FACIAL PROTECTION OF MOTORIZED TWO-WHEELER RIDERS. NEW FEATURES OF A SPECIFICATION FOR "FULL FACE" HELMET

Recent accident investigations have shown that facial impacts account for some 31% of the head injuries sustained by two-wheel-motorized-vehicle riders, and that the existing full face helmets have brought out no significant reduction in injuries with the exception of minor facial injuries. In fact, they indicate some 79% of this type of injury for non-wearers of vizors and 21% of these same injuries for wearers of these. However, if the injuries that are more serious than minor are considered, on the basis of these same bibliographical sources, it emerges that the degree of facial protection provided by the fittings that are standard equipment on most of the helmets available on the market enables no meaningful reduction in the frequency of occurrence and the severity of these injuries. These reasons, added to the absence of regulations governing this area, prompted to design and produce, under a French government contract, a prototype helmet in accordance with ECE regulation 22-02 to whose facial part (vizor and jaw part) specific investigations were devoted. The unit composed of the vizor, jaw protector, and shock-absorbent material located in the front part of the "integral" helmet constitutes the facial protection of the prototype. A separate investigation was devoted to each of the features listed above. The complete prototype helmet was then tested with human subjects, under the same conditions as other commercially available helmets reputed to be "satisfactory". For the covering abstract of the conference see TRIS 393117. (Author/TRRL)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was presented during the Proceedings of the 1984 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impacts, Delft, the Netherlands, 4, 5, 6 September 1984.
• Corporate Authors:

  IRCOBI (International Research Council on the Biokinetics of Impacts)

  109 Avenue Salvador Allende
  Bron CEDEX,   France  F-69675
• Authors:
  • Walfisch, G
  • Chamouard, F
  • Fayon, A
  • Tarriere, C
  • Got, C
  • Guillon, F
  • Patel, A
  • Hureau, J
• Conference:
  • This paper was presented during the Proceedings of the 1984 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impacts, Delft, the Netherlands, 4, 5, 6 September 1984.
• Publication Date: 1984

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 193-211

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Conferences; Cyclists; Face; Head; Helmets; Injuries; Injury severity; Motorcyclists; Prevention; Protection; Protective clothing; Prototypes; Specifications
• Geographic Terms: France
• ITRD Terms: 8525: Conference; 1687: Crash helmet; 1742: Cyclist; 2011: Face (human); 8036: France; 2163: Injury; 1752: Motorcyclist; 9149: Prevention; 9109: Prototype; 1623: Severity (accid, injury); 177: Specifications
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00393132
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 30 1985 12:00AM