Choosing motorcycle helmet is quite a problem; it would be easy if it was simply matter of choosing color and size. But they come in various shapes, styles and brands, and they all fit and feel differently. Today we will cover most important things about motorcycle helmet.
First of all, let’s see some facts and myths about helmets. Why you should always wear a motorcycle helmet?
- Fact 1: Head injuries are the leading factor of deaths in motorcycle accidents.
- Fact 2: Helmets are +30% more effective for preventing fatalities or head injuries.
- Fact 3: Rider who is not wearing a helmet is 40% more likely to be killed, if accident will take place.
- Fact 4: Motorcyclist is 32 times more likely to be killed than the car driver.
- Fact 5: After an accident average hospital costs will be 3-4 times bigger, if you weren’t using a helmet.
And the thing is – when wearing a helmet isn’t required by law, less than 20% of people actually wear it in India.
But when it is required, rate is about 90-100%. But enough of scary facts, let’s bust some old myths about helmets.
Myth 1: Helmets Reduce Your Vision.
Wrong. Well it may be just partially true for looking down, and only for full-face type helmets. But this is not important in any way. What is important is peripheral vision, and it is about 180 degrees without a helmet. Helmet standards provide with 210-degree peripheral vision, so helmet is not contributing to crashes or hindering your important vision in any way.
Myth 2: Helmets Prevent You from Hearing Traffic Sound
False. Helmets are useful for protecting your hearing from wind noise. Driving faster than 100km/h without a helmet can damage your eardrums over time (not to mention other problems). While helmets are lowering all noise and sounds, they are not completely eliminating those. Critical traffic sounds are heard very clearly, actually there were few tests performed for this myth, and all of them proved that rider always could hear all important sounds on the road. And hearing is not the dominant sense for detecting hazards on the road, vision is.
Myth 3: Helmets Overheat your Head
Wrong. Studies had shown that the foam liner inside the helmet acts as an insulator and while outer surface of the helmet may warm up, inside temperature will not rise more than few degrees. However, while moving at slow speeds air circulation will be low even in the ventilated helmets, and it may get hot in there. But the probable reason for this myth was traffic jams in hot, humid weather. Of course you will get all sweaty in the summer, while staying in long traffic jams! – It’s hot outside already and your wearing a full-face helmet (most likely), and in addition there are all other car exhausts nearby. It’s like wearing a winter hat and sitting in front of fireplace in the summer. This isn’t helmet’s fault, it’s circumstances that make you blame the helmet.
Myth 4: You don’t Need a Helmet When Driving Across the City
Wrong again. There is much more risk involved when driving in the city, as opposed to driving in the rural areas. There are all those parked cars, light poles, people, curbs and many other objects that are on your way. And in fact, even if you are driving just at 30km/h, the distance you drop is the same. And it contributes really much to force of the impact. And you can’t control other driver’s behavior either – someone can crash a car into you accidentally, and you will not be prepared whatsoever. So this isn’t true – you must always wear a helmet.
Myth 5: Riders with Helmets meet with accidents more frequently
False. Research shown that riders who use helmets are less likely to get in any road accident, and surprisingly, bright helmet colors such as white, red or white have even less accident ratio! (Actually bright cars are more likely to get in road accidents, so this is quite surprising).
- Aleks
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
+1
Safety of eyes too..sometimes things hv got into my eye when i had not lowered da glass of helmet..that breaks concentration of rider
True!!i find full face helmets with visor very useful as they protect eyes from dust and all sorts of insects hitting your eyes & face after sunset.
very true… some small flying insects that get attracted to the head lamp at night… get into the eyes and can cause distractions…
Fantastic article putting to rest alot of interesting myths which were doing the rounds. This should be a sticky post to spread awareness.
Glad you liked it, though it was better.. It was very big article, and Deepak decided to split it on parts. So please stay in touch, other parts should be up soon (I hope)! And next parts will be more helpful!
Please post an article on different types of helmets for various persons according to age groups and needs,with different styles for various indian bikes.
well said the biker who doesn’t use helmet’s are died in motorcycle accidents too much and those biker also who can’t even purchase the original “ISI” mark helmets after spending thousands of money on bike they even don’t know the value of there life which they can’t buy even pay with blank cheque ?????????
wearing a helmet is like making your head stronger , covering your face and eyes for safety without actually covering it (ie you have covered your face in a “kawach” still able to see very comforatably.
consider helmet as integral part of you 2 wheeler and always wear helmet
Initially when you wear helmet…it feels quite uncomfortable..but gradually you will feel better wearing helmet, so the only way is keep wearing helmet..don’t leave it coz its making you feel uncomfortable….Thanks Aleks…nice article..and yes helmets are very important..
@Ravi…same happened to me…infact my helmet glass was down..and small pebbles from next lane flew and hit my glass..if my glass would not have been down..no wonder what would have happened….
To all….wear helmet and ride safe…
Btw nice post…
intuitive…
Even I agree that in city helmet should not be worn, it should be mandatory on highways and rural areas but strictly not on roads where u need to come accross bumper to bumper traffic or narrow lanes…my doctor has advised me not to wear helmet (I have doctor certification) because I have lost most of the hair due to heat improper ventilation between head and helmet but on the other side it actually acts as a shield from pollution both air and noise…so I recommend when u r going to say PANWALA or nearby shop u can avoid helmet but when cruising on highways equip yourself with all gears such as goggles, jacket and most vital ingredient helmet!
