Helmets with attached Comm Gear

A thread about legality of helmet mounted cameras got me thinking, if that's illegal, how is it legal to mount a Sena, or a Scala to our helmet?

Rob MacLennan said:

1. A helmet worn by a person,

(a) riding on or operating a motorcycle; or
(b) operating a motor assisted bicycle,
on a highway shall,
(c) have a hard, smooth outer shell lined with protective padding material or fitted with other energy absorbing material and shall be strongly attached to a strap designed to be fastened under the chin of the wearer; and
(d) be undamaged from use or misuse. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 610, s. 1.
​

2. The helmet referred to in section 1 shall conform to the requirements of the,

(a) Canadian Standards Association Standard D230 Safety Helmets for Motorcycle Riders and shall bear the monogram of the Canadian Standards Association Testing Laboratories;
(b) Snell Memorial Foundation and shall have affixed thereto the certificate of the Snell Memorial Foundation;
(c) British Standards Institute and shall have affixed thereto the certificate of the British Standards Institute;
(d) United States of America Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 and shall bear the symbol DOT constituting the manufacturer's certification of compliance with the standard; or
(e) United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation No. 22, "Uniform Provisions Concerning the Approval of Protective Helmets and of Their Visors for Drivers and Passengers of Motor Cycles and Mopeds", and shall have affixed thereto the required international approval mark. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 610, s. 2; O. Reg. 102/12, s. 1.
​

Sample Case: http://canlii.ca/t/fnsm0

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from Highway Traffic Act R.R.O. 1990, REGULATION 610 SAFETY HELMETS located at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900610_e.htm

The device definitely protrudes from the helmet, providing a catchable lip.

I doubt anyone has been charged with this yet, but it seems like a cherry on top of the Sunday type of charge if an officer has had a bad day.

Or am I out in left field with this one?

WrothWaith said:

A thread about legality of helmet mounted cameras got me thinking, if that's illegal, how is it legal to mount a Sena, or a Scala to our helmet?

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Who said it was legal to mount a Sena or Scala?

What was said was that it was illegal to attach anything to a helmet. Much the same way it's illegal to go 1 km/h over the speed limit. Sure it's illegal, but the cop would really be a prick to charge you for it.

Robp said:

Who said it was legal to mount a Sena or Scala?

What was said was that it was illegal to attach anything to a helmet. Much the same way it's illegal to go 1 km/h over the speed limit. Sure it's illegal, but the cop would really be a prick to charge you for it.

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+1

Also i believe the Scala and Sena's clip to your helmet, where as the cameras stick to your helmet with tape.
Not sure what ype of difference that makes, you could maybe argue its not attached to the shell.

But yes, the cop has to be having a bad month or you have to be very lippy to stick you with that ticket

What troubled me about the other thread was that the JP Cuthbertson gave the ticket even when suction cups were used in that case.

The JP went as far as arguing that, because of the suction cups, the helmet lost its SNELL certification!!!!

It goes against common sense that some suction cups attached to the outside of a helmet would render the "helmet to be uncertified". But that is the ruling.

If suction cups are enough to de-certify a lid, then the same goes for clips, velcro, and even stickers. Is that stupid? Sure is.


See link -
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...cture-or-vid&p=2052180&viewfull=1#post2052180

Here is an example of the Scala Rider communicators

LEFT: Q2 mount
RIGHT: Q2 MultiSet mount

I do not see how this could be a problem. It's just a clip that attaches from below.
But you never know.

MarcosSantiago said:

What troubled me about the other thread was that the JP Cuthbertson gave the ticket even when suction cups were used in that case.

The JP went as far as arguing that, because of the suction cups, the helmet lost its SNELL certification!!!!

It goes against common sense that some suction cups attached to the outside of a helmet would render the "helmet to be uncertified". But that is the ruling.

If suction cups are enough to de-certify a lid, then the same goes for clips, velcro, and even stickers. Is that stupid? Sure is.


