Motorcycle Helmets and Protective Gear

Motorcyclists’ protective gear, helmets and accessories are the only protection they can count on to avoid injuries or reduce their severity in the event of an accident or a fall.

Helmets: they are mandatory and they must comply with standards

Under the Protective Helmets Regulation⁠ ⁠, every person riding on a motorcycle, a moped or scooter, an all-terrain vehicle or a snowmobile must wear a protective helmet that complies with one of the following manufacturing standards:

• DOT FMVSS 218 (United States Department of Transportation)
• Snell Memorial Foundation
• ECE Regulation 22 (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe)
• CAN-3-D230 (Canadian Standards Association)
• Specifications for Protective Headgear for Vehicular User Z90.1 (American National Standards Institute)
• British Standards Institute

To ensure maximum safety

For maximum safety, you must choose a high-quality helmet by prioritizing models that exceed mandatory standards or that comply with the most recently revised standards. To make an informed choice, you can also refer to independent organizations that assess the safety of helmets, such as SHARP⁠ ⁠. 

Furthermore, your protective helmet should:

• cover your entire head (full-face helmet) to offer the best protection against:
  • impacts to the face and forehead, as a helmet can move during an accident
  • adverse weather conditions
• be perfectly adjusted yet comfortable:
  • it should not squeeze your head or forehead, but it should only be able to move a few millimetres
  • it should be designed to allow proper airflow and prevent fogging up
• provide good visibility in blind spots
• be light- or brightly-coloured, have reflective or fluorescent patterns, etc.
  • “being visible” and “drawing attention” are two different things. The helmet’s colour is one of the best aspects to consider to make sure a motorcyclist is not mistaken for the headlights of an automobile

When to replace a helmet

A helmet’s natural deterioration alone is enough to warrant its replacement, as the materials from which it is made can behave differently after some time. This is why it is generally recommended that a helmet be replaced after 5 years. The number of years varies from one manufacturer to another. 

Here are some elements that indicate you should immediately stop using a helmet:

• The helmet was involved in an accident:
  • The shock-absorbing materials built into the helmet are designed for single use only. Even if there is no visible damage, the helmet may have lost all of its effectiveness.
• It is broken:
  • The chin strap does not attach easily, deep scratches or cracks can be seen on the outside structure, the visor does not stay in place, or parts of the helmet come off.
• It is too worn:
  • It was used often, it is now too big, it has vibrating parts, the fabric is coming apart, it is discoloured.
  • It was overly exposed to adverse weather conditions or perspiration, or it was improperly stored.
  • It was handled roughly, that is, it was dropped on the ground or hung on the motorcycle’s rearview mirror (which damaged the absorbent material found inside the helmet).

Eye protection is mandatory

Drivers must wear eye protection. If the helmet does not have a visor, the driver must wear protective goggles. This requirement applies when the driver is travelling in a zone where the maximum speed limit is above 50 km/h.

For maximum protection, the visor or protective goggles must be:

• designed to be shatterproof
• designed so as not to restrict your field of vision
• clean and maintained regularly
• designed to adapt correctly to the helmet or, in the case of goggles, to the contour of your eyes

While not mandatory, it is highly recommended that passengers wear eye protection as well.

Protective gear

Jackets and pants

For maximum protection, your jacket and pants should:

• be properly adjusted to your size
• fitted with large sections of high quality anti-abrasive and shock-absorbing padding materials

Gloves

Your gloves should be well adjusted and made of leather or an anti-abrasive material such as Kevlar, and completely cover your hands and wrists.

They must also:

• be flexible, so they do not interfere with your manoeuvres
• have adjustable wrist straps

Watch out for synthetic materials!

Avoid pieces of clothing made of or lined with synthetic materials such as polyester and nylon, because they can burn the skin in a fall. Jeans should also be avoided.

Footwear

It is important that your boots cover your ankles. They should also:

• be specially designed for riding a motorcycle
• have grip soles and flat heels
• be water-repellent
• be made of leather or other anti-abrasive material and have reinforced toes and soles

Protective Accessories

Jackets or Vests Equipped With an Air bag System

An air bag system, worn as a vest over the jacket or directly integrated into the jacket, is a reliable way to effectively protect the upper body, especially the cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, as well as the rib cage and abdomen.

The air bag system is equipped with a compressed gas cartridge and a trigger. Once inflated, the air bag absorbs the energy from the impact. The layer of gas absorbs the impact and reduces the shock. Contrary to air bags in an automobile, the motorcycle vest’s air bag remains inflated for around ten seconds and gradually deflates, thereby protecting the motorcyclist in case they slide on the ground, which may last several seconds.

Important! You should never wear a backpack over an inflatable jacket or vest, as it can stop the system from inflating normally and render the protection ineffective.

In addition, you should avoid placing any hard or sharp objects between your body and the inflatable vest or jacket. These objects, such as a cell phone or a keyring placed in an inside pocket, could injure you when the jacket inflates.

Back and Chest Protectors

Motorcycle gear that protects riders from lacerations and abrasions during a fall, but that may not necessarily prevent fractures, and safety accessories, such as back and chest protectors and protective armour, can provide additional, optimal protection.

Back and chest protectors worn together effectively protect the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, rib cage and abdomen, especially in the case of an impact with a fixed structure or a pointed or sharp object that could pierce through protective gear or inflatable vests.

Important! The foam protection that comes with your gear is often not very effective. However, an increasing number of equipment manufacturers are incorporating quality back protection into their high-end gear. If your gear came with foam back protection, you should replace it with higher-quality back protection.