Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Legislation PROPOSED NEW SAFETY RULES FOR MOTORCYCLE HELMETS

U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY MARY E. PETERS PROPOSES NEW SAFETY RULES FOR MOTORCYCLE HELMETS

WASHINGTON – New rules proposed today will improve motorcycle safety by making it easier for riders to identify and use effective helmets, instead of unsafe “novelty helmets, announced U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters. The proposal will also make it harder for riders to use novelty helmets in states that require DOT-certified helmets, she said.

“Novelty helmets do little to protect riders during an accident,” Secretary Peters said. “This proposal will make it easier for riders to know in advance whether the helmet they buy will keep them safe.”
Helmets don't keep us safe - just saf er. Don't mislead people.

The proposal would amend the agency’s current motorcycle helmet safety rules to require manufacturers to place a larger, tamper-proof DOT label on the back of certified helmets. The new labels will make it harder for vendors to remove the labels on safe helmets and affix them to the unsafe novelty helmets.

Do vendors actually do this? IDK? I would think it could open up a real ugly can of liability for them.

The proposed rule would also strengthen the tests helmets must go through to receive DOT certification, including updated tests on how the helmets hold up during impact, whether objects can penetrate the helmet and how well the helmet stays in place during a crash. Recent tests of novelty helmets which are not DOT certified showed they fail to meet current DOT performance tests.

That's why they're called a novelty helmet, duh!

“As our testing has shown, these ‘novelty’ helmets do not have the energy absorbing capacity to protect a rider in a highway crash,” said David Kelly, Acting NHTSA Administrator. “A DOT-certified and labeled helmet, as proposed today, will help consumers make more knowledgeable decisions when purchasing a helmet.”

The proposed rule announced today will help mitigate the yearly increases in motorcycle fatalities and injuries that have plagued the nation for nearly a decade, Secretary Peters said. Fatalities have more than doubled since 1997--increasing by 144 percent. Yet new data indicate that nearly one in five motorcycle riders in states with helmet laws wear a non-compliant helmet.

Do you really want to lower injuries and fatalities? Come up with better mandatory rider education and tiered licensing. Keep the newbs from jumping on a bike that is too much for them- whether it be an 18y/o getting on an R1 or 55y/o having his midlife crisis and buying a geezerglide.

In 2006, helmets saved an estimated 1,658 lives. If everyone worn a helmet, an additional 752 lives would have been saved, the Secretary said. During the same year, 4,837 motorcyclists were killed; of those, more than 40 percent weren’t wearing helmets, she said.

I just love statistics. So helmets didn't do a darn bit of good for the roughly 60 percent of the 4,837 killed in '06! You can make numbers say almost anything.

Once published in the Federal Register, the agency will seek public comment for 60 days. Click here to view the proposed rule.

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So, basically this law is just going to require a bigger, tamper proof DOT sticker. Ok, so? Hey, why not make it retro reflective too?

And no, I'm not trying to start a helmet law debate!

As far as "motocycle deaths doubling since 1997". Sounds like the "classic" bit of misrepresenting the statistics. I don't have the facts, but I'll bet that motorcycle registrations have more than doubled since the same time, effectively LOWERING the rate of fatalities. A similiar stat lie was bandied about a few years ago.

Actually those numbers may have some validity to them. At least here in the military, especially Navy & Marine Corps, motorcycle deaths have rocketed up within the last decade. It's to the point that Uncle Sam has said "enough", re-evaluated rider training and has mandated new training/mentoring requirements...especially for the 25 and younger crowd.

What's happening is many young men are leaving small town America (home), joining the armed forced and heading straight overseas. They're never given the time to be "wild and free" as most youths just love to do. So, when they come back (and with a huge wad of saved up cash in their pocket), they purchase a motorcycle (for the sense of freedom one can experience on them) and sadly end up as a statistic. So there could be some truth in the numbers.

The debate is still out on the rest of the proposal.

The proposal would amend the agency’s current motorcycle helmet safety rules to require manufacturers to place a larger, tamper-proof DOT label on the back of certified helmets. The new labels will make it harder for vendors to remove the labels on safe helmets and affix them to the unsafe novelty helmets.

Do vendors actually do this? IDK? I would think it could open up a real ugly can of liability for them.


There was a "cutom" bike shop not far from me (built cooky cutter choppers out of HD's for yuppies). That got busted by state DOT for doing just that. Thye had to take a bunch of realy stupid looking helmets off the shelf. Don't know if they where fined of not.

Place has since gone out of buisness. I think they over estimated the market for 50 grand unridable drivway decorations.

I don't know about vendors placing dot labels on novelty helmets. But i'v seen, first hand, Them sell dot stickers right beside said novelty helmets...