MCB HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Graduates of MCB Hawaii's Motorcycle Rider Course know that the words "motorcycle" and "safety" are difficult to incorporate into the same sentence. Riding in the open air, on only two wheels, and without seatbelts and other protection provided by most four-wheeled vehicles, is an inherently dangerous activity.
Dan Martyniuk runs the course through the Base Safety Center and teaches students to manage the risks associated with motorcycling, in order to avoid accidents and minimize injuries.
The most important thing a rider can do, apart from taking a rider safety course before hitting the roads, is to wear an approved helmet.
Informed riders wear a helmet every time they ride. They also wear other vital safety gear like over-the-ankle foot-wear, long pants, long-sleeved shirts, face and eye protection, and gloves. A helmet, though, is the single most important piece of gear riders can count on to shield their head from the hard pavement.
New rules spelled out in the MCB Hawaii Motorcycle Regulations order, (Base Order 5100.22) specify riders must wear a properly fastened, protective helmet that meets the standards of the Snell Memorial Foundation, the American National Standards Institute, or the Department of Transportation.
Since 1980, all helmets sold for use on the street are required to meet DOT guidelines.
Several versions of fake helmets are available on the market and are sold as "novelty" items, since they do not carry the required DOT certification. A fake helmet, along with a small DOT sticker (also sold as "novelty" items) does not make an approved helmet. Riders who wear them are not only breaking the federal law and violating the base orders, they are also setting themselves up for serious injury.
Fake helmets, especially the German military-style helmets, have been around almost as long as the government has been certifying helmets. Many riders wear them to thumb their nose at the law; others wear them because they like the image these helmets convey.
Helmets have come a long way in the past few years, and they are no longer the cumbersome neck exercisers they used to be. Myths regarding helmets have been used for years in objection to motorcycle helmet laws, but the myths have been disproved time and time again.
Helmets do not break necks; they protect the brain from impact. They do not block vision; they help keep eyes protected.
With the amount of information available from traffic safety statistics, a rider is hard pressed to find a logical reason for not wearing an approved helmet.
Fake helmets are easy to spot. A quick look at the space where the bottom of the helmet meets the side of the head, shows that a fake helmet does not have the nearly one inch impact absorbing liner required by the DOT.
Skull-cap helmets are nothing more than a hard shell, and, depending on the material, may or may not provide protection against the sandpaper-like effect of the asphalt.
Without an impact-absorbing liner, a helmet is little more than worthless, even in a low-speed accident.
Fake helmets also have flimsy chin straps, and the rivets holding the strap to the helmet are usually weak too.
All riders should check their helmets and make sure they measure up to the DOT (or other agency) standards.
The new base order, released Sept. 16, specifies other required safety gear and annual refresher training for all riders. It also announced the formation of the MCB Hawaii Motorcycle Club.