You can now ride HELMET FREE in Michigan!!

personally do what ya want...i wouldnt go on a milk run without a helmet

 

Ha ha tumbleweed. Honestly that part really sucks, but worth it (to me). I wear sunglasses that are safety glasses bought from the local hardware store. I never smile or open my mouth to avoid catching bugs or rocks with my teeth. I have learned to turn my head or move over to the right when passing big trucks. I stay much further back from vehicles to avoid rocks.

 

My god ken!! You ever literally have a scorpion fly into you helmet or is that just a knee jerk reaction? Now I may ride with no helmet, but christ...toss a scorpion in that thing and I'll never put one on!!

 

I think that is why he said "that makes you instantly *THINK* its a scorpion" ... probably a reference to the amount of pain experienced when the thing pegs you in that nice smooth baby-face. Course, there are stranger things "down under" ...

 

i guess im always thinking the worst, when a bugs gets in your helmet between your temple and the foam im thinking is it a bee or a wasp, basically anything that will sting you to bits and untill you stop ,what can you do,lol, the scorpion bit was just for special effects.

 

Someone was asking earlier of the hazards of wearing a helmet and no one mentioning any. Well, actually, there are some.

ANSI and SNELL have been arguing over the proper rating/testing methodology. I will say in advance that I may have the names reversed, but i believe I have it right.

The ANSI certification consists of One droip to one spot of the helmet where as the Snell rating requires 2 drops, the second lower, to the same spot on the helmet. ANSI argues, and I believe correctly, that requiring the two drop, same spot results in too much force being applied to the cranium on that first drop and is not a realistic test as it is extremely rare that the second hit, if any, would be in the exact same spot. Therefore, by their ratings and standards, the foam will absorb more force the first time, reducing initial trauma. I believe i read about this on webbikeworld, but I am not sure. I am in agreement with ANSI in this regard and I look for ANSI rating on my helmet rather than SNELL. The DOT cert as I recall is more in line with SNELL, so I don't believe you will find many ANSI and DOT approved helmets and almost certainly no ANSI and SNELL approved buckets.

 

Natural selection.... You choose to not wear one, you choose to accept the risk.

Personally I prefer to live by 1 rule when riding: ALL the gear ALL the time.

 

Actually, the SNELL is the better of the two. The SNELL has to take just as much force on the first hit, then a subsequent hit to the same area, which means the SNELL helmet has to have better, thicker, more dense foam.

I don't believe there are any ANSI helmets that are DOT approved.

Saying that an ANSI helmet is better because it doesn't have to (and in fact couldn't) pass the double-drop test is incorrect.

And whomever thinks that it is very unlikely that the helmet will take repeated blows to the same spot HAS NEVER CRASHED

 

i have ot agree here its your choose but no matter what when you lay it down you want that gear and that layer of protection. i learned one thing so far in my life (im only 28). Skin deep isn't only anout 2mm think and road surface is about 50 grit sand paper... You do the math..

 

People who want to buy the "best protection" in a helmet and buy the "snell" (higher) rating are doing themselves a dis-favor. A strapped-in driver of a race car will hit the roll cage multiple times in exactly the same spot, and the foam is more dense in these helmets also.

A motorcyclist can do with softer foam of the DOT rating, which transmits less maximum G-forces to the brain - - yes, a cheaper helmet can protect your brain better. Costs less to buy, and is lighter, maybe more comfortable to wear.

 

My SHOEI Full-face Helmet comes with Vents.

But, ... the Tiny Holes in the Protective Foam Liner were not lined-up to the Vent Holes.

I slightly enlarged and aligned the holes in the White Foam Liner.
::: DREMEL -- Very easily done.
Opened some Vent Holes in the Foam Rubber covering the White Foam.
::: HOT WIRE SURGERY. Paper Clip held in Needle-nosed Vice Grips. Heat red hot. Use to BURN a fine line cut through the Foam Rubber. :::
Poked Holes in Dacron/Poly Lining.
::: HOT NAIL SURGERY. Burn technique. Heated Nail held with Needle Vice Grips and BURNED through the synthetic liner. The hole edges are melted prevent unraveling of the material.

 

From the SNELL website:


Philosophy and Concepts of Helmet Testing

It is important to realize that a lot of product type testing like helmet testing does not seek to precisely reproduce real life situations, rather it attempts to define a set of requirements that is analogous to the types of situations that might be encountered while engaged in a prescribed activity. Helmet tests are designed to be repeatable, measurable and include a fixed range of situations a helmet might reasonably encounter. At this point the concerns of helmet testing does not include responses of the neck or body as they react with the head during a crash. It is strictly a measurement of how a helmet reacts during an event to protect the wearer's brain. At Snell we believe that as technology continues to evolve, so should helmet design and manufacturing techniques.

The Snell Memorial Foundation has one of the most advanced and busiest helmet testing facilities in the world. Snell's California helmet testing laboratory is the one of the few in the United States accredited to ISO 17025 by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

Before a helmet can be Snell-certified, it is tested in Snell's state-of-the-art test facility. Snell technicians conduct a variety of tests to determine the helmet's performance and ability to stay on the head in different environmental conditions - ambient, wet, heat, cold. Depending on the application and the standard, each helmet must pass all or some of the following tests.

Test types

Impact Test
This test involves a series of controlled impacts where a helmet is positioned on a metal head form and then dropped in a guided fall onto various steel test anvils (Flat, Hemisphere, Kurbstone, Roll bar, Edge or a Horseshoe type) which simulate different impact surfaces. The head forms are instrumented with an accelerometer to measure peak G force or acceleration which is measured in "G"ravitational units. The impact energy (drop height and mass), or how hard the helmets are impacted is unique to each standard. However, in any valid test, if the peak acceleration imparted to the head form exceeds certain threshold value (around 300 G's, depending on standard and test type), the helmet is rejected.

