The motorcycle helmet is a critical piece of safety equipment that dramatically reduces the severity of head injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that helmeted riders “have up to an 85 percent reduced incidence of severe, serious, and critical injuries than unhelmeted riders.“ Other than minor cosmetic improvements, however, the basic helmet design has remained mostly unchanged over the years. That could soon change with the introduction of an all-new design by the Australian company, Vozz Helmets.
Although motorcycle helmets have been credited with saving countless lives, they are not without their design flaws. Some motorcycle injuries have been made worse (often much worse) when emergency medical personnel remove the helmets of motorcycle riders after accidents. To remove the helmet of an injured rider lying on the ground, EMS personnel often need to move the head. This causes the neck to flex, which can exacerbate a spinal injury.
Removing the helmet is not the only way helmets have contributed to injury. A helmet that is not properly secured, for example, can actually cause an injury in an accident. With a loose-fitting helmet or a chin strap that is not properly secured, a rider’s helmet can actually come off on impact. And if the chin strap is too tight, it can cut into a rider’s neck, restricting his ability to breathe.
There really isn’t much to the basic motorcycle helmet design when you think about it. It’s really little more than a padded composite shell with a visor and a chin strap. Considering this, the motorcycle helmet is long-overdue for a design overhaul. Vozz Helmets’ new design addresses all of these problems. Their goal was to take the ubiquitous brain bucket to the next level so that it is more comfortable to wear, easier to put on and take off, and safer than ever.
Vozz Helmets’ new helmet design (which the company calls its Voztec System) is poised to completely transform the helmet industry. It’s a much needed transformation. The new helmet is a full-face design that completely eliminates the chin strap. In place of the uncomfortable strap is a padded chin cup that is permanently affixed to the helmet. The contour of the helmet design also fits better to riders’ heads, which helps the helmet stay on while riding and reduces the possibility of it coming off in an accident.
With a permanent chin cup affixed to the helmet, you may be wondering how riders put the helmet on and take it off. This is very easy for riders to do because the rear of the helmet is hinged. Motorcyclists simply open the hinged front, easily slide the helmet on, and then close the dual locking design for a comfortable but snug fit.
Perhaps one of the best features of the new design is EMS personnel’s ability to easily remove the helmet after an accident without flexing a rider’s neck. EMS can very easily separate the two helmet parts and completely remove the front part by utilizing the special safety release system, while maintaining critical spinal support. This feature alone has the potential to dramatically reduce the number and severity of motorcycle injuries each year.
Vozz Helmet’s new design will be available for purchase at the beginning of 2016. The price has yet to be announced. Many riders will surely consider the additional safety features available in the new design to be priceless.