Before you pull your helmet out of it’s box, before you try it on, before you trust it with your life, your helmet has undergone extensive safety testing above and beyond the DOT & ECE 22.05 standards.
Industrial Standard Magnesium Weighted Head Forms
All of our motorcycle helmets are tested and approved to both UN ECE Regulation 22.05 and DOT FMVSS No.218. All of our ECE and DOT approvals are tested and approved using third party test-houses. We most regularly test with VIAS Lab in Belgium and the ACT Lab in California – but we have run tests at Newton Lab Milan, Omega Lab Milan, BSI, INSPEC, SATRA and even Imperial College London. We also have in-house testing facilities which allow us to perform full homologation tests as well as our own additional in-house tests.Impact Absorption Tests
These are also known as drop tests and are used to simulate the impacts of a helmeted head during a motorcycle accident. A magnesium headform designed to weigh the same as a human head is placed in a helmet and dropped from a specified height. Different drop heights are used to produce different impact speeds depending on the particular test to be carried out. The helmets are impacted against a steel anvil. Each regulation has specific requirements for the different anvil types and shapes. The headforms are fitted with accelerometers which measure the deceleration of the helmet during an impact. The deceleration is measured in G. This is a measured representation of the energy transmitted to the head during the impact. The lower the value the better the performance of the helmet. UN ECE also uses HIC (Head Injury Criterion) as a measurement value during drop tests. This is a calculation of energy with respect to time and is used to measure the likelihood of a head injury arising from an impact. The lower the HIC value, the better the performance of the helmet in protecting the rider’s head.
ECE 22.05
Allowable limit peak G
275g
Ruroc Average *
171g
Allowable limit HIC
2400
Ruroc Average *
1272
DOT
Allowable limit peak G
400g
Ruroc Average *
147g
Allowable Dwell Time @ 150G
4.0millisecs
Ruroc Average *
1.1ms
Allowable Dwell Time @ 200G
2.0millisecs
Ruroc Average *
0.1ms
Hot, cold, moisture, water immersion and ambient conditioning
Impact speed – m/sDOT
6m/s
Impact speed
ECE
7.5m/s
Impact speed
ECE / FIM / SNELL
8.2m/s
Impact speed
RR Internal Test
9m/s
Impact speed
Tested for Oblique impacts
This is a new test introduced for Regulation 22.06 to assess the performance of the helmet when impacted against an oblique anvil. It is now widely regarded that rotational acceleration forces experienced from glancing blows are a significant contributor to serious brain injury. A helmeted headform is dropped at 8m/s using the same method as the linear drop test onto a 45° oblique anvil. Sandpaper is securely fixed to the top surface of the anvil. Impacts are performed on two different helmets on five impact positions. The performance of the helmet is assessed using PRA (Peak of the resultant rotational acceleration) and BrIC (Brain Injury Criterion). PRA is a measurement of rotational acceleration, the lower the value the better the performance. BrIC is calculated using angular rates of acceleration at a specified point of the impact, like HIC this is a calculation to predict the likelihood of a head injury from the impact. The lower the score the better the performance of the helmet in protecting the rider against injuries from glancing blows.PRA Limit
10400 rad/s2
Ruroc Average *
3116 rad/s2
BrIC Limit
0.78
Ruroc Average *
0.32
Tested on kerb anvils
Tested on flat anvils
Tested on hemispherical anvils
Tested for years in a single day
We designed and built the world's first visor mechanism life cycle test machine. This device was engineered by the Ruroc team to ensure the visor will last a lifetime!Tested for penetration
The penetration test is required for DOT testing. This assesses the ability of the shell to resist penetration from sharp projections and projectiles as well assessing the stiffness of the shell. A failure occurs if the striker makes contact with the headform. As ATLAS has a lightweight Carbon Fibre shell we use aramid fibres in the shell lay-up to reinforce the shell and prevent penetration.Tested for roll-off
Also known as the Retention (detaching) tests. These tests assess the positional stability of the helmet during an accident. The forward roll-off is required for both UN ECE Regulation 22.05 and 22.06. The steel wire is secured to the rear of the helmet and a 3kg holder, a 10kg weight is dropped from a height of 0.5m within the holder. The helmet must not rotate forward more than 30°. The reverse roll off is a new test introduced for 22.06. The helmet must not rotate rearwards more than 30° when a weight of 3kg, which is secured to the front of the helmet, is released.Retention testing
Retention system load tests are required for both DOT and UN ECE to assess the overall strength of the retention system. Both regulations require a load to be applied to the retention system assembly while the helmet is positioned on an appropriate headform. A 10kg weight is dropped from 750mm to produce a shock load for UN ECE. The dynamic displacement of the straps should not exceed 35mm, after two minutes, the residual displacement should not exceed 25mm. A different approach is used for DOT, a load of 136kg is held on the straps. After 2 minutes the displacement of the straps should not exceed 25mm.
*Ruroc averages calculated across all impact points.
*All UN ECE 22.05 averages calculated from official cert tests at VIAS lab, Belgium and are taken from all tests conducted throughout 2020 and 2021.
*All DOT averages calculated from official safety compliance tests at ACT lab, California and are taken from all tests conducted throughout 2020 and 2021.
*Oblique impact averages calculated from development tests at Newton lab from tests conducted in 2021.
*All UN ECE 22.05 averages calculated from official cert tests at VIAS lab, Belgium and are taken from all tests conducted throughout 2020 and 2021.
*All DOT averages calculated from official safety compliance tests at ACT lab, California and are taken from all tests conducted throughout 2020 and 2021.
*Oblique impact averages calculated from development tests at Newton lab from tests conducted in 2021.