THE FIA has this month announced a new initiative to help cut motorcycle deaths, by introducing a new cost-effective motorcycle helmet.
It may seem strange to hear that the FIA (the governing body of global motorsport) getting involved in the scheme, although the organisation is also charged with improving road safety and sustainability for all road users.
On that front, the FIA sees improving safety in the two-wheeled world as something it can help. With many developing countries (and a few US states!) having relaxed motorcycle helmet laws, the FIA hopes that a new, certified yet affordable motorcycle helmet as a key weapon in the fight against road deaths.
The new lid is designed to be safe, cost-effective to produce and comfortable to wear in hot and humid countries. The new helmet is certified to UN Reg. 22.05, a certification that is not due to be superseded until 2024.
FIA Safety Director Adam Baker is the person responsible for the project. He said:
“The President asked us to identify key areas where the work of the Sport division could be exploited for the benefit of road users. The most important projects we have targeting this objective are in the area of road safety… According to the UN, riders of motorcycles are 26 times more likely to die in traffic accidents than passenger car occupants, making that mode of transport a significant contributor to the 1.35 million total fatalities each year on our roads. From this UN data, we can see that the biggest potential for a reduction in fatalities for a given investment of resource is in motorcycle riders, and specifically the adoption of safe helmets. So, this idea of President Todt [FIA president] in terms of all the other things we do for road safety, is arguably the most important and effective way to achieve a significant reduction in the 1.35 million figure.”
Uber Eats is already on-board to roll the lids out to its delivery riders
Working together with Spanish helmet manufacturer NZI, FIA safety engineers refined the design and came up with a helmet that could be produced at an affordable price and pass the UN safety tests. This was achieved at the end of last year and the next step is to produce 3,000 of these helmets to distribute for field testing.
