Should a motorcyclist wear a helmet in Grand Rapids?
If you ride a motorcycle in Grand Rapids, you may be wondering why you should wear a helmet. While you may not want to wear a helmet, this article will provide you with some information about whether you should wear a helmet and what type of helmet to buy. As of the date of this article, a motorcyclist must wear a helmet in the state of Michigan and Grand Rapids.
Ben Roethlisberger’s motorcycle accident brought a lot of news coverage to the issue of his failure to wear a helmet. According to press reports, he was lucky having suffered no brain injury and his jaw did not even have to be wired shut.
With at least four different safety standards for street motorcycle helmets and different expert opinions from engineers, it’s extremely difficult for anyone to decide what kind of helmet to buy. In fact, some notable experts such as Dr. Harry Hurt have said that the Snell M2000 and M2005 standards are “a little bit excessive.”
It does appear that no matter which helmet you buy, any helmet meeting at least the “entry-level” US DOT standard FMVSS 218 will provide significant protection. In fact, maybe even better protection than some more expensive helmets. Dr. Hurt believes that a helmet meeting the Snell standard is too stiff possibly resulting in diffuse brain injuries and he is more interested in reducing the G. forces.
When considering prevention of brain injury, the most important part of the helmet is probably the interior lining which absorbs most of the energy. When your head hits a hard object like the road or a car, the outside of the helmet stops instantly while your head keeps traveling until slowed by the inner liner and finally stopped by the outside shell of your helmet. The inner liner made of EPS (expanded polystyrene) absorbs a predictable amount of energy while it crushes, without springing back so your brain doesn’t get bounced back and forth. An “entry-level” US DOT standard FMVSS 218 helmet will provide this protection.
The Hurt report found, not surprisingly, that the most deadly injuries to the accident victims were injuries to the chest and head. The report also found that use of a safety helmet which complies with FMVSS 218 is the single most important factor in the prevention of head injury and that no element of accident causation was related to helmet use. Using a helmet did not cause fatigue or any reduction of critical traffic sounds or pre-crash visual field. Motorcyclists wearing helmets experienced significantly lower head and neck injury for all types of injury, at all levels of injury severity and helmeted riders had less neck injuries than riders without helmets.
It appears that wearing any helmet meeting US DOT standard FMVSS 218 is a good idea. Whether you should be required to wear a motorcycle helmet in Grand Rapids is another matter.
Tags: Grand Rapids motorcycle helmet, Michigan motorcycle helmet