The federal agency in charge of regulating motorcycle helmet safety is making some changes to the helmets, according to news reports . The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is changing the labeling on helmets in order to reduce the number counterfeit safety-approved helmets and novelty helmets on the market.
NHTSA-approved helmets are currently adorned with stickers that read “Department of Transportation” on helmets to inform riders that they were approved for the federal safety guidelines. Those stickers, NHTSA says, are too easy to counterfeit. Now, the agency will be using new stickers that read “DOT FMVSS No. 218 Certified” with a more sophisticated design, according to news reports.
Because these novelty helmets are reportedly on the rise among riders, NHTSA said the sicker needed an update.
“‘Such novelty helmets do not meet federal safety requirements,’ the agency said in a news release this week; the government had tested many of these helmets and found they failed all or most of its safety tests,” according to news reports.
From 2009 to 2010, helmet use dropped among motorcyclist from 67 percent to 54 percent, according to NHTSA. The Governors Highway Safety Association also said that motorcyclist fatalities in the second half on 2010 was more than the previous year.
As a Charleston motorcycle attorney , I urge riders to make sure their helmets are NHTSA approved. Helmets help save lives in the event of an accident.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, contact a personal injury lawyer in Charleston .