March 16, 2010

DOT Approval For Motorcycle Helmets

Candace A Crown asked:

When obtaining a motorcycle helmet it is very important that your helmet is safe for use on the roads. You want to know that you are safe from harm when you are investing in something that could save your life you want to be sure it is something worth the money you spend.

It is not necessary to pay a lot of money when you are buying your helmet, there are just a few things you want to look for. The most important thing you want to make sure of is that the helmet has been DOT tested and approved.

The Department of Transportation has certain regulations that helmets have to meet in order to be street safe. If a helmet is not DOT approved it is not legal to wear on the street when riding your motorcycle.

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.
There are other safety tests out there. One of the best is the Snell approval test. This is a very thorough test on the helmets. When a helmet is both DOT and Snell approved it is safe for use.

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.

Helmets don't always have to be both DOT and Snell approved. One or the other is great. To be legal on the roads you have to be DOT approved, but you don't have to be Snell approved. The Snell approval is just an added bonus when looking for a helmet.

It is important to know that you are safe when you are out there riding your motorcycle.

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