| Motorcycles and Twowheelers: Bike insurance and security - "Motorcycle Helmets - Mind Your Head!" Wednesday, 7 January, 2009 | Home | Suggest a Link |
Motorcyclists, Safety and Bus Lanes
To most riders, motorcycle helmets do not fit into their dream accessory. They feel helmets are restrictive and unnecessary and do not add to their aesthetic appeal. But it is important to know why you need to wear a helmet while riding a bike and what it does for you.
Motorcycle helmets act as a protection device for your head. Nearly all motor crashes in which riders do not wear helmets, result in major head injuries. To drive this point further, according to a survey done in the state of California, in 900 crashes, there were 980 head and neck injuries. The major factor was that most riders were not wearing proper headgear.
Canada [also the UK. ed] has made it a mandatory rule for motorbike riders to wear helmets after seeing the way people die in these accidents. But in the USA, in some states, it still remains a choice for the rider – so it is for you to decide what is more precious to you.
Hopefully, now that you are convinced about purchasing a helmet, let us see some of the things that you should keep in mind while buying a motorcycle helmet.
All helmets have an outer shell and an inner shell. The outer shell is meant to protect the head from initial impact and undertake all the abrasions onto it. The inner shell is basically a lining of foam that aims at minimizing the impact of the shock by absorbing it as much as possible. It is also supposed to provide comfort to the rider as well.
In order to ascertain whether your helmet is safe enough for you or not, you must check whether it has the Department of Transportation sticker [British Standards sticker in UK. ed] or not. A globally accepted safety standard for helmets is a sticker by the Snell Memorial Foundation.
Besides these safety stickers, the other important thing is to ensure that the motorcycle helmet of your choice gives you a proper fit. It should not be loose or too tight. You must be comfortable with it, as remember that you will be wearing it for quite some time. There should not be any red marks on your head or face – otherwise the helmet is too tight for you. At the same time, it should not come off your head or it just might fall off in an accident- providing you with no protection.
Also, you must choose between the various types of materials of which motorcycle helmets are made. Heavy helmets are made of fiberglass but it can crack if dropped. Another type of material used is injection-molded plastic. This is cheap and light but requires a lot of care. So think before you decide.
Enjoy the ride!
There are an estimated 300,000 casualties from road accidents every year in the UK and knowing some First Aid could help save a life. Carrying a First Aid kit in a car or on a motorcycle is highly recommended, so that there is basic equipment available should there be an accident.
It must be stressed that there is no comparison to going on a First Aid training course, and that the following advice must be taken in that context. www.sja.org.uk is the St John's Ambulance website where more information about going on a First Aid course can be found.
These
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This is the truth about motorcycle security chains the major manufacturers don't want you to know. In recent testing it was found that the top 5 chains all failed within 63 seconds with the Irwin Record 42" bolt croppers. One in particular lasted a mere 3 seconds!
Pocket bikes are miniature motorcycles -- powered, for the most part, by oil- and gas-burning engines similar to those used in chain saws, weed whackers or other small motorized tools -- and they look just like the real thing.
The snazziest models cost thousands and are made in Italy, but the ones that are selling by the container load run from $200 to $500. They come from China, among other places, and are getting snapped up by eager teenagers and, in some cases, not-so-teenagers.
At Broadtek LLC, a South San Francisco firm
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I have 2 motorcycles. One is a NTV 600 Revere, the other a SLR 650. The NTV is 15 years old and the SLR is 8 years old. I insure both bikes third party, fire and theft for £154.00. I think this is a very reasonable price that I am quite happy to pay.
I am frustrated with the cost of petrol, though. Both bikes will return 50 to 55 mpg, which compared to a car and some sports bikes is better than average, but I travel approximately 15,000 miles per year which costs around £1300 each year in fuel. This
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These days, simply being careful while out and about with your bike and using safety gear is not the only protection you need! Motorcycles have a far higher rate of accidents per unit distance than cars. This is due to the exposed rider and the fact that many automobile drivers fail to see these smaller vehicles in the traffic stream.
Also, as the law and lawsuit trials become more and more "complicated," you might even end up paying for the guy who was talking on his cell phone while driving, failed to see you and pushed you in the ditch. Of
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