Helmet Color & Safety

[Mick]

The question of helmet color and conspicuity comes up occasionaly on this board. Below is an excerpt from a newsletter I subscribe to that addresses this subject. The newsletter comes from a fellow in New Zealand named Allan Kirk. He owns a riding school (New Zealand Motorcycle Safety Consultants) and has been around for a LONG time. He was once an active regular on the old rec.motorcycles newsgroup:

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WEAR A LIGHTHOUSE
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A report from the World Health Organization in 2004 found that wearing a motorcycle crash helmet can cut the risk of death by almost 40 percent, and the risk of severe injury by 72 percent.

As much as stubbornly independent riders may deny it, that's not an unexpected finding.

But what was interesting in the research was that light-coloured crash helmets were associated with a lower risk of a crash. A study concluded that 18 percent of crashes could be avoided if non-white helmets were eliminated.

While we don't support anything like the compulsory use of white crash helmets, this is an interesting finding since it confirms the fact that white helmets act to make the rider more conspicuous, since they jut up like a lighthouse above surrounding traffic and roadside clutter.
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Allan's newletters come out by email every few months and are free. They are full of very useful, factual, common sense informaiton that can help make ones riding career safer. I often wish he were here in the U.S. because his is one course I'd love to take.

If interested, here is his website. His articles make for good reading:

http://www.megarider.com/


If you'd like to receive his newsleter, here's how to get on his email list:
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Would any of your friends like to get the Megarider e-newsletter?
Just get them to email us at megarider@orcon.net.nz with a request to go on the mailing list and telling us their name and country they ride in and we?
be pleased to oblige.

Keep the rubber side down.

 

[ChucksKLRST]

That's why I have a High Vis jacket and a white helmet. However if the fools are NOT LOOKING then they will NOT SEE the WHITE HELMIT or the HIGH VIS Jacket. Somebody needs to Tell Them/Teach them to start looking where they are going instead of reading or pushing buttons on the Droids, Cell Phones, Smart Phones, etc.

 

[Andi As]

A study concluded that 18 percent of crashes could be avoided if non-white helmets were eliminated..

Thats rather a subjective statement and whilst we are discussing safety, we had a recent thread regarding adding more than three farkles to a bike which could include for safety reasons extra forward,rear and side lighting,reflective tape and fog lights making it impossible to get insurance from at least one UK provider.

 

[Booger Man]

I was wearing a bright yellow helmet,hi-viz jacket & the bike lit up with aux lights etc. Still got ran off the road. Kid claims he didn't see me,I was in his blind spot.:nuts1:

 

[dduelin]

I think this references this Kiwi study:

http://www.bikerhiway.com/motorcycle-safety-info/motorcycle_rider_conspicuity_study.html

 

[Mick]

However if the fools are NOT LOOKING then they will NOT SEE the WHITE HELMIT or the HIGH VIS Jacket. Somebody needs to Tell Them/Teach them to start looking where they are going instead of reading or pushing buttons on the Droids, Cell Phones, Smart Phones, etc

Amen brother!

Another aspect to this is the human brain and how it reacts to things. It's been pretty well documented that the brain sometimes doesn't "see" things it doesn't expect or doesn't regard as a threat. Allan writes about this phenomenon fairly often and gives it as a major reason for motorcyclists to hone their defensive riding skills. The MSF now has a video that shows a dancing gorilla coming into to view that you don't even notice until you're made aware of it. The human brain is not perfect. Here's an article that discusses it:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1378228/Didnt-spot-dancing-gorilla-famous-YouTube-video.html

 

[Andi As]

Also "some drivers" will risk pulling out in front of a motor bike rider at a junction even if the distance is relativly close, be it through lack of driving experience,bravado or sheer lack of driving ability.To be honest I think the number of years a driver has actually driven on the road should be included in the statistics especially those of the cage drivers involved in the incidents as this is also a large factor in this.

 

[Mick]

Thats rather a subjective statement

I guess any statistic can be refuted one way or another. The general statement about helmet color however makes sense to me based on my own experience.

When I first began riding again back about 12 years ago, I bought a white helmet simply because it was cheaper than most other helmets. I immediately put on some of those stick on graphics thinking it would help with visibility (I had just taken the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course and safety was still on my mind). One day while riding in the tail position with a group of four guys, I noticed something very interesting. One person was wearing a white helmet and he stood out like a sore thumb. The rest of the guys had helmets that either had graphics or were dark colored and their helmets blended into the background like camouflage! That afternoon when I returned I removed the graphics and have been wearing solid white ever since.

 

[LegoMan]

Hard to imagine a hi-vis helmet not being as effective as a white one. It seems that the goal is to contrast the local surroundings and make yourself stand out. I was wearing a hi-vis jacket and helmet when I got hit in my own neighborhood last year. As mentioned, it doesn't matter what you do to make yourself more noticeable. If they don't look (as in my case) they won't see you!

 

[Mellow]

Hard to imagine a hi-vis helmet not being as effective as a white one. It seems that the goal is to contrast the local surroundings and make yourself stand out. I was wearing a hi-vis jacket and helmet when I got hit in my own neighborhood last year. As mentioned, it doesn't matter what you do to make yourself more noticeable. If they don't look (as in my case) they won't see you!

I used to ride this w/yellow jacket and helmet - folks didn't see me many times LOL

however, when I ride this .. .people LOOK for me.. LOL

 

[Mellow]

Hard to imagine a hi-vis helmet not being as effective as a white one. It seems that the goal is to contrast the local surroundings and make yourself stand out. I was wearing a hi-vis jacket and helmet when I got hit in my own neighborhood last year. As mentioned, it doesn't matter what you do to make yourself more noticeable. If they don't look (as in my case) they won't see you!

I used to ride this w/yellow jacket and helmet - folks didn't see me many times LOL

however, when I ride this .. .people LOOK for me.. LOL

 

[ChucksKLRST]

That is because the brain says Black and White = Police. Danger

 

[Mellow]

LOL.. I still think Polite would be funny but I'm not that brave..

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Looks real nice. By the way have you sold the red tupperware yet?

 

[Andi As]

And if it has a slight indication of flourescent blue and yellow they always see you

 

[Mellow]

Looks real nice. By the way have you sold the red tupperware yet?

I sold a saddlebag lid.. Need to clean us some of the left over glue/tape from the fairing extensions and then get some pics to post

 

[SteveST1300]

I agrtee with that I think that white stands out even more than the HI Viz helmets.

 

[bigjimbo1957]

When my wife rides with me, she has tiger ears and a tiger tail attached to her helmet. Most adults see them but every kid points them out to their parents and half the battle is won. They are aware of our presence!

 

[richpeabody]

I have worn white helmets since about 1978...I believe that they are safer for two reasons:
1) they are visible day or night
2) they keep your head cooler, which may (although I am not sure I am a good example) increase brain function, helping to avoid accidents.

Have fun!

 

[pnelson]

POLICE bikes are noticed. My riding buddy has a BMW retired cop bike and people get out of his way all the time. He swears it makes a huge difference.

Riding safe is a matter of reducing the odds. Yes, things can still happen but giving yourself every chance and then riding smart on top of that can't hurt one bit.

;-) Paul