See link -
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...cture-or-vid&p=2052180&viewfull=1#post2052180

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I pulled that case as the first example that I came up with, in a search. There are plenty more.

Hey peeps!

I was at Harvey's earlier today to grab a burger and there were two cops ahead of me in line. They looked nice enough to chat with, so when I left the restaurant I grabbed my lid off my bike and walked over to the waiting police car. ( I saw them initially pull in)

There was one 30's something cop standing around the car waiting for his 2 buddies to return. I walked up to him and asked

Me: "Hi! I was hoping you could answer a question I have."
Cop: "Sure, I'll do my best"

I raise my Nolan helmet up which has my Daytona Motorsports comm system (Side) and my Gopro (Top) attached.

Me: "I wanted to ensure that having both my Comm System and Top Mounted camera attached to my helmet while riding was legal, as there is a great deal of on-line discussion as to whether or not it is. Is it ok?"
Cop: "The only requirement is that it is DOT. I'm fine with it" *As he looked upon it*

The other two cops returned from the restaurant and the office I initially spoke with asked his two fellow officers what they thought. They were fine with it. One of the two also reiterated that as long as it was DOT, it is fine.



I took this to mean that yes, it's fine. However, when the initial officer said "I'm fine with it", I took that as his personal choice.
If I were to get pulled over for riding overly aggressively, I would not be surprised if the acting officer brought it up as leverage. (i.e. In addition to the stunts you pulled, your in violation of Blah Blah for having a non acceptable helmet) or some Sh|t.

D

Cops opions mean nothing it is clear that nothing can be attached to the shell in the regs. If a cop want to ticket you for that he can and will. Cops don't know or write the law.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

As others have said, I don't think anyone would ever have an issue solely for having a comms unit -- I know I ride with my Sena 100% of the time, and Drift HD Ghost when I'm on group rides (rarely when solo though). Never had an issue yet.

Now with that said, get pulled over for a 172 infraction, and expect them to charge with you this, along with 'bike too loud', 'headlight aimed too low or high', 'improper plate', and anything else they can think of at the time.

9/10 pork chops have no idea what is in 9/10's of the HTA. Different barracks, precincts, divisions & services will focus on different parts as their "thing". Some traffic services emphasis tread depth (which most bikes will fail), others lights & plates, even individual cops will focus on different parts of the HTA (the Toronto traffic pork chop that buried his girlfriend in the wall of his house LOVED black market radar detectors, he would sit outside electronic shops he knew were selling them, wait until somebody bought one, then bust them).

So somewhere, some cop knows about the "5mm helmet protuberence" rule, and at the end of the month to top up his quota he'll deliberately be watching bikes with cams & Scala's. But 99/100 other cops will have no clue about that one obscure part of the HTA.

[video=youtube;efw5UiKumQI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efw5UiKumQI[/video]

looks like this might be illegal in Ontario :-?

Some US states have laws about earphones in a helmet. Some say one is OK others zero. Some don't care. As Paisley said most cops don't care unless there's an attitude issue.

There are ongoing arguements about helmet cams when the cop thinks he's being filmed regardless of whether the cam is bike or helmet mounted.

As noble as it sounds a confrontation about civil rights will only get you martyrdom. Justice, if you get it, won't be cheap.

Look at how long it took to get some G-20 BS straightened out.

If you really want to do it legally with a camera, you can buy those keychain spy camera and stick in inside your visor (the space behind your visor on top of front paddings). That way you are 100% legal as it is not on the outside.<textarea id="adlesse_unifier_magic_element_id" style="display: none;"></textarea>

JustinRR said:

If you really want to do it legally with a camera, you can buy those keychain spy camera and stick in inside your visor (the space behind your visor on top of front paddings). That way you are 100% legal as it is not on the outside.<textarea id="adlesse_unifier_magic_element_id" style="display: none;"></textarea>

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Chances are that you'd be more probable to receive a ticket for license plate placement or aftermarket exhaust before they would ever consider writing a ticket for a helmet cam...