Positional Stability (Roll-Off) Test
A head form is mounted on a stand so that it points face downward at an angle of 135 degrees. The helmet is placed on the head form and the straps and buckles adjusted to obtain a "best fit". A wire rope is hooked to the rear edge of the helmet and brought forward so that its free end runs across the helmet and downward towards the floor. The free end of the rope has a mechanical stop with a 4 kg weight resting on the stop. The weight is raised to a prescribed height and dropped onto the stop. The resulting shock places a rotational load on the helmet. The helmet may be shifted, but must not roll off the head form. Next, the head form is rotated 180 degrees, the helmet adjusted, and tested with the wire rope hooked to the front edge of the helmet and the test is repeated. As in the first case, the helmet may be shifted but must not roll off the head form.

Dynamic Retention Test
The helmet is placed on a head form and the chin strap fastened under a device approximating the contour of the jaw. The jaw piece is loaded with a 23 kg weight for approximately one minute. The retention system is tested by simultaneously removing the 23 kg weight and applying a 38 kg mass in an abrupt guided fall. The retention system fails if it cannot support the mechanical loads or if the maximum instantaneous deflection (stretch) of the retention system exceeds 30 mm. Drop heights for the 38 kg mass are different for each standard, however the mechanism and failure criteria are similar for other types of headgear.

Chin Bar Test
The chin bar test applies to full face motorcycle, special application racing and kart racing helmets. The helmet is affixed to a rigid base with the chin bar facing upward. A 5 kg weight is dropped through a guided fall to strike the central portion of the chin bar. Maximum downward deflection of the chin bar must not exceed the stated distance.

Shell Penetration Test
The shell penetration test applies to motorcycle, special application racing, kart racing, skiing and equestrian helmets. The helmet is affixed to a rigid base. A 3 kg sharply pointed striker is dropped in a guided fall onto the helmet from a prescribed height. The test striker must not penetrate the helmet or even achieve momentary contact with the head form.

Faceshield Penetration Test
The face shield penetration test applies to full face motorcycle, special application racing and kart racing helmets. The face shield is affixed to the helmet and shot along the center line in three separate places with an air rifle using a sharp soft lead pellet. Pellet speed will be approximately 500 kph. For both types of shield the pellet must not penetrate, and for the racing helmet any resulting "bump" on the inside of the shield must not exceed 2.5 mm.

Flame Resistance Test
The flame resistance test applies to special application racing helmets only. The test is conducted using a propane flame of approximately 790 degrees centigrade. The flame is applied to the shell, trim, chin strap and face shield for a specified number of seconds, and any resulting fire must self extinguish within a specified time after flame removal. During the whole process the temperature of the interior lining of the helmet must not exceed 70 degrees centigrade.




The double impact roll-bar test is only done on racing helmets.

 

Also, the helmet rating has no bearing on the helmet's price.

The price is determined by materials used, style, features, and comfort.

There are $100 helmets from Bell, and there are $500 helmets from Bell. They are both SNELL certified. One is definitely more comfortable and feature filled than the other.

 

tskaz,

Again, there are differing views. I recall reading a comparison a couple of years ago. Although I have always used SNELL approved head gear for bicycling, the testing methodologies of SNELL and ANSI led me to be more comfortable with the ANSI testing/rating/cert as it would absorb more primary impact where the SNELL rating, to allow for the secondary impact in the exact same place with the exact same force trajectories meant that SNELL allowed more force to be transferred to the brain during the initial impact. My choice is ANSI, you are free to go with SNELL. Both exist and both are legal.

Now, what I am looking forward to is a helmet using that relatively new material which instantly hardens to absorb impact while staying supple the rest of the time. It is perfect for body armor and somewhat available as such but is mostly used in high-end (professional) sports equipment.

 

A "Non-Neutonian" liquid plastic?? Cool idea !

Check Out A Demo Here

 

There is this: http://news.discovery.com/tech/liquid-b ... 20405.html

But that is not what is was referring to ... aha! This is the stuff: http://www.d3o.com/

 

I guess it should be a personnel choice but in the back of my mind Im thinking there should be a law for those who make the wrong choice. 8O I cant imagine ridding without one the consequences are too great. Plus The bright sun bugs me so i love my tinted visor. Not Snell rated but has European rating.

 

I would just like to point out a couple things, then I'll bow out since this isa post about the helmet law.

Only racing helmets are given the multiple-hit roll bar anvil test, not every helmet they test.

Actually, neither an ansi rating or a snell rating make a helmet legal. The helmet has to be DOT approved to be legal. There are many helmets both ansi and snell that are not legal for use on the road.

Take those little brain bucket things with a quarter-inch of padding the Harley guys wear. About 65% of them aren't legal, because they don't pass the DOT test.


And one last thing, for those of you thinking about going without a lid in Michigan, your bike either has to have a windshield on it or you have to use shatter-proof goggles. Sunglasses and safety glasses are not a legal form of eye protection.

 

The wrong choice according to WHOM?!? Sorry... don't mean to offend, but that statement right there sounds like the principle that Washington operates on! Someone sets themselves up as the authority and decides what dumb thing us uneducated slobs are doing where we might hurt ourselves. Then, in their lofty wisdom of right and wrong choices they create a law to force others to follow their new right thinking....
Sorry, I'm an intelligent individual (just graduated Summa Cum Laude at the age of 51 starting a second career) I can judge for myself what choices are 'right' and 'wrong' for myself thank you....


...and Tskaz is correct.. Helmets must be DOT certified to be legal. So technically, you can have a helemt that surpasses DOT standards, but is not legal to ride with in MI....just sayin'...