Poor helmet may have cost motorcyclist his life

[James Deuce]

Bull shit,,,,yet again.

There's an independent AUS/NZ testing company based in Sydney Australia and if any manufacturers helmet doesn't meet their standards it won't get AUS/NZ or DOT approval and also won't get their little stickers.

Umm, no, DOT is a US standard, not an Aus or NZ one.

[FJRider]

Bull shit,,,,yet again.

There's an independent AUS/NZ testing company based in Sydney Australia and if any manufacturers helmet doesn't meet their standards it won't get AUS/NZ or DOT approval and also won't get their little stickers.

I call Bullshit on that post.

They are not the sole authority (and written in legislation to that effect) in the testing/approval of safety helmets available in NZ.

An approved motorcycle helmet is one that complies with one or more of the (following) approved international standards:

:UN/ECE Regulation No. 22: Protective helmets and their visors for drivers and passengers of motorcycles and mopeds (Europe)

:Australian Standard AS 1698: Protective helmets for vehicle users

:New Zealand Standard NZS 5430: Protective helmets for vehicle users

:Snell Memorial Foundation: Helmet Standard for use in motorcycling

:Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218: Motorcycle helmets

:British Standard BS 6658: Specification for protective helmets for vehicle users (for type A helmets only)

:Japan Industrial Standard T8133.

Helmets intended for the use of motorcyclists that do not reach these standards are available through various means.

The purchase/import of such helmets are not illegal. Merely the use of them ... on public roads.

[AllanB]

I imported my HJC form the USA - it is Snell/Dot approved. Legal in NZ in other words due to Snell approval. Just the same as all the NZ new HJC helmets from your dealer - just half the price and with graphics you cannot get here. Made in Korea too!

I also note and have done for some time that there is NO inspection done on motorcycle helmets post purchase - it surprises me that a car will fail a seat-belt that has slight edge fraying but when getting a motorcycle WOF the helmet is not checked for approval, age and indications of damage.

As a side note if you cars seat-belt has slight edge fraying but is not unsafe in any manner it may still fail - best to carefully remove the fraying with a lighter or razor blade before you go for your WOF. PS I was told this by a WOF inspector years back!!!!

[carburator]

three years ago i had the unfortunat experince of attending a motorcycle accident
where the rider was wearing one of those german style pot helmets....

needless to say he had left all his lower jaw and upto nose cavity on the road
smashed both wrists ( bones poking out ) and other damage due to he was riding
like a asshole, over took a car turning right and collected a meduim strip catapulting him
and the bike into the air..

i beleive the rider is still alive, however a complete veggie...

[AllanB]

Eeekkk. The jaw issue would in theory apply to any open face helmet regardless of any approved sticker as there is no protection offered.

[superjackal]

I've got a bewdy scar on my top lip (so bad I grow a beard to cover it), from a 50km/h crash wearing a open face helmet.
Left my front teeth in the bonnet of a Vauxhall Viva, broke my jaw and split my lip so bad there was a gap up to the base of my nose...

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwww!!!!!!

[p.dath]

In the interest of education for all.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/p...ages/page2.htm

That pretty much demonstrates my point. An "annual" check? Really? So if a manufacturer churns out 10 million helmets per annum they do QA check on one of them? As I said before, I believe this check is done by the manufacturer - not the NHTSA.

And as the article says, many helmets have DOT stickers that are not DOT compliant. So any trust placed in the DOT sticker on a helmet should only extend to the trust you have in that brand.

[p.dath]

And in the interest of further education (and being directly applicable to New Zealand).....

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/ro...ight-gear.html

The DOT safety standard only applies to helmets manufactured and purchased in the States.

Now that is interesting. I didn't realise it only applied to helmets *purchased* in the US. So you can purchase and import it from the US, but presumably not buy the DOT helmet locally. Or does a distributor purchasing in the US and then re-selling in NZ count. Very grey.

[p.dath]

Show us one.

I've looked at heaps of em' and have yet to find even one that meets the AUS/NZ standards.

Not going to happen is it ?

I just typed that exact query into Google ("DOT approved skull cap"), and this is the first link it came back with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t-jpYa2ijc
There were plenty of others as well.

So very easy to find.

[p.dath]

Bull shit,,,,yet again.

There's an independent AUS/NZ testing company based in Sydney Australia and if any manufacturers helmet doesn't meet their standards it won't get AUS/NZ or DOT approval and also won't get their little stickers.

DOT approval is an NHSTA standard. It has *nothing* to do with NZ or Australia. Do you really think the USA sends all of their helmets for DOT approval to some lab in NZ or Australia?

Now that is not to say that the testing lab in Australia can't certify a helmet as DOT compliant - but that doesn't prevent some manufacturer in the USA from producing a DOT compliant helmet.

[FJRider]

I imported my HJC form the USA - it is Snell/Dot approved. Legal in NZ in other words due to Snell approval. Just the same as all the NZ new HJC helmets from your dealer - just half the price and with graphics you cannot get here. Made in Korea too!

Please note ... it is the Snell Foundation that do the testing. The "DoT" in DoT approved ...stands for :The Department of Transport (US). They do not test helmets.

And according to the NZ legislation ... the list of required (by Legislation) standards required in NZ ... as I quoted in post #47 ...makes NO mention of DoT approved helmets (with their sticker alone on them) being legal in NZ.

[Paul in NZ]

Its a silly argument. Just apply common sense and you can see that the more naked areas the higher the chance of injury / disfigurement.

We have open faced lids and used them about the village on a sunny day while riding our old bike sedately. Open road - full face every time....

What does make me scratch my head is the lengths the open faced / coal scuttle brigade go to with scarves and masks and sunnies to protect their faces in bad weather... Oh ffs just buy a bloody full face.... They would save 15 minutes dressing and unwrapping on every ride

[FJRider]

That pretty much demonstrates my point. An "annual" check? Really? So if a manufacturer churns out 10 million helmets per annum they do QA check on one of them? As I said before, I believe this check is done by the manufacturer - not the NHTSA.

Vehicle manufacturers do not crash test every vehicle that rolls (excuse the pun) off the line. And would test those that had changes in design or manufacture process.
Reputable manufacturers would test their own products to ensure their products meet the required standards ... to meet the coveted Governmental approvals.

And as the article says, many helmets have DOT stickers that are not DOT compliant. So any trust placed in the DOT sticker on a helmet should only extend to the trust you have in that brand.

Helmets with ONLY DoT approved stickers are not legal in NZ.

[FJRider]

Its a silly argument. Just apply common sense and you can see that the more naked areas the higher the chance of injury / disfigurement.

We have open faced lids and used them about the village on a sunny day while riding our old bike sedately. Open road - full face every time....

What does make me scratch my head is the lengths the open faced / coal scuttle brigade go to with scarves and masks and sunnies to protect their faces in bad weather... Oh ffs just buy a bloody full face.... They would save 15 minutes dressing and unwrapping on every ride

I see it in the same way. And often see it at Motorcycle rallys. The weather is not always the same on the day of the trip home ... as it was on the day of arrival.

Personal choice and freedoms ... sometimes just make me smile.

[Tarded]

I've got a bewdy scar on my top lip (so bad I grow a beard to cover it), from a 50km/h crash wearing a open face helmet.
Left my front teeth in the bonnet of a Vauxhall Viva, broke my jaw and split my lip so bad there was a gap up to the base of my nose...

Thats where the term 'open face' comes from.
I have bashed the chin bar on a lid more than once.
I can still eat steak and crackling. Full face only for me.