Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.... n ' .. It's Good for Your Head o ~ u o ~ w Z W ..J U >- U Now, for the first time ever, Cycle News can offer you a way to becom.e more popular. The far-out looking guy on the track is more than a number. You could boogie on down and rap with him like you knew him from before, if you only knew his name. by AI Morse There are two kinds of motorcyclists in the 46 states with compulsory helmet laws those who resent wearing helmets altogether, and those who would wear them if there wasn't a law, but resent being forced to wear a helmet. But freedom-of-choice arguments aside, some pretty impressive fjgures have been racked up by states WIth compulsory helmet laws in effect. First of all, ninety percent of all fatalities resulting from motorcycle accidents are from head injuries. And in New York State - one of the first states to have a complusory helmet law - fatalities have been reduced as much as 48 percent since the enactmen t of the law in 1967. Guys are riding today who migh t have been dead if it weren't for the helmet laws. So it helps to wear a helmet, whether you want to or have to. If you break a leg in an accident, it will rebuild itself with a IitLle help from a bone carpenter. The reputable manufacturers are welcoming the Federal standards wi th open arms. They feel that the Federal law will get the bad helmets off the market; and it is the few bad eggshells that have been giving the industry a bad name. If you really want to be-sure you're buying a good helmet, look for an "SHCA" sticker inside certifying that the helmet meets or ex.ceeds 290 requirements, The Safety Helmet Council of America is made up of a group of manufacturers who together make 80 percent of the helmets sold. The group, through its certification committee, pays independent' laboratories around the country to buy helmets off dealers' shelves for te"ling. These include Dayton T. Brown, Approved Engineering Testing Labs and Underwriters Laboratories-Any -helmet, thus selected, that fails to meet the 290 standard is decertified and cannot carry the SHCA sticker. Thus, the SHCA sticker is 290 with a difference. But the brain cannot repair itself so easily. Once it's damaged, it likely damaged for good. Now the worst-thing about helmet laws is that a lot of guys who resent wearing helmets go out and buy the cheapest one possible. This i.s dumb. As long as you have to wear a helmet, you should wear a good one made by a reputable manufacturer. You won't have to go for $40 to $60 either. Good helmets are available for as low as $20. But if somebody tries to lay'one on you for $10 or less, you know something's got to be wrong with it. When you go out to buy your new helmet, you have two types of shell materials to choose from - fiberglass or pol y carbonate. Both are excellen t material for a helmet shell. Both can meet and exceed the 290.1 specification of the American National Standards Institute. Both are acceptable in all states having compulsory helmet laws. Not only do the first few samples have to meet the 290 standard. All helmets have to be up to par to meet the ongoing testing of the SHCA's independent laboratories Proof of the SHCA label's worth is that it is the only sticker accepted by the American Motorcycle Association for both amateur and professional racing. If you don't have SHCA on your helmet, you can't race; What's good for the track has lO be good on the street. One thing people in the industry don't know much about is durability of helmets. Nobody knows the effects that sun sweat, hair oil and just time and wear-and-tear have on the various helmet components. How long is a helmet good for then? Well if you wear it as a fedora, it would probably last for a hundred years. If you don't use it at all. it'll probably be good for two hundred. But a helmet is a protective device that may lose some of its Polycarbonate helmet are usually 20 percent ligh ter than fiberglass. This can be important to comfort where fatigue due to weigh t is a factor and lessens strain on the neck in some kinds of accidents. The 290.1, by the way, is the standard on which most state laws are based. I t is, however J a recommendation and not a law. The separate states enforce their own separate laws. While the states have been running the helmet show since 1967. the Federal government will be getting into the act in March of 1973. The proposed Federal standard will be based on the 290. The difference will be that all helmet manufacturers will have to follow the Federal standard. It will be a uniform law for the whole country. Just like tires, helmets will have to come up to ~ertain .s,t~<;\"!l!i"~ fb e feps will, 'i

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