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Alan Clark
Reading,
United Kingdom
Posts: 88
Daytona T595 (97-98)
22 Apr 2008 20:35 |
Does any one have the lowdown on how the law stands on using none EU or BSI spec helmets in the UK.
I have trip to the US soon and with a good exchange rate it seemed a good chance to pick up a nice lid at a bargain price.
Just some doubts about the standards, American standards are DOT or Snell, can I use helmets to these standards in the UK.
What about track days, do you still have to have an ACU sticker?
I have a feeling it is one of these fuzzy bits of law that are very unlikely to be enforced.
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Boycie
Valhöll,
United Kingdom
Posts: 8,790
Premier Member
Speed Triple (05->)
22 Apr 2008 20:53 |
[edited]:
get an ACU sticker off ebay ...
if you're looking at decent brands there that you would see here ... then why not?
ebay item .. 150237876481
bit pricey at the mo' @ £8
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Fret.
South.,
United Kingdom
Posts: 37,969
Premier Member
Tiger 1050 (07->)
22 Apr 2008 22:08 |
The ACU is just for RACING, not road use.
They need the ECE 22.05 markings on them to be legal over here.
"The helmet standard from the Economic Community of Europe (ECE) is actually the most commonly used internationally, the ECE 22.05, required by over 50 countries worldwide. While helmet standards all have the goal of regulating helmet performance for protection of riders’ heads, some performance requirements conflict between standards.
A major benefit for U.S. riders is that the ECE 22.05 standard does not directly conflict with the DOT standard. Limited testing shows that ECE qualified helmets will also meet the demands of FMVSS 218. Of course, not all DOT helmets will meet ECE 22.05 because the European standard does require testing at higher velocities than DOT.
Another advantage of the ECE 22.05 standard is the requirement for mandatory batch testing of helmets before they are released to the riding public. What this means to the consumer is the quality of the helmet in meeting the ECE 22.05 standard is assured by a mandatory sample testing of every production of helmets before they leave the factory, not with random testing performed after thousands of helmets with unknown quality are delivered to the dealers.
No one helmet designed to a particular standard or standards can provide the maximum protection in all types of crashes and no helmet can protect the wearer against all foreseeable impacts. Helmets can be designed to provide additional protection, for example, full-face helmets compared to the open-face types, but added protection comes with a weight penalty.
How much weight are you willing to wear? If you reject helmets with less coverage, you will end up with a helmet that covers most of your head and weighs about three pounds. By choosing a helmet meeting a high performance standard such as ECE 22.05, you can minimize that weight while maximizing protection.
Summary
If you’re not comfortable with a helmet that only meets the US Government DOT standard, what do you look for? Historically, American riders have looked for a Snell label but the world is getting smaller and we now have other viable alternatives. The ECE 22.05 standard is used in over 50 European countries, including Germany, a country known for taking a hard line on personal protection.
Helmets certified to the ECE 22.05 standard are approved for competition events by AMA, CCS, FIM, Formula-USA and WERA and are chosen by nearly every professional motorcycle racers competing in world championship road racing, motocross and off road events, including the ultimate sport of Moto GP. Helmets that are certified to both DOT and ECE 22.05 offer the highest level of realistic protection with the added benefit of light weight for day-long comfort and rider performance. "
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