Just got pulled over - reason: my helmet

kmalek

kmalek

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Just got pulled over by a police officer at Eglinton and Central Pkwy in Mississauga on my way home.
A lot of you will most likely laugh at me, but honestly I did not know that you are not allowed to remove that DOT sticker from the back of your helmet.
I have two helmets, one open face, and the other one styled as the WWII german lid.
That's the one I was using today. To make things even worse, this one does not have anything related to DOT on the label inside.

Anyway, long story short, the officer was super cool and nice, and explained why he stopped me and after checking my DL and a short conversation, he let me go.
He said that if I don't want to be pulled over often, I should either have something that proves that this is a certified DOT helmet or use the other one.
The other one (which I also remover the DOT sticker from) has the DOT information included on the inside label.

Well, I learned something new today.
Now, I'm wondering how can I get DOT stickers back for my helmets...

DOT sticker... never remove it from your helmet.

Have a nice rest of the weekend guys, and ride safe.
 
Uh oh.

I had no clue. All of my helmets have the sticker removed...

Live and learn I guess
 
CruisnGrrl said:
I thought dot had to be painted on, anyone can print a sticker.
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Both my helmets are painted on. Most beanies I have seen have stickers.

If you're wearing a full face you most likely wont ever be checked unless they are specifically looking for it. Lot's of Beanie helmets aren't DOT to start with so they get checked more often.
 
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Awww man I took 3 helmets to the dump today..... I knew I shoulda held onto them.. I coulda saved a dot sticker for ya.
 
Thanks guys,

I think I will get the stickers from ebay or something anyway.
Both helmets are DOT certified, so I'm not worried about an officer checking them.
 
Zed-X-Rex said:
Awww man I took 3 helmets to the dump today..... I knew I shoulda held onto them.. I coulda saved a dot sticker for ya.
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I hope they weren't Bells from the 70s.

German WWII style helmets are total heat scores. I haven't seen one that's truly DOT. They may come with a DOT sticker but they certainly don't comform to any testing standards. The Chinese helmet factories don't give a crap if what they make is DOT, it's just a decal to them and they'll stick it on a rice bowl if people will buy them.
 
That's one of the first things they teach on you at the MSF courses. That you always have to have a DOT approved helmet with the sticker or painted on at ALL times.

I have a Gmax half helmet and the Dot is painted on, i just looked at it and realized i forgot to take off the other little sticker beside it that reminds you to always fasten your chin strap.. lol
jmax2.jpg
 
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RetroGrouch said:
I hope they weren't Bells from the 70s.

German WWII style helmets are total heat scores. I haven't seen one that's truly DOT. They may come with a DOT sticker but they certainly don't comform to any testing standards. The Chinese helmet factories don't give a crap if what they make is DOT, it's just a decal to them and they'll stick it on a rice bowl if people will buy them.
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Nope RG, just a couple 10 year old hjc's...
 
N3WMAN said:
Both my helmets are painted on. Most beanies I have seen have stickers.

If you're wearing a full face you most likely wont ever be checked unless they are specifically looking for it. Lot's of Beanie helmets aren't DOT to start with so they get checked more often.
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You mean those "Smallest Legal Helmets" signs I see at the shows over the Winter may not be actually legal??? Gasp.

Got an open face helmet I know is DOT. :)
 
My exo 1000 has a small sticker (lonnie size ish) DOT and Snell underneath it. It's peeling now, not to sure what would happen if it fell off, but I would for sure just print a sticker to replace it.
 
Props to the cop for noticing this, and not ticketing you.
 
Funny how I just read that. I have my helmet on my desk today because no one else is in the office and I was just picking at the Snell/DOT sticker.

:-S
 
Myztyk said:
You mean those "Smallest Legal Helmets" signs I see at the shows over the Winter may not be actually legal??? Gasp.
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I have one of those and it actually came with a copy of the DOT test report that certified it. Looked legit, and the helmet is well made. Of course I got it from GP Bikes, not one of the more fly by night looking places at the show.
 
1

Look for a "DOT" sticker on the back of the helmet. All helmets that meet the DOT requirements for helmet safety are required to have a "DOT" sticker. This sticker alone does not guarantee the helmet is DOT certified, as counterfeit DOT stickers on nonconforming helmets are common.



2Feel the interior of the helmet for a thick inner liner. All DOT certified helmets must have an inner liner about one-inch thick. The inner liner isn't always visible, but you can feel its thickness by moving your hand around the interior of the helmet. Non-DOT certified helmets often have a thin sheet of foam that serves as an inner liner, and some don't contain any liner at all.



3Tug the chinstrap to ensure that it's solid and doesn't feel loose or flimsy. All DOT-certified helmets have tough, sturdy chinstraps that won't break or become loose while riding.



4Weigh the helmet. Unsafe helmets typically weigh one pound or less, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A DOT certified helmet typically weighs about three pounds.



5Look for any decorations, such as spikes, horns or any other object that protrudes from the helmet. DOT certified helmets are built so that nothing extends further than one-fifth of an inch from the surface of the helmet.



6Examine the helmet for a full face shield. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims it has yet to see a full face protector on a non-DOT certified helmet.





Read more: How to Tell If a Helmet Is DOT Approved | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7519271_tell-helmet-dot-approved.html#ixzz1V2rwFUKZ
 
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