2Wheeltips

Many bikers don’t know that you should never buy a used helmet. Helmets are good for protecting your head in only one accident. Afterwards it is time to get a new one. If the helmet is used, you have no way of knowing if it has been in an accident or not.

What tempts many into getting a used helmet is how it appears on the outside. Except for a few scrapes it looks fine.

But it’s not the external shell that protects your head, it is the internal foam. To prove this, we contacted our friends at Snell Memorial Foundation, the folks that do helmet testing. You will find the “Snell sticker” on the back of all helmets that have passed their tests. They were kind enough to send us the remains of a tested helmet and did us a favor by cutting it in half so we can see the internals.

With the exception of a few scrapes, the external shell is intact. But, on the inside, you see the foam layer is compressed where it was hit during testing. Once the foam layer is compressed, it does not expand and the helmet loses its ability to protect your head. Also note in the pictures that the foam layer has separated from the outer shell and is completely unattached and free to move around. Those tests, by the way, simulate a rider falling off a bike and hitting their head on the ground.

So, the next time you think about buying a used helmet, think again. A few dollars saved is not worth the risk of a serious head injury if the helmet is no good.  You can get a brand new tested helmet for $10.00 more than some of the ones you see on eBay and other places. Better safe than sorry. 

Here is a newspaper article I came across recently about helmet standards. It is from the NY Times and covers the safety of the buckets we all put on our heads. What do you think ?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html?_r=1

We just got this from our contact and Snell Foundation, the company that does helmet testing.  Their new motorcycle helment certification M2010, is the highest motorcycle helmet standard in the world. Helmets with this certification are coming to the market now and this site have information on the M2010 testing and other helmet safety info.

http://www.snellm2010.org/

Helmets are required to be DOT certified.  In addition to DOT certification, some helmets also carry SNELL certification.  What is the difference?  Basically, keep this in mind:  all SNELL certified helmet are DOT certified, but not all DOT certified helmets are SNELL certified. 

Both DOT (Department of Transportation) and SNELL (SNELL Memorial Foundation) have their own standards used to test helmets.   The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 is the one that DOT uses and it dates back to 1974; the SNELL Memorial Foundation uses a standard that is updated every five years.  Some of the other basic similarities and differences between DOT and SNELL certification are:

DOT and SNELL assess each helmet by placing it on a head form that is equipped with sensors. The helmeted head form is then dropped from a specific height onto a steel anvil, and the severity of the impact is recorded.

Both standards drop the head forms on flat and hemispherically shaped anvils in order to simulate different types of impacts. However, SNELL also uses an edged anvil that specifically tests the integrity of the helmet's shell.

While both DOT and SNELL drop their helmets to simulate crash impact, SNELL drops the helmets from greater heights, simulating more severe crash impact and require the helmets to withstand greater impact and more force than the DOT standard.

SNELL certification requires a manufacturer to submit 5 helmets of a particular design, for testing; 4 of the 5 helmets are tested and the last helmet is saved as a sample.  DOT relies on the manufacturer of the helmet to do self-certification.  Periodically, the government will conduct spot audits on the helmet manufacturer.  In 2001, when performing a spot audit on 40 helmets, DOT found a 20% failure rate among some of the helmets.  Once found and reported, it was up to the manufacturers to bring their helmets into compliance.

Although their testing process is very similar, SNELL requires their certified helmets to withstand a greater impact and absorb more force than the DOT standards.

In order for a company to claim that their product is SNELL approved, they have to submit five helmets for testing. Four of those helmets are tested and one is saved as a sample product. If the helmet design passes the tests, the manufacturer enters into a contract with SNELL. This contract allows SNELL Memorial Foundation to buy helmets from the manufacturer and test them on a continual basis in order to ensure quality.

The bottom line:  if you want the safest helmet for your money (and your head!), choose a helmet that has the SNELL certification on it; it will meet or exceed DOT helmet standards.