Why Helmet Laws SUCK! By Ted Pafford
When you buy a motorcycle helmet you are taking a gamble that the helmet has met Department of Transportation standards known as FMVSS 218. But as we all know, or you should know, most helmets are never tested by the DOT. Helmets are “ self certified” by the manufacturers of the helmet. The Government relies on the manufacturers word that the helmet has met the DOT standards. Yes, that’s right, it is based on the “honor system.” I have known very few “honor systems” that work very well when the almighty dollar is involved. If there is a way for somebody to scam a buck off of people, somebody will do it.
Let’s look at how the “honor system” typically works with helmet testing. This example is from 2001, but is usually the same each year. Out of hundreds of new models of helmets that come out each year, the DOT tested a mere 40 of them. Out of those 40 tested, 20% fail. The helmets that had failed in 2001 were manufactured by AFX, Fulmer, HJC, M2R, NEXL and THH. Sure the DOT might impose a fine on these manufacturers, but how does that help those of us that are depending on that helmet to possibly help save our life. The imposing of a fine on a manufacturer may come a little to late for some of us depending on these helmets to protect us in an accident. The manufacturer can enact a voluntary recall, but most people will never be aware they have one of these worthless “mushroom” head decorations they dare call a helmet. Which makes me wonder, if a helmet isn’t labeled properly in the first place, how would you know it has been recalled anyway? Hmmm recalled helmets… How is a person notified if their helmet is recalled? Do they send you a notice in the mail? NO. Do they inform you on the television or the newspaper? NO. Heck, even the local motorcycle retail store where you bought it probably doesn’t post them. And on a rare occasion that they do, it is displayed only for a limited time. It makes you wonder if they must be afraid it will cost them too much money if people find out. It sounds like the recall program leaves the impression that they care about our heads, but it is about as effective as the DOT certification “honor system.”
I’m assuming the manufacturers haven’t lost a lot of money from recalls. All of the manufacturers that had their helmets fail in 2001are currently (2004) in business and making helmets. It looks to me that making a substandard helmet is worth the minimal risk that the DOT might ever get around to testing it. It’s a numbers game, you can make a bunch of money with a very low chance that your helmet will be tested. What makes me the angriest is I thought my $170 dollar KBC helmet, which I blindly assumed could save my life because of the DOT sticker on the back, was manufactured in 1999 then recalled in 2004. WHAT… you mean I have been wearing this useless head decoration for the past 5 years and it doesn’t pass DOT certification and when the DOT finally tests it in 2004 they say it will crack like an eggshell with impact. WOW, who ran off with my $170 dollars for a substandard helmet? So who REALLY cares about my safety when it comes to helmets? The Government says they do. It was passed into law that we have to wear them, but yet they test so very few? The manufactures say they care, but at the same time they have helmets that fail testing every year.
If the Government is worried about motorcyclists, why aren’t they worried about other people’s safety? How about the bicyclists? Statistics show that bicyclist brain injuries can be reduced up to 88% with the use of helmets. Most bicycle fatalities are kids under the age of 15. Why is there not a state bicycle helmet law? The state say’s they “strongly encourage” people to wear bicycle helmets at all times. And what about those skate boarders, water skiers, snow skiers etc. That’s a lot of head injuries. Shouldn’t there be a law for them to wear helmets? Are we only concerned with the safety and well-being of motorcyclists, and not the general public’s safety? How about all the people that vote for the helmet law and are against freedom of choice? I’m sure that most people who vote in a general election don’t even ride a motorcycle yet they’re making this decision for me? All of those voters got to the polling site somehow, and that automobile they drove there…there are more head injuries in automobile accidents every year than motorcycle accidents. Why don’t we introduce a helmet law for automobiles, because we motorcyclists are concerned about head injuries in auto accidents? You don’t see race car drivers with out helmets.
Speaking of auto safety, how about the story of the old body style F-150 trucks (1999-2004 Heritage). It’s the best selling truck, but yet it’s the worst in crash testing. How do we know this you ask? Because the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tested it. And you may ask yourself, why was the IIHS developed for automobiles crash testing when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the auto manufacturers crash test their own vehicles? The auto manufactures said their vehicles were “safe.” Why then does another crash test organization test them? I think it goes back to the old “honor system.” Hmmm. Anyway back to the F-150. The old style F-150 failed the crash test miserably, however the new body style (2004-present) does extremely well. Oddly enough, even though the old style F-150 is one of the most unsafe vehicles, Ford will continue to produce them until June 2005 because they are so popular. Thanks again to government and manufacturers for being concerned about the public’s safety.
I am neither for nor against helmets. I am for freedom of choice. The helmet law has a lot of flaws in the system and it gives a lot of people a false sense of security. If we are truly concerned about motorcyclist’s safety then why do we allow the sale of helmets that haven’t been properly tested by the DOT? The Government chooses not to fund the DOT so it can function properly and at the same time they force us to wear a helmet that they themselves cannot guarantee will be safe. I’m hoping that people who are for or against the helmet law will find out all the facts of how flawed this system is before they vote again. Let the people who ride decide! If you won’t let us decide, then don’t put a helmet on a store shelf that’s not safe, because many of the ones that are currently out there will either get us an improper helmet citation or possibly killed in an accident by not protecting our head.
My list of some helmet manufactures. I randomly picked 3 manufactures to see how many models of helmets they make. The 3 add up to 42 helmets. This should give you an idea of how few helmets are tested every year by the DOT.
Cyber
CMS
Daytona
Craft
HJC
Davida
Bikers Choice
Devel
KBC
Ergon
M2R
FM
Nolan
Fulmer
Oneal
Grex
Scott
Icon
Shoei - 8
MHR
Tour Master
Momo
THH
MSR
Caliber
Nitro
Xpeed
NXT
Fox racing
NZI
Fly racing
OGK
Suomy
Rodia
Thor
Roof
Arai - 14
RST
AFX
Scorpion
Bieffe
Shark
AGV/Lazek
Simpson
Bell - 20
Spada
JKC
Uvex
Icom
DMA
Answer
Zamp
Gmax
Zues
Z1R
Cabers
Xtreme
Arashi
Shark
Airoh
Uvex
Blitz AFX
X-lite
Replica
Schuberth
Fly Racing
Lem
AXO mm zero
Vemar
Troy
Kiwi
Vega
MDS
Wolf Metallic
Zamp
VX-7
Tour lite
Starlight
