Team-BHP - Open Face vs. Full Face Helmets : How Safe are they?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 3344262)

I guess a full-face helmet will offer superior protection from flying pebbles, debris etc. It's so common on our highways. Getting whacked by a stone kicked up via the truck in front has surely got to hurt.

To the metrosexuals, a full-face will also keep your skin better :)

Wind, skin, stones etc are all valid but the most important factor is still SAFETY!

A half face helmet keeps your jaw etc exposed in the event of an accident. Looks very cool and all that but there's nothing to beat the level of protection that a full face helmet provides. Next comes the full face with the sliding mechanism that can convert into half face and finally the pure half face.

On any meaningful distance drive, I would never use anything but a proper full face helmet for the best protection.

Also, once you get used to it, its actually quite a nice snug feel since dust etc don't interfere.

Thank you for this useful thread. I have been a helmet user for a long long period of time. Of late I switched over to the modular type of full face helmet as I wear spectacles and this type of helmet is easier to use .
I did not know that these helmets are susceptible to breakage at the joint on impact. Now that I know that the area which sustains the most damage in case of of an accident is the chin, I will switch over to the conventional Full face helmet.
Regards,
Ashok

I'm not sure but I'm guessing this is due to an open face helmet. @frozen Heat please clarify

From another page: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post3347427

Quote:

Originally Posted by frozen Heat (Post 3347427)

Hi all,
Relating about my accident.
I was on my way to matheran wit 4 friends and two enfields. On my way past mc donalds in panvel i saw a truck on the wrong side of the road and rammed into it. The accident turned out to be so bad tat i broke my jaw in 6 places, fractures my right hand, broke my front 4 teeth and ended up wit multiple glass pieces from my glares, in my eye. My eyelid was slit into half. One of my friend sitting behind me fractured his hand too. The driver fled the scene leaving the truck behind.

Luckily i had people around to help my other two friends. A big piece of glass was stuck in my eye which the locals pulled out on the street before taking me to Gandhi hospital in panvel. Later i and my friend were shifted to kokilaben hospital in Mumbai where the doctors weren't sure if i was going to make it. I had two major surgeries which went for 16 hrs at a stretch in which the docs removed 7 more small pieces of glass from my eye. My chances were slim but by god's grace i made it. The accident set my family back by 7-8 lacs.

It was a long 6 months recovery and a very stressful and painful one at that.

I couldn't remember how the event transpired. The impact was so bad tat i lost 15 mins of my memory of the incident. Only when a cop from panvel who came to my house for signing the statement, was i informed that the truck driver was caught and he confessed that it was his fault as he was driving his truck on the wrong side of the road. Later he was released on a bail of 5000 rs and the truck was given back to the owner. So basically it was not a big deal because i did'nt die. Sucks to be an indian.

Well, i repaired my bike n i still ride. But now i am left with a hillbilly eye and an asymmetrical face.

Goodness gracious! That is a terrible accident. Glad to see the rider alive.

THIS is why I always discourage my friends from wearing any shades or prescription glasses under a helmet of any kind. It is better to carry an extra tinted visor and use contact lenses during rides.

Personally a staunch supporter of nothing but a snug fitting full face helmet. I had screamed and fought with my elder brother to buy a full face helmet for him. Hope everyone understands the use of one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrus_the_virus (Post 3347971)

I'm not sure but I'm guessing this is due to an open face helmet. @frozen Heat please clarify

Quote:

Originally Posted by frozen Heat (Post 3347976)

Yes. You are right. I was wearing a vega open face helmet.

Thanks guys. I had missed this post completely!

@frozen Heat - I've added your quote to the 2nd post of this thread itself. Hopefully it will save someone else from going through the same thing you had to endure.

Thanks,
R

I wonder what is with bikers using open faced helmets, miner hats, cricket caps etc, are these guys born with lower IQ, mental abilities, not to comprehend the absolute lack of safety associated with these 'hard hats'?
How hard is it to comprehend that results are not going to be pretty when your jaw meets tarmac? Does it require multiple posts/threads/discussions to high light this and someone actually quoting benefits of going with a chinless contraption?

I believe some of us only understand enforced laws, and its proven when the group I ride with regularly turn away new riders who come for rides with chappals, shorts, ganjis and open faced helmets. More than concern for these careless 'riders' we don't want to be scrapping their bits off the road, in case they have spills. And it is interesting to know the kind of excuses that people come up with, not to ride with proper gear, the best I have heard, is 'my skin is sensitive and I get rashes due to the sweat in a full helmet' :D

Apart from going for a full face helmet, any pointers to what other aspects to consider (brands we should look for etc) while buying a helmet.

Another thing that makes no sense is that almost all ladies helmet available in market dont have chin protection. My mother-in-law recently met with an accident, she had to break hard (because of a dog that ran in to the road) and lost balance. She was wearing a open face helmet, but she sustained injuries to her chin - couple of stiches to the chin and a broken teeth in front.

Quote:

Originally Posted by apachelongbow (Post 3349717)

I think the problem lies at the heart of the typical Indian mentality - the "Chalta hai style". But more than the hard hats,etc the stupidest thing in the world that I keep seeing is people riding without a helmet and with their helmet hanging on to the holder behind the bike. Then when they see a cop they will put it on and as soon as they pass immediately take it off. There really is a limit to some people's idioticity.

I can relate to this post pretty well, the image is from a long time ago (2010 to be precise). You can imagine the extent to which my face was saved. I did not trust the helmet brand (since it was a convertible) when i had bought it but after this i was much more confident that it could take a knock well and got myself a black one from the same brand.
My fears that the face might come off in the event of an accident were laid to rest and i cannot thank my good sense enough that led me to buy a full face.
Although its not clear from the image, i remember that the scratches to the visor and other parts were quite deep. Also the visor did not shatter as was claimed by the vendor.
Luckily i was covered from head to bottom (jackets, gloves, etc) and got off with very few light bruises.

I had a similar personal experience of a head-on collision which gave me scratches from shoulder to toe; head and face spared, thanks to my FFH. But there was another problem with my helmet - 'Darkened Visor'. It is another fad with young Indian riders trying to copy the cool looks of professional racer. It might not seem to be as big an issue as open-faced helmets, But on Indian roads which can go dark anytime, it is a problem nonetheless.

In my case, I was involved in a late-night accident with an autorickshaw which took a wrong side on a dark stretch of road. I missed spotting the auto coming right at me mainly because the auto had its headlights off and my dark visor made it almost impossible to see it till the last moment. I collided with the auto real hard and Bike's handle got stuck on its edge. I was thrown off the bike, with the bike sliding behind me.

The chin area took the first-and-direct impact. The force cracked open the chin area of the helmet. I can only imagine if it was an open faced one.

Along with an FFH, Riders IMO should avoid darkened visors and go for Sunglasses during daytime or helmets with retractable secondary visor!