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South Australia – Motor bike helmet laws    

The Australian Road Rules require all motor bike riders and any pillion or sidecar passengers to wear an approved motor bike helmet.

An “approved motor bike helmet” is a helmet made in compliance with —

  • AS 1698; or
  • AS/NZ 1698; or
  • the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) standard 22.05; or
  • the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) standard 22.06

and has an identifying mark certifying compliance with a standard mentioned above, and that is in good repair and proper working order and condition.

Examples of a helmet that is in good repair and proper working order and condition include a helmet that is scratched or marked but the scratch or mark has not —

  1. penetrated the helmet's outer shell; or
  2. damaged the helmet's retention system; or
  3. damaged the helmet's inner lining.

Full-face helmets offer better face and eye protection than open-face helmets. Around half of all impacts to the head in motorcycle crashes occur to the face.

Full-face helmets also offer better wind and sun protection.

Helmet accessories

All approved helmet standards contain information regarding the attachment of accessories to the helmet.

For AS 1698 and AS/NZS 1698  compliant helmets, as indicated in the standard, no attachments should be made to the helmet except those recommended by the helmet manufacturer.

For ECE 22.05 compliant helmets, no component or device may be fitted to or incorporated in the protective helmet unless it is designed in such a way that it will not cause injury and that, when it is fitted to or incorporated in the protective helmet, the helmet still complies with the requirements of this standard.

For ECE 22.06 compliant helmets, any accessory must be fitted in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Only accessories tested during the type-approval procedure of the helmet keep the type-approval valid.

Motor bike riders must refer to the instructions for their particular make and model of helmet to determine the suitability for attachments.

Helmet visors and face shields

Motor bike riding can be extremely tough on the rider’s eyes due to wind, rain, sun glare, exhaust fumes and other factors such as flying insects, dust and debris.

To ensure that you can see in all conditions, use an approved visor or face shield that is clean and free of scratches and carry sunglasses or choose a helmet with an auxiliary tinted visor that operates separately from the main clear visor.

When choosing a visor or face shield (clear or tinted), it important to ensure it meets with the requirements as specified by the standard.

For Australian Standard (AS1698:2006) helmets,

The visor or face shield should comply with 'AS1609 - Eye Protectors for Motor Cyclists and Racing Car Drivers' which refers to the colour requirements of 'AS1067 - Sunglasses and fashion spectacles'.

For ECE22.05 Standard helmets,

The visor or face shield should comply with ECE22.05 specifications.

For ECE22.06 Standard helmets,

The visor or face shield should comply with ECE22.06 specifications.

For more information about motorcyclist safety refer to the Rider’s Safety Handbook.

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