This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Jackets, Motorcycle, Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
December 30, 2008
It is a well established fact that protective gears like motorcycle jackets help avoid injuries during the accidents. Of course, injuries due to high speed high impact situations cannot be reduced irrespective of the quality of the protective gears that the rider is wearing.
However, under ordinary conditions, the protective gear, especially motorcycle jackets helps by:
• Softening and cushioning impact
• Preventing abrasions
Studies have determined that the body of the motorcycle rider can be divided into zones depending upon the degree of risk.
There are some body parts that fall in Zone 1, which face the maximum risk of injury due to impact in the event of an accident. Zone 2 includes body parts that do face the risk of injury in the event of an accident but the degree of risk is not as high as in Zone 1.
Zone 3 includes body parts that face moderate risk from accidents while Zone 4 is a relatively low risk area.
When you are buying a motorcycle jacket, you should choose a jacket which gives you maximum protection for Zone 1. The extent of protection can come down for Zone 2 and 3 areas and the protection can be the least for Zone 4 areas.
If you ensure that your motorcycle jacket fits this rule, you would have purchased a jacket that is ideal for your motorcycling safety.
What does one mean by maximum protection for Zone 1? Now, the manufacturers of motorcycle jackets incorporate impact protectors in the jacket to enhance the protection that the jacket offers to the rider.
The impact protectors must be incorporated for all Zone 1 areas i.e. for the elbows and the shoulders. So when you are purchasing a motorcycle jacket, you should feel the elbows and the shoulders and should find impact protectors incorporated into the jacket.
If this has been done, then the jacket has been manufactured as per the safety specifications. You can purchase the jacket as it provides sufficient protection for your Zone 1 areas.
Here is an important pointer for all those persons who do not know the difference between a motorcycle jacket and an ordinary jacket. If the shoulders and the elbows are not reinforced or are merely padded up with extra cloth, then what you are looking at is an ordinary jacket.
If the shoulders and the elbows have been reinforced with a tough impact protector, then the object in front of your eyes is a motorcycle jacket.
The mere presence of impact protectors in the elbows and the shoulders region is not sufficient. The forearms, thighs and chest area should be protected by material that is highly resistant to abrasion.
Needless to say, the high abrasion resistant material is a must for the shoulders and the elbows as well. However, the jacket need not have impact protectors for the chest, thighs and forearm region.
The combination of impact protectors and abrasion resistance at the right places makes your motorcycle jacket very effective in protecting you from injuries.
Article courtesy of ezinearticle.com author Dona Rosa
Disclaimer: www.motorcycle-leather-gear.com and www.openroadcyclegear.com are wholey owned by RobyCo, Inc. of Reading Pennsylvania. Excerpt articles do not represent the management opinions of RobyCo, Inc or its holdings. Selected information is provided for discussion purposes.