Helmet question

[STX1300man]

I already have the C3 and have seen prices of around £460 to £550 for the Pro 

Got mine from http://www.justhelmets.co.uk

Give them a ring and haggle a deal for being in a club or organisation ... I got a lot off.

[Andy]

Check the date stamp on helmet, it might be 5 years old when you buy it :-) Arai manufactured date is on chin strap.

[tugg781]

I love the evoline 3. ride up or down!

http://www.shark-helmets.com/product.php?modele=EVOLINE%203%20ARONA%20Mat%20Black%20orange%20white&sous_gamme=EV3&gamme=SHARK%20Discovery%20Division&reference_modele=HE9272EKOW&langue=UNITED%20KINGDOM%20UNITED%20KINGDOM%20-%20English

[Foody]

As stated in some previous posts here the life expectancy is 3 - 5 years, - but only one impact regardless of age.

One of my instructors is still a serving Traffic Cop and he has figures regarding damage to helmets in crashes.

In every case of a fatality involving head injuries to the rider (which thankfully are few) they send off the helmet to be tested and in a very high percentage of cases (in the high 90s) there is evidence of previous damage having been caused to the helmet.

The helmet is only designed for one impact, and if you drop your lid, the helmet doesn't know if your head is in it or not, and it will do its job in absorbing that impact within its compressed polystyrene layer.  Of course you can't see this damage.

Next time it suffers an impact it is now weaker from the first drop and you smash your brains in.

Never put your helmet anywhere where it is at risk of a drop of even just a couple of feet. 

So a drop from the seat of your bike, your mirrors, your tank etc will render your lid useless and ready for nothing more than the bin.

I've got a cutaway helmet which I use for demonstration during training which shows the internal layers and how they deteriorate.

Remember as well that when you wear your helmet the heat from your head builds up high levels of condensation, which if not aired can rot the internal layers and particularly the glues that hold the layers together.  (again this is something that you can't see occurring).

So never stuff your dirty or wet gloves inside your helmet.  Particularly in this weather your gloves are filled with condensation so the last place you want to put them is in your lid. (In the winter they are soaked with road salt and grit)

Leave your helmet to air and dry naturally with the visor open and it'll stay in better condition longer.

I don't know if anyone has ever read the little manual that comes with a new helmet but in one recently it said that "mice and other household animals will be attracted to the salt in the perspiration in the lining of your helmet and may damage the lining as they feed on it" !!

Yuk!

[coman37]

Hi Foody,
I don't want to  disrespect you but all this bollox about helmets being useless after a dop is wrong. If there was a head shaped and weighted lump in the helmet when it dropped then the helmet innards would absorb this force and have done its job and should be replaced. If your helmet rolls/falls off your seat/ chair etc (even with gloves stuffed inside) there is no force acting on the linings and as such the helmet will not have suffered any damage( apart from the annoying scratched/pitted paint) and as such should continue to be used,

Just my considered opinion, as always make up your own minds but be aware the helmet manufacturers want to scare you into buying new more expensive helmets

Coman

[Foody]

Hi Foody,
I don't want to  disrespect you but all this bollox about helmets being useless after a dop is wrong. If there was a head shaped and weighted lump in the helmet when it dropped then the helmet innards would absorb this force and have done its job and should be replaced. If your helmet rolls/falls off your seat/ chair etc (even with gloves stuffed inside) there is no force acting on the linings and as such the helmet will not have suffered any damage( apart from the annoying scratched/pitted paint) and as such should continue to be used,

Just my considered opinion, as always make up your own minds but be aware the helmet manufacturers want to scare you into buying new more expensive helmets



Coman

That may be the case as far as the manufacturers are concerned but when you look at the results of the tests after a fatality head injury it's pretty conclusive that there has been previous damage in a very high percentage of helmets. 

So, personally I wouldn't want to take that chance. But everyone may have different views on that.  I wouldn't want to guess that the helmet is still ok after dropping it.

With the central protective layer of the helmet being compressed polystyrene, once it bears any force it doesn't regain it's shape or reform to its original.  ( if you press your fingers lightly into a piece of compressed polystyrene, your finger marks never diassappear, and the polystyrene stays deformed by even light finger pressure.  (that's what I use the cutaway helmet to show - amongst other features of the deteriation).

So a drop of just a few feet (with a head in it or not) will do the damage.  It's the helmet that absorbs the impact and not the head.

It's just one big chance to take I think.

I don't work for a helmet manufacturer and I don't buy the most expensive helmets.

I was just sharing my little bit.

[Lonewolf]

Having seen some horrific head injuries from both motorcyclists and car drivers, including people who have survived and those who have not I concur with Foody, any opportunity you get to protect your head, take it. It's never worth the risk.

[shepster]

my theory is if you drop a egg the shell either cracks or shatters its the same  theory with helmets the structure is weakend.
make your own mind up

[Foody]

The original question was, I understand, about replacing the helmet after a certain time period and that may certainly differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. (it's a matter of personal choice if you change it if you drop it - and I know that we don't drop them on purpose, so where we store them can minimize those risks).

Obviously the correct care of the helmet is going to get the maximum shelf life out of it.

But a thought just occurred to me, is that if you are using a helmet beyond the time recommended by the maker, would insurance companies use that as an arguement to reduce your claim (you know what they're like when it comes to giving money away).

So if you are riding with a 10 year old Shoei and you have a bump, I wonder how long it'll be before insurance companies start on us for that.

What's your thoughts on that point?

[coman37]

Is a 5 year old Arai better than a one year old HJC ?

Unless it is stated in your policy that you must wear a certain type or age of helmet then the insurers cannot use that as grounds to refuse or reduce a claim ( a bit like security, if it states Thatcham alarm then you must comply, but all the law requires (as opposed to personal choice) is that we wear a helmet

Coman

[Foody]

For example. 

Some years ago (three editions ago I think it was) the  Highway Code made no mention of a helmet colour for motorcyclists but then the new issue said "you could wear a white helmet and fluorescent jacket"..... Or something close to that.

At that time I had heard of bikers stating that they were asked by their insurance companies what colour helmet they were wearing and were stating that they had contributed to their own downfall, so to speak, if they were wearing anything other than white. I.e. not complying with the Highway Code.

At that time, in the job I was doing I didn't believe that the Highway Code should be used that way as that was not the spirit of the Highway Code and if I was being advised to wear a white helmet, why was I not being advised to wear a white jacket - and vice versa.

I submitted a report via RoSPA regarding this as I believed that the Highway Code was not correct in that respect.  My suggestion was to change "white" helmet to something like "white or brightly coloured".

In the latest edition it now says "light or brightly coloured", but as it still suggested fluorescent jacket or strips Members of MAG are still reporting that their insurance companies are asking what colour jackets etc they are wearing at the time of a crash, and that they are having to fight their own insurers as a result.

Now I know that this is anecdotal and I don't know how widespread this might be but it does seem that it has been a questionable practice by insurers for a few years.

I just wondered if a helmet beyond its manufacturers recommended life expectancy might be viewed in a similar manner.

Isn't the terminology used by the insurance companies something like, taking reasonable steps to reduce the risk.

I must say, for sure I don't know!