Snell Approved Motorcycle Helmets

The majority of motorcycle injuries often include some type of head injury, it is so important that you be wearing a good quality helmet when you are riding your motorcycle. However, with so many brand names out there today, how do you choose which one has the highest standards for crashes? All motorcycle helmets, by law must pass a Department of Transportation or DOT test and that sticker can be found on all motorcycle helmets, if it's not there, don't purchase it. Going above and beyond the DOT testing is the Snell Company.

Snell Memorial Foundation or SMF approved motorcycle helmets are tested in the Untied States only - Europe has there own brand of testing - and Snell require a higher standard of safety issues such as impact tolerance. Operating since 1957, Snell has been independently testing other manufacturer's helmets for safety concerns. Snell does not manufacture helmets themselves, only tests them. And they are a non-for-profit organization whose soul purpose is 'research, testing, education and development of helmet safety standards.' The SMF standards deal with the structural impacts and very high energy distribution centers upon impact.

Helmets must pass all four categories, quality control, retention system, environmental resistance and energy management in order to receive the Snell seal of approval. It is said that a Snell helmet is able to 'shrug off' all the things most probable to happen to the motorcycle helmet before it crashes and just after a crash. Leading to a wide inconsistency in performances is the fact that many manufacturers will test their own helmets which already have received a DOT certification, which could be the lowest possible rating.

There are four reasons to have the Snell certifications:

1. The riding of motorcycles can pose the risk of death or other permanent impairments due to head injuries.

2. The protective capacity of a motorcycle helmet is hard to measure.

3. The proper use of motorcycle helmets can reduce the risk of permanent impairments and death.

4. Snell certifications, backed by random sample testing identifies and maintains the highest levels of head protection available.

Snell currently purchases and test motorcycle helmets from the abundant supply available, in order to continually test and monitor the quality of the helmets available today. Testing is performed in a Snell research facility and only by trained Snell researchers. The following are Snell's standard testing procedures - Impact management, how well does the motorcycle helmet do with a collision against a large object; Extent of protection, the area of the head protected by the helmet; Retention system strength, are the chin straps satisfactorily strong enough to hold the helmet through a head impact, and finally, Helmet position stability, is the helmet going to stay in place - on the head - when it's needed?

Snell's standards are some of the most stringent in the world. They exceed DOT, The Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC), the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). They only test one thing and that is motorcycle helmets and they do it well.