Request a review on motorbike helmets please.
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Hi Zoe
While I agree that motorbike helmets are a critical piece of kit, I suggest that motoring organisations would be better placed to do this sort of testing, and/or access test results from overseas. Do you belong to one, and if so, have you enquired?
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I’ll start by saying roadside service is the only reason I’ve maintained membership and every time I’ve needed it they have performed very well to excellent.
That said, my experience with motoring organisations and vehicles with less than 4 wheels has not been encouraging. If one wants to book a holiday or receive an apologist echo of the government’s so-called ‘road safety’ campaigns then they seem to ‘perform’ quite well (the organ grinder is well hidden) but try getting any kind of ancillary service or advice relating to bikes and its a case of ‘oh, for a motorcycle’ (looking down their nose past the spectacles balanced on the end of it). RAA Insurance for a bike notes the following “If the engine capacity of your motorcycle is 1250cc or more, we’ll need to have more of a chat, so please call us for a quote.” - so I discovered they will insure only one of my bikes, the rest? not interested.
I’d suggest a test of motoring organisations would be a good topic for CHOICE - especially given the variance in service levels they provide and conditions they require.
As for helmets - comprehensive testing is probably outside the range of practicality for CHOICE - there are many brands, types and models - actual ‘testing’ according to one of the many standards would be a very expensive and time consuming exercise and probably would need to be coupled with testing of other safety equipment/clothing.
What would be great to see is a run-down of the rules and standards as they apply to Australia along with references to the tests that are done and how they are conducted (it might scare some people to know 
). One example, in recent years, various jurisdictions have allowed overseas accredited helmets into the market making the requirement for a ‘Standards Australia’ marked helmet a thing of the past - one problem however is that anecdotally the various police forces have taken time to catch up and the markings on imported helmets can be incredibly subtle and/or hidden. Other aspects that could be covered are fitting, wear/tear/damage, lifespan, cleaning, painting, etc.
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Hi Meltam,
I do agree with getting the standards to work properly and be easily understood by all. Do you have a preferred brand of helmet?
Also, I will check with motorcycle people to see if there are any recommended brands.
Many thanks
Zoe
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When I was buying a helmet, I went to lots of motor bike stores to try on as wide a range of helmets as possible, and find what fitted my rather large bonce comfortably. I chose to wear spectacles when riding, and because of my large head, my specs were quite wide, so I had difficulty getting them on through the front of most of the full face helmets without bending and twisting the frames.
I tried many brands, and I ended up buying a flip up full face helmet with built in sunvisor. Although not quite as safe as a full face helmet, tt was easy to put on and take off wearing glasses compared to a full face helmet.
The brand I bought was RJays. It had the AS stamp inside it. I bought a white helmet for maximum visibility and then put white refletive tape around it to increase my night visibility. (Can’t be too careful.)
Have a read of WA Government’s Helmets and helmet standards as a starting point. They have a link there to Consumer Rating and Assessment of Safety Helmets (CRASH) which has safety rating for motor bike helmets.
Hope that helps.
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Thankyou very much for the tips and websites. Will have a read up this evening
Regards
Zoe
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