The safety standards in motorcycle racing have come a long way. Advanced and developing technology have enhanced the safety and protection of racers. Be it the riding suit, gloves, or helmets, today every element is much safer than it was yesterday. This year, FIM has come to a new decision- helmets used in MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 races are going to be safer than ever, and will be available to the public.
FIM or Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, tests and certifies helmets for use in numerous races. Over the years, the number of helmet manufacturers sponsoring riders have increased. This has resulted in varying test results for different helmets.
To sort out this situation, FIM has released a set of new safety standards which all the helmets have to fulfill. FIM has also asked each helmet manufacturer to submit 10 examples of every size in which the helmet will be made so that it can perform the necessary tests. The new safety standards require a helmet to pass testing for penetration, high and low-speed linear impacts (head-on), and oblique impacts (from the side, causing the rider’s head to turn).
While this is great news as riders’ safety is of utmost importance, FIM has also stated that it is not going to approve a helmet if it is not available for purchase to the public. Yes, that is correct. FIM wants helmet manufacturers to make available the exact same helmets that racers would be wearing in the upcoming season of MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 to the public!
This is brilliant. Now, you and I can have a helmet that probably has a safety standard even higher than that of the existing Snell, ECE, or JIS standards. Kudos FIM!
Let’s see when can we see such helmets in the market. Perhaps, sometime during this season. Would you be interested in buying it?
