Abstract
The United States currently does not have developed and standardized testing and evaluation criteria for use in the crashworthiness investigation of motorcycle roadside safety systems. Europe, however, has developed and adopted a formalized protocol, CEN/TS 17342:2019. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute previously performed testing according to the CEN/TS 17342:2019 protocol, adopting, however, existing U.S. helmets to adapt to U.S. market characteristics. Because helmet characteristics could potentially influence testing injury outcomes, a review of the impact performance of U.S. motorcycle helmets was conducted.
A testing apparatus was developed to evaluate the impact performance of motorcycle helmets attached to a Hybrid III 50th percentile male anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD) head and neck assembly. The impact replicated a sliding ATD impacting a roadside hardware system.
Thirteen U.S. motorcycle helmets were tested and evaluated. Each helmet was assessed based on measured neck compression force and bending moments. Five of the helmets met the performance criteria for the two injury values. There were no noticeable trends in motorcycle helmet performance based on type, finish, material, or certification.
TTI Research Supervisor
Nathan Schulz
Technical Representative
Martin Dassi