Naggin' the noggin'

Back in 2009, Republic Act 10054 (The Motorcycle Helmet Act) was signed into law. This act mandates all motorcycle riders to wear standard protective helmets. A couple of months back, people were rushing to the local Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) office to have an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) sticker (you know, the ones that you also see on electrical tape packaging) placed on their helmet because there was an August 1 compliance deadline. Then the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) ordered a deferment of the implementation until the end of the year. Now, I'm not going to harp on the futility of this exercise, especially if the Mayans were correct and the world will end by December 2012 anyway. But I'm going to talk about how it would be pointless to implement such law if the problem is with the helmet itself.

How can the problem be with the helmet? Like many vehicles that sport a 'temporary' license plate (you know, the ones that are made from print shops that replicate real plates), some helmets also have a 'legitimate' ICC sticker. It is legitimate because it is a genuine ICC sticker… well, if it was still stuck to the packaging of the electrical tape. Unfortunately, while the helmet wasn't paying attention, the ICC sticker jumped from the electrical tape packaging onto the back of the helmet like a symbiote attaching itself to a new host. So having an ICC sticker doesn't necessarily mean that the helmet is within standards.

Also, did you know that the lack of a label that says T.G.I.F. makes the helmet a danger to all its users? You might ask yourself, what has 'Thank God It's Friday' got to do with the helmet? Well, it doesn't. TGIF stands for "This Goes In Front." Ever notice how many people wear some helmets backwards?

But the most glaring problem with the helmet is the fact that it's never the right size. I've seen kids wearing helmets that are so big that they cover the kids' eyes and bounce around their shoulders making the kids look like a bobble-head toy mounted on the motorcycle. On the flipside, I've also seen a grown man squeezing his head into a teeny-tiny helmet with his Pinoy-sized nose sticking out where the protective visor should've been.

Unless you were dropped on your head as a baby, you've probably figured that I am being sarcastic. No… Really??

You see, it doesn't really matter what stringent rules and regulations the government body implements if the motorcycle rider has no regard for personal safety. A person wearing a wrong-sized, ill-fitting helmet that is not even strapped on will render the purpose of the helmet law (which is to properly protect the rider) useless. And people who insist on such attitude should, in fact, be exempt from wearing a helmet at all. Their heads are probably harder than the regulated helmets

If you're the smart motorist who's reading this, you probably have the right helmet for you and your loved ones. If you're not too sure about your helmet, go online and read about choosing the right fit.

I once asked a friend what the big deal is about having the right helmet. His answer was very simple, "A helmet that offers the best protection would cost between P8,000.00 - P20,000.00, while brain surgery and at least a day at a hospital's Intensive Care Unit would set you back at least half a million pesos. You do the math."

Always remember, the helmet is there to protect your noggin. If you feel that it's worth protecting, invest in a good helmet. If you still haven't figured it out, then last night's polyethylene terephthalate spaghetti bowl would be just fine for you.