If You Have a Rs.1000 Head, Then Buy a Rs.1000 Helmets For Motorcycles
By A $14 Helmet For A $14 Head – Helmets For Motorcycles
How much do you think your head worth? When I started to write about helmets for motorcycles, being myself a motorcycle/scooter rider, I thought I can finish this blog post much faster. But, my thoughts were completely wrong, because when we speak about helmets for motorcycles it cannot be covered considering only its size and color. My research helped me realize that there are many other details yet to be uncovered related to the helmets.
By the time you complete reading this article, I am sure you would have a shift in your mindset about the helmets for motorcycles and scooters. Not just that. You also would be in a better spot to prioritize and suggest/take a wise path while choosing the helmets for motorcycles.
When I purchased helmets for my motorcycle, I went to the showroom with only a few things running in my mind. The Cost, Brand, and color. I am sure most of us might have had and having similar points regarding the Helmets. Other than Cost and Brand, there are few more things that we need to be aware of while buying helmets for motorcycles.
In India, most of the helmets are ISI certified. This is a norm for any company in India who produce helmets for motorcycles to pass and get certified so that they can sell it in the Indian market. How about the helmets that are with SNELL ratings and DOT / ECE certified? Stay with us and we will uncover that section slowly as you read further.
Helmets – The Most Vital Piece Of A Safety Gear For A Motorcycle Riders
Everyone who rides a motorcycle is aware of the importance of wearing a helmet. However, there are still a few things that most of us are unaware of and understood incorrectly. Here are a few pointers to refresh your memory.
1. India Stands On Top
Asia is the largest motorcycle market continent in the world and major users are from the non-car centric countries India, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
2. Wearing Helmets Won’t Turn Us Into A Super Hero
There are NO helmets that are considered to be SAFE.
No helmets for motorcycles come with a guarantee of survival during an accident. Helmets can only reduce the impact by increasing the chance of the riders’ survival without a disturbed brain (only if a quality helmet is worn during the accident). Wearing helmets not only saves us from brain damage but also save our family from experiencing utter misery besides saving your money on medical expenditure.
3. Helmets Are Man-Made & Built To Fail In Time
Helmets are a one-time crash item.
They need to be changed after every crash because they take the full impact of the crash so that our head and the brain does not experience the blow.
4. Handle Helmets With Care
Handle helmets gently.
It is not a toy to throw it over the couch while you cross between rooms at your home, hit against a wall wearing it, and drop it on the ground/floor. Remember, even a minor crack to the helmet would lead to low performance at the time of a crash.
5. Wearing Helmets Vs Neck & Spinal Cord Pain Is A Myth
Studies have proven that a helmet certified for its quality and standard when worn properly does not lead to a pain in the neck and spine. Instead, it lessens the risk of cervical spine injury in the rider. It is also worth knowing that there were instances were helmets produced long ago had broken the riders’ neck due to their design which is no longer the case.
6. Near Or Far – Helmets Are Not Optional
Helmets are mandatory at all scenarios when you are connected with your motorcycles and the roads.
Be it short or long distance. Be it you are the primary rider or the pillion rider, helmets must be worn just like how it is mandatory according to the law for all the people traveling in a car to wear seatbelts.
Also remember, a helmet that is worn but not fastened properly is equal to riding a motorcycle without a helmet.
7. Helmets Have A Life-Span
Helmets do Expire.
Maybe you are a perfect safe rider who always wears/worn helmets for motorcycles. But, it is a must to change the helmet once every two-three years. Helmets have a limited shelf life.
8. Wearing Helmets Vs Hair Loss Is Not Medically Proven
Wearing Helmets for motorcycles leads to a Hair Loss. This is a Myth as no studies have proven that usage of Helmets directly causes hair loss in both Men and Women motorcycle riders. However, prolonged usage of helmets can play a bit of a role in aggravating hair loss especially when your helmet is too tight leading to continuous stress to the hair roots.
When we know not wearing helmets may lead to Life-Loss, we should also know Hair-Loss is much better, isn’t it?
Other than that, the few things that contribute to hair loss are the cleanliness of your hair and helmet, helmet quality, dandruff, and your heredity.
9. Dust-Off Your Helmets Often
How often do you wash the inside cloth lining of your helmet? Don’t say whenever it rained during the commute.
Keep them clean so that they can be used by you without shrinking your nostrils. Helmets can be washed or cleaned delicately with water. Be cautious while cleaning if your helmet is equipped with LED lights and similar options.
10. White & Light Colored Helmets Are Good
White and light-colored helmets give better visibility of you for the other road users when compared to dark-colored helmets, studies say.
If you still prefer a dark-colored one, spend some extra money and buy helmets equipped with LED lights and reflector especially if you commute during the nights.
11. Forecast The Worst
Without Helmet, we lose the full eligibility to file a case against a faulty driver.
One who ended up with an accident due to the fault of the other road users vehicle, for example by public / private transport or sewer carrying lorry that plies in the OMR road and if it has been proved that you were not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, then you might not be able to sue the other party even though they were at fault.
12. Better To Pay Fine Than To Buy A Time-Being Helmet
Something is better than nothing is not applicable when it comes to the Helmets for motorcycles.
Let us assume that I lost my helmet that meets all the safety standards. To avoid paying a fine to the traffic police, I chose to buy a helmet from a roadside vendor for time-being.
Do you think it is a problem?
If your answer is No, then trust me that is not a wise decision to take from my side.
It is almost like sitting directly on the gas stove burner, scared of heat over the pan.
At the time of the crash, helmets made of low-quality items are prone to break (not just the visor). They make it harder for anyone who tries to remove the helmet from our head after the crash.
Low-quality or sub-standard helmets, instead of protecting our head, eyes, neck, spine, and brain can be fatal by making the situation worse.
If I do not want pieces of the helmets to get into my head, then I should either choose a different mode of transport or pay the fine to the traffic regulators.
Hope the above-mentioned pointers make sense to you. Feel free to comment based on your experiences.
Questions Are Good
When there is no guarantee that helmets can save our life all the time. Then, why should we still use it?
Simply put, helmets are capable to give us an option to live for another day to ride the motorcycle by reducing the impact to our head and brain during a crash.
Are the Helmets with DOT/ECE certified superior to ISI certified when it comes to our head safety and protection?
Stay tuned, you would find more details in that context in the upcoming post.
Try this helmet if you are a teenager and you will love it for its design.
References:
httpss://www.bmj.com/content/328/7444/857
https://motorcycle-central.com/why-do-motorcycle-helmets-expire/