As head injuries account for the majority of serious
motorcycle injuries, you know head protection is critically important. Yet, as you try to
select from among the many brands of motorcycle helmets available, you may find the claims
confusing. It's easy enough to choose between colors and styles, but the real purpose of a
helmet is to protect your head in an accident. The best helmet may not guarantee survival
in all accident situations, but on the basis of ongoing research done by the Snell
Memorial foundation since 1957, a Snell certified helmet is indisputably better in severe
impact conditions than one not meeting this standard. In fact, Snell requirements are among
the most stringent in the world - much more stringent than the legal D.O.T. standards. To
receive Snell certification, helmets are tested in four performance areas; Energy
Management, Environmental Resistance, Retention System, and Quality Control. In Other
words, Snell tests the helmet's ability to shrug off all of the things likely to happen to
it prior to and during an actual crash. Snell constantly selects examples - at random in
the marketplace - of certified helmets to test for compliance with the Standard. On the
other hand, helmets meeting only the minimum D.O.T. requirements can be self-certified by
the manufacturer, with possibly no outside testing, which can lead to wide discrepancies
in performances.
Think about it, if you're going to wear a
helmet at all doesn't it make sense to wear one that meets the best standards available -
SNELL.
SNELL M2000 - 2000 Standards for Motorcycle Protective Headgear
There are four reasons for you
to be interested in this standard:
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The use of motorcycles and
other motorized vehicles imposes risks of death or permanent impairment du to head injury. |
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The proper use of protective
helmets can minimize the risk of death or permanent impairment. |
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The protective capacity of a
helmet is difficult to measure, particularly at the time of purchase or use. |
Four of the MOST
Critical Elements that SNELL Test for:
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Impact Management - How well
the helmet protects against collisions with large objects. |
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Helmet Positional Stability -
Whether the helmet will be in place, on the head, when it's needed. |
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Retention System Strength -
Whether the chin straps are sufficiently strong to hold the helmet throughout a head
impact. |
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Extent of Protection - The
area of the head protected by the helmet. |
In order to
continuously monitor the quality of helmets being sold to the public, Snell purchases and
tests samples of currently certified helmets from the marketplace. These helmets are
tested only in Snell labs by Snell technicians. Should a currently certified helmet fail,
the helmet manufacturer must take corrective action to Snell's satisfaction.
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