow the rider to have safe ride as hairs does not obstruct the vision of the rider while driving at speed. Doo rags are available in various colors and shapes. The common color preferred in selecting Doo rag is black.