You have to admit it: motorcycle helmets look ridiculous. Sure, they’re designed to protect your head in a crash. But there's a certain conspicuousness to putting a metallic shell on a motorcycle. And a very specific kind of conspicuousness: When you feel like your head might fly off on a ride, you want to feel like you have the ability to stop the force of impact with a little plastic ball on your head. Unfortunately, you can’t really do that on a motorcycle.
How much force can a helmet take before it breaks?
The average weight of the human head is around 12 pounds. This is not a huge difference, but it is enough to make the helmet if it is made of fibreglass reinforced plastic, highly susceptible to being crushed under its own weight. The head is also an extremely hard object to crack, with the same glass break test determining one’s jaw-dropping strength. However, many helmets are made of much softer materials that are one hundred times weaker.
An interesting new study has been published by a group of researchers at a university in a large American city. The study was performed to determine the maximum force a helmet could take without being destroyed. The researchers assembled a 1.8-ton testing rig, to which they attached a jaw-like mechanism. The system was connected to a load cell, which measured the force applied to the jig. An average of 140 pounds of force was applied, from a 1.8-ton testing rig to a 1.8-ton helmet, without it being destroyed.
Cracking is the process of chipping, fracturing, or otherwise breaking through the surface of the helmet. It is the result of decreasing force per unit area over time, often as a result of fatigue. Today’s motorcycle helmets are not designed to withstand the tremendous forces associated with crashing. Because of this, early helmets were heavy and cumbersome, reinforcing materials were used to withstand the main impact, and the purpose of the helmet was merely to protect the rider’s brain from injury.
Importance of wearing a helmet
You might think that riding a motorcycle is a rather safe activity. So safe that you might believe that wearing a helmet is only for the unthinking masses out there, the ones who don’t take the safety aspect of what they are doing seriously instead of actually doing it.
As a reminder, a helmet is a piece of safety equipment that covers a person’s head while riding a bike, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a skateboard, a scooter, a go kart, a boat, a ski, etc. It protects the head from injury from a fall or collision. In some cases, a helmet can be used to prevent death or brain injury from a collision with an object. In the U.S., the federal government mandates that children under 16 wear a helmet. The federal government also mandates that adults who ride a motorcycle or bicycle wear a helmet. This is to ensure the protection of the brain in case of an accident. If you have been in an accident, make sure to talk to a St Louis Missouri motorcycle accident attorney.
If you ride a bike or scooter, you probably wear a bike helmet. But do you wear it correctly? If not, you could be putting yourself at risk of serious head injuries. When it comes to motorcycle safety, there is no such thing as an “ideal” helmet, as helmets come in different shapes and sizes, and their safety depends on factors such as your bike and its design and your head and face shape. A good helmet can make all the difference in the case of an accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that head injuries are the leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes. The problem, they say, is that riders are often not wearing helmets. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that helmets are not widely available in U.S. motorcycle shops.
Motorcycle helmet laws have been in place in most states for decades. Why? Mostly because they save lives. The ability to protect your head in an accident is essential, especially in the case of negligent driving. It’s kind of like when someone puts on a seatbelt in their vehicle. It reduces the chance of injury in an accident. You wouldn’t want to be in an accident without your seatbelt on.
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