jamie99roadstar wrote:
I jump between a DOT full face and non dot polo.

X2

I went non dot skid for the first 10 years of riding. went dot for the following:

1: tired of the tickets
2: I always figured if i crashed there would be a way that i could mitigate the crash. When my friend went down he told me that he did everything he could and still the first thing that hit the ground was his head
3: when my little girl arrived she changed the game completely. i'd miss her way to much.

I now always wear dot 3/4 and i really love my full face that i wear in cold weather. its really easy to get spoiled in that thing.

For those of you that 'think' you wear a 'DOT Approved' helmet. You don't. The D.O.T. does not 'Approve' anything. This is where we have all been hoodwinked.

The FMVSS 218 regulatory scheme is aimed at the manufacturer, and in that scheme, the MANUFACTURER self-certifies that the helmet will pass the testing that is FMVSS. That would be fine if there was some sort of control in place.

Why do you suppose that lawmakers are so adamant that we wear a piece of equipment that fails testing about 45% of the time?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/

The DOT/NHTSA or any other government agency WILL NOT and CANNOT APPROVE of any item manufactured ANYWHERE. They government is not empowered to APPROVE ANY consumer product, and never will be.

DOT full face all the time for me. Not just because it's the law here in CA but because I want to be around to play with my grandkids and great grandkids.

Non-DOT Daytona Eagle w/ a DOT sticker.
But then again, I'll ride in shorts, tank tops and sneakers, too, ... but mostly for short hops to the shore and such. Longer hiway speed trips like NJ Turnpike from NY to AC or Philly , I'll pop on the windshield and bags (stuffed w/said shorts, tank top et al) and wear jeans/boots/t shirt. And I've been down a few times before.

I have a DOT Half Helmet for inspection purposes. or if this guy pulls me over ...




Legalize Freedom of Choice.

I think that if people are so scared about getting hurt when riding, then maybe they should be required to wear their helmets in their cages, too.

Mr. Breeze wrote:
For those of you that 'think' you wear a 'DOT Approved' helmet. You don't. The D.O.T. does not 'Approve' anything. This is where we have all been hoodwinked.

The FMVSS 218 regulatory scheme is aimed at the manufacturer, and in that scheme, the MANUFACTURER self-certifies that the helmet will pass the testing that is FMVSS. That would be fine if there was some sort of control in place.

Why do you suppose that lawmakers are so adamant that we wear a piece of equipment that fails testing about 45% of the time?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/

The DOT/NHTSA or any other government agency WILL NOT and CANNOT APPROVE of any item manufactured ANYWHERE. They government is not empowered to APPROVE ANY consumer product, and never will be.
I knew that
I have 4 helmets (that I'm aware of, might be more). All have the DOT sticker on them.
Here in NY we have to deal with motorcycle only 'safety' checkpoints especially if you're going to something like Americade, even though the Supreme Court has deemed them to be illegal (think profiling).
I wear a police type 1/2 helmet most of the time and a full face the rest.
I don't wear one for the safety, I wear one for the comfort.
The 1/2 protects my head from the sun and the occasional dive bombing bug. The full (which I've been wearing all week) protects me from the rain and hail.
On my last trip to Fl. I wore my helmet the whole time for a couple of reasons. 1 I had other things to think about other then if I was in a state where I could ride without one and 2. I didn't really have anywhere else to put it other then on my head.
As far as mandatory helmet laws I think they suck and are degrading to us. The idea that the state thinks I'm intelligent enough to ride a motorcycle but not smart enough to decide if I should wear a helmet or not tells me they are more concerned about taking my money and not really concerned about my health. But then in NY that's all they are concerned about anyways.I've been seriously thinking about joining A.B.A.T.E. mainly because of the helmet law. But even if I had the choice I'd still wear one most of the time.
The other law I have issues with is the seat belt law. I've worn a seat belt for years before they made it a law. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you don't want to exit a car or truck through the windshield.

always

Mr. Breeze wrote:
For those of you that 'think' you wear a 'DOT Approved' helmet. You don't. The D.O.T. does not 'Approve' anything. This is where we have all been hoodwinked.

The FMVSS 218 regulatory scheme is aimed at the manufacturer, and in that scheme, the MANUFACTURER self-certifies that the helmet will pass the testing that is FMVSS. That would be fine if there was some sort of control in place.

Why do you suppose that lawmakers are so adamant that we wear a piece of equipment that fails testing about 45% of the time?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/

The DOT/NHTSA or any other government agency WILL NOT and CANNOT APPROVE of any item manufactured ANYWHERE. They government is not empowered to APPROVE ANY consumer product, and never will be.
Thats why I jump back and forth. I've cleaned up at enough motorcycle accidents to know that helmets aren't all they're cracked up to be. In my opinion, the only helmet that should be approved is a full face. Its the only helmet that will provide protection to the whole head in the event of an accident. It doesn't help with the whiplash that can occur when you go over the bars though. This is strictly my opinion and shouldn't influence anyone, because I am no porfessional crash scene investigator.

I have 4 DOT I wear at different times , don't care anymore don't have enough hair to fly in wind

I wear DOT stickered helmets (I have three, a half, a 3/4 and a full) depending on temp. but I wear one at all times when I ride and require the same of my passengers.