Brian is back with his monthly column on the world of youth and road safety issues in Africa. Brian has joined YOURS as social media champion and will be running a range of online social media ‘chats’ on topics of road safety via Twitter and Facebook. An exciting new way to engage young people in road safety across the world!
Lights, cameras ready, we count three, two, one: ACTION! Yes, a new month is well pregnant with 10 days under our belt already! Hold your horses…Slow down the Rap already because we’re back! #BriansColumn.
Following last month’s article: Brian’s Column: Your skull isn’t made of diamond! Use your helmet! We got insightful feedback and boy, were they cool! Much respects to everyone who participated. We’re proud to present to you #RoadSafetyThursday: an online tweet-up session where we shall be using the power of social media (Twitter & Facebook) to reach out to ourselves and other road safety stakeholders over the real issues in road safety. As usual, opportunities, networking, capacity building and advocacy shall form part of the dish.
Is your appetite up already? Our hashtag, shall be #RoadSafetyThursday! So, be sure, to get your fingers tweeting…
One of the outcomes during our last #RoadSafetyThursday tweep up session was a number of myths and facts about the helmet itself. And then ‘the shape of the head’ came in! Seriously? You bet! We all know that head shape and helmet fitting are not universal, and are of great importance, but do we really know what we are talking about when we determine which helmets go on which heads? Anyways, we all agree that the primary reason for buying a motorcycle helmet is safety and protection to your head in the event of ‘an accident’ –a CRASH to be precise. To get the best protection your helmet needs to provide a really good comfortable fit. A bad fitting helmet can come off in a crash even if the chin strap is done up.
In order to find a motorcycle helmet with the correct fit, you should know your head size measurement before you buy any helmet. Here’s the golden rule for finding a good comfortable fit: Your head size + Your head shape = comfortable fit
Although human heads have an infinite variety of shapes and sizes, most of us fall into these two categories: very narrow, ‘long oval’ head shapes and very wide ’round’ earth head shapes Some of us may have a combination of these two head shapes. It’s possible to have combinations of these shapes in an infinite number of variations. Fortunately many motorcycle helmets are manufactured with internal shapes that roughly match these “oval” or “round” shaped head categories.
Source: World Motorcycle Helmet Safety Standards (2013)
It’s important to know your head shape because you can roughly know which helmet brand and model will fit by matching your head shape to the helmet’s internal shape. Not every helmet will fit the same and almost every helmet brand and model is different. Shape is one of the most important factors to understand when purchasing a motorcycle helmet. Always remember – there are different helmets are produced in a range of sizes to satisfy a mass market. Your head shape and size are unique to you, so take your time to use the above tips when selecting your new motorcycle helmet. So, in fact, all this talk about categorizing head shape and helmets isn’t complete BS. 😉
Catch up soon: #RoadSafetyThursday