The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced an update for the DOT regulations covering motorcycle helmets on May 13 that took effect immediately. The new rule is meant to decrease the use of “novelty” helmets while making it more difficult to sell helmets with markings that resemble the current “DOT” label showing compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218, the motorcycle helmet safety standard issued in 1973.
Helmet label "DOT FMVSS No. 218 Certified"
“These figures represent a significant reduction in FMVSS No. 218-compliant helmet use compared to 2009, when the comparable figures were 67 percent, 9 percent and 24 percent,” the agency was quoted by ohsonline.com. “This reduction in FMVSS No. 218-compliant helmet use is especially significant in the jurisdictions (20 States and the District of Columbia) with universal helmet use laws where the use of compliant helmets dropped from 86 percent in 2009 to 76 percent in 2010 and the use of novelty helmets increased from 11 percent in 2009 to 22 percent in 2010. This 11 percentage point increase in novelty helmet use in jurisdictions with universal helmet use laws between 2009 and 2010 is evidence of the difficulty encountered by law enforcement officials in enforcing helmet use laws.”
You can read the final rule here.
via OHSonline
