DGT only allows you to use this helmet open while riding: watch out for the label

The requirement to wear a helmet has been around for a long time, and at the time it helped reduce the number of deaths in motorcycle, scooter, or moped accidents.

However, over time, new variants have emerged and, with them, new ways for a helmet to obtain the corresponding approval.

This is where flip-up, convertible, or modular helmets come in, which are those that  haven't been manufactured from a single piece.

In fact, this is the reason for the controversy: if I can move the chin guard to leave my face exposed, is any helmet of this type valid?

Double approval is the key

Since their not-so-distant arrival on the market, flip-up helmets have become the ideal tool for those who feel the most overwhelmed.

This is even more evident in urban riding when facing especially high ambient temperatures.

With the chin guard flipped up, the modular helmet goes from being a full-face to acting as a jet or open-face helmet, placing it elsewhere...

This could be right on the top, the back, or even be removed from the main structure, which would suggest something like "anything goes."

But that's not true. In fact, only the current European approval ECE 22.06 comes to confirm the validity of any type of helmet.

This approval allows for greater and more thorough impact and deformation tests compared to the previous ECE 22.05 standard.

Thanks to this, not every flip-up helmet convertible to jet is valid for use, and we must add another fact: the P/J approval.

Double P/J approval

Through the double P/J approval of flip-up helmets, the same helmet can be used for riding a motorcycle both in open and closed mode.

The latter is, in a way, logical: it is the best way, for safety, to ride both in the city and on the road.

But without a doubt, the problem arises when this approval isn't compatible with our flip-up helmet; we won't be allowed to ride with it open.

In this case, according to the current approval, this helmet doesn't guarantee the user's safety while riding.

Meanwhile, if our flip-up helmet has double P/J approval, it will meet the necessary requirements to ride with the chin guard moved. You'll find these letters on your helmet's label.

Safety, the top priority for DGT... and for you

Let's remember that DGT is studying whether, in the future, to consider banning the use of jet-type helmets on the road.

This cuts off the possibility of riding with an open-face helmet outside the city;a P/J flip-up helmet could be used here with the chin guard open.

At this point, the reflection is clear: while riding a motorcycle, you must reach the highest possible level of safety.

How do you achieve this in particular? By riding with a perfectly closed flip-up helmet. Even greater safety? Use a good full-face helmet.