came with my plate sticker renewal today.

Important notice of changes to NC motorcycle safety helmet law.......

Effective 1/1/2008 all operators and passengers on motorcycles and mopeds must wear a motorcycle safety helmet of a type that complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 2.8

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A LEGAL HELMET:

Thick Inner Liner
FMVSS 218 compliant motorcycle safety helmets will have a firm inner liner of polystyrene foam that is about 1-inch thick. In some helmets this may be covered by a comfort liner, but you can feel the thickness. Non compliant helmets normally contain no liner or a thin soft foam padding.

DOT Sticker
Compliant motorcycle safety helmets will have the symbol "DOT" permanently installed by the manufacturer on the back of the helmet. Some novelty-type helmets are supplied with a separate "DOT" sticker or one can be purchased separately and placed on the helmet by the motorcyclists. This does not make such a helmet compliant.

Manufacturers Label
Each compliant motorcycle safety helmet will have a permanently attached label sewn or glued in the interior of the helmet by the manufacturer that has the manufacturers name or identification, precise model, size, month and year of manufacture, type of shell and liner construction materials and an instruction label for cleaning and care of the helmet.

NOVELTY-TYPE HELMETS ARE NOT COMPLIANT WITH FMVSS 218




I tried to type this as near as identical as possible to the actual note.

 

Yea the 1 inch thing is rubbing me raw. My ACC helmet that is DOT has all thelabeling is 5/8 inch and illegal in NC.

 

I wouldn't sweat it. First off, I think any Officer in his right mind will note that it's a DOT per the inside tag and DOT sticker. Not only that, but the law states "About" 1" thick. Granted, we know that 5/8 is 3/8 from be exactly 1 inch thick, but anytime you leave something as vague as this law, it'll be open to interpretation by everyone. With a non-calibrated eye (which every police officer in the world will be checking your helmet with, they won't know for sure. Truthfully, I think you'll be OK.

 

I agree dont worry about the thickness..... I was at LOCKED & LOADED Saturday. A few still wear the illegal helmet..

 

There is NOTHING in the actual standard that says anything about how thick the liner must be. Enjoy your ACC helmet

 

I got stop yesterday for the helmet . What a bunch of **** !

 

Where were you and what was the result? Did you get pulled just because of the helmet or something else like another violation or road block? Did you get a ticket? Did they make you wait until you could get a DOT helmet brought to you? Details please.

 

I agree on the thickness thing. At first, it was presented in my local paper as if it were more of a measurable requirement than a guideline. The more I see and read, it certainly now sounds more like a guideline. The measure should be the DOT indication on the outside and inside. The thing that troubles me about that is that I've seen some really nice/expensive DOT helmets still for sale on the shelves at HD dealerships that have no DOT indication on the inside of the helmets. Yet the clearly meet the thickness guidelines and have the DOT indication on the outside. So, there are a lot of them on the road already and some are still for sale in NC.

I finally broke down and bought an approved half helmet this weekend (go ahead and flame me). I still don't like how it looks but it's better than most I've tried on and I can live with it. It's a Fulmer "Hombre" Smoothie and has the DOT standards indications on the outside and inside and appears to have at least 1" if polystyrene in it. I was worried that it would catch a lot of wind but I tried it out for about an hour and a half on Saturday and it stays put really well and should work even better with a do-rag under it. I already had a Fulmer Modus full-face helmet that fits really well and this new one fits me just as well from a comfort perspective.

Some people seem to be off-base as far as why I (we) sometimes wear novelty helmets. They make it out like we must be trying to make some sort of statement or be rebelious in some way. For me, it's not about that at all. If it was about that for me, I'd ride with nothing. The only statement I was trying to make is "hey officer, I'm wearing a helmet, please don't hassle me". It was not "hey officer, I'm wearing an illegal helmet, F-you!" or "I'm too good to crash so I don't care to protect my head". I'm not posing or trying to win a beauty contest but, let's face it, on some of us, most of the legal half helmets look ridiculous.

I think the DOT approved ACC helmets will be fine now that I've read more about the statute. But I tried some on at Myrtle Beach last fall and still wasn't happy with the fitment or the look. So, I wasn't going to fork out $180 for one when I can get one that is legal that I'm still not necessarily happy with but I can live with for $50.

 

I was in randelman,nc one town up from where I live . Stopped for the helmet only . He held use there till we could get a dot helmet . There was three options . Wait till some one brings you one , trailer the bikes home , get a $150 ticket and ride on . It took me a while before I could think of some one who had a dot helmet to bring me . I say it is still bs . I will more than likley end up buying a dot but you can bet your sweet *** it will have a sticker right above the dot sticker in the back that say "f**k the NC helmet law "

 

I live in Randleman and that is crazyyyyyy. The ticket is not optional so that tells me Randleman is still doing their own Randleman thing. Wish I would have seen you because I would have pulled over and then brought you a helmet. If Randleman is doing it then plan on every State Trooper in the world to gear up for the huntof thecriminal biker elements thatare out there just trying to enjoy their day.