Motorcycle safety is something that must be a priority for anyone who gets on one of these vehicles. One thing to remember is that you must wear a helmet to ride in North Carolina, but not all helmets are created equally. In order to optimally protect you and remain in compliance with the laws, you have to wear one that meets or exceeds the standards set by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218.
Some helmets on the market are nothing more than novelties. These don’t provide your head with any protection, so wearing one is akin to wearing no helmet at all. In order to be compliant with the standards, the helmet must have a thick inner liner, a manufacturer’s label, and a permanent DOT sticker. There is a separate sticker that looks like an official DOT sticker in some novelty helmets, but these aren’t compliant. The DOT sticker must be permanent and on the back of the helmet on models that meet the standards.
There are many myths out there that some people rely on as reasons to avoid wearing helmets. Some of the more common ones are that helmets block out sounds that are important while driving and that you can’t see when you wear a helmet. Neither of these is true.
When it comes to your line of sight, your normal peripheral vision spans 180 degrees. In order to be DOT compliant, a helmet has to provide a minimum visual field of 210 degrees.
Motorcycle riders don’t really have any good reasons for going against the law by avoiding wearing a helmet. This one piece of safety equipment can reduce your risk of a fatal injury in a motorcycle crash by one-third.
Whether you were wearing a helmet or not, a car striking you can lead to serious injuries that are costly. You might choose to seek compensation for the damages caused by the other driver.