That’s really sad.. Although You can use much more ventilated helmet (not full-face), something like dual sport or even a motocross one.
helmets are always bad luck for me on highways . three times i wear helmet on highway and get crashed becuase due to less vision and less hearing capabilities due to helmet especially at night. and without helmet i feel much more better. so i generally ride without helmets.
Are you sure you bought a good one?! Certified helmets don’t have such flaws. Don’t buy a helmet with darkened face shield, at night it will be just too dark to see anything. “Flip-up” helmet should perform nicely at night.
my experience when I watch motorcyclists is this: the rider who does not wear a helmet is usually unconcerned for his own safety and that of others. Next time you are seated in a bus observe moltorcyclists. The biker who is zipping and zooming, cutting across lanes, riding on the footpath, and breaking signals is also the one who is not wearing a helmet. I am willing to bet that you fall into the same “stuntmen” category.
Suggest a good helmet with some graphics in the range 1-1.5K. How good is Vega helmet?
Dear Aswhin,
You can go for Vega Gallactic, a unique helmet and it looks sporty too.
If you want sober helmet than choose among Vega and Studs they are value for money helmets.
Thanks,
Regards,
Mahavir Kothari
helmets ensure safety of the riders.but have so many stops in ur way,it gives a lot of difficulty..i generally use helmets in long drives(more than 5-6kms).
Very nice article brother.
In my place its mandatory to wear helmets, even so many are not wearing. Some are wearing them as they have to wear but a majority of them dont fasten or buckle the helmet. So whats the use of wearing a helmet. I have been riding bikes for more than 5 years using helmets.
Its gives a feel of safety, increases concentration and reduces the intensity of honking. It will be better if we invest in a good quality helmet, which suits you.
Usually shops will provide medium sized helmets. So some will wear loose or tight helmets, both will be very uncomfortable to ride with. After wearing helmet turn head sideways, it the helmet sways then its very loose. If helmet is loose when we ride through bumpy roads the helmet will sway leading to neck pain.
Ride safe……..
Article was nice.
I have one question,
Recently a bike accident occurs in my area. The rider was waring helmet. After the crash, the helmet broke into pieces. People say that that broken helmet has done its job. Is this true ? Good helmets broke after the crash ??
Well! it depends on the impact of crash. Atleast in this case the helmet absorbed most of the impact saving the rider’s head from direct impact.
Yes, helmets are not meant to be indestructible. You will have to use something like titanium for that ;-P. A helmet is a lot like a crumple zone in a car chasis. Just like a crumple zone absorbs the impact forces by crumpling there is a layer inside a helmet that absorbs the force of the impact. If it did not crumple it would not have absorbed them energy of the impact. The other use of a helmet is that it prevents a sharp object( atleat most do I hope) from piercing your head.
Can anyone suggest me the best and sportiest helmet under Rs. 4k.?
amazing article!!!
and abt the 3 myth…u can always remove ur helmet while stuck in a huge traffic jam and wear them bak when the traffic is smooth…alot of ppl decline helmets for this reason saying its too hot outside.
4th myth…as much as i wud lyk to say no to it….its really true!!!
ppl wud always like to ride without the helmet and enjoy the breeze but the loory guy behind u myt not be thinkin the same so be specially careful in the highways!!!!!!!
a good helmet always breaks up after crash…coz it sustains d impact of crash…and saves rider’s head..and helmet also stop wind gushing into ur eyes…which is really good..and it gives u confidence to ride oat high speeds….
I think Helmets are a must for Bikers, coz am not ready to face the wind at 120kph. It would me soooooo horrible.
Helmets are designed to absorb the impact & shock thus it distroys itself.Never use such helmets again after impact even if it looks ok from outside.
Helmets are designed to absorb the impact & shock thus it distroys itself.Never use such helmets again after impact even if it looks ok from outside.Also helmets have expiry date like tablets which is around 5 years from date of manufacture.so even if you have a brand new helmet eating dust in showroom for 5 years do not use it.no matters even if its from top quality brand.
I think at bike advice we can review helmets and other accessories from diffrent brands.
Really a helpful article and expecting a thorough review of all Helmets/Brands available in India with street price.
you can get a full face helmet from street at rs 100/-. But don’t go for that! go for a branded ISI marked one. Like STUDDS, SLICK etc..
i spent a good 2.5k on a GPR helmet…few days later i thought if i had spent 1k more to that amt on my bike i wud have got a 180cc bike
but then the helmet attracts almost everybody…
Its not like that, pulsar 150 is good too. Every pulsar 180 has a rear LED faliure problem.
Ride safely, Wear a helmet
I use helmet Since i got my Driving License. It has been 18 years now. I cannot drive without a helmet be it a short distance. I have a white Studs Golf ball Helmet always. I change my helmet every 2 years. and twice i had to change cos it was broken in a crash.
Those 2 accidents happened when once i lost control of my Kinetic and other was when I was pushed into the divider by an auto rickshaw.
Some Helmet Glasses where also broken when trucks wheels throw stones on my helmet i always think that could have been my head.
How good is an Aerostar helmet?
I brought one (it’s the only one which fit my head, Studds didn’t work out for me) for Rs 550, GTS Lite, is it good?
pl.advise on how good SLICK and HABSOLITE helmets are.
Pl.suggest full face LIGHTWEIGHT helmet.
I have spondylosis of the cervical spine.
Pl.reply soon,
Regards,
Dr.basu