Personal protective equipments

Fashion garments,caps,Hats,gloves & western clothing concerns many aspects of vehicle and equipment design as well as operator skill and training that are unique to motorcycle riding.

To address the risks of motorcycling, before and after a fall, motorcyclists use personal protective equipment (PPE, or more commonly “motorcycle gear”). Many developed countries now require certain articles of PPE, and manufacturers and governments recommend its extensive use

Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment designed to protect the wearer’s body or clothing from injury by blunt impacts, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in sports, martial arts, combat, etc. body armor is combat-specialized protective gear. In British legislation the term PPE does not cover items such as armour.

PPE can also be used to protect the working environment from pesticide application, pollution or infection from the worker (for example in a microchip factory). The protection may be important in both ways, as with the use of disposable gloves by surgeons and dentists.

The terms “protective gear” and “protective clothing” are in many cases interchangeable; “protective clothing” is applied to traditional categories of clothing, and “gear” is a more general term and preferably means uniquely protective categories, such as pads, guards, shields, masks, etc.

Common protective materials include Nomex and Kevlar.

Functions of personal protective equipment

• Improved Visibility — Although for decades the popular image of the motorcycle rider has been of someone clad head-to-toe in black leather, in the light of the Hurt Report findings, and the day-to-day experiences of motorcyclists themselves, many riders choose higher-visibility gear. Bright colors and retro reflective strips are common on quality equipment.
• Abrasion Resistance — Thick, tough leather provides the most abrasion resistance in a crash, but fabrics such as Cordura, Kevlar and ballistic nylon provide significant protection too. In addition, fabrics are generally cheaper, easier to maintain, waterproof, and more comfortable in hot weather. Thick leather, which affords the most abrasion resistance, can be uncomfortable in temperatures exceeding 85 °F (29 °C) and above 100 °F (38 °C) may cause heat stress & loss of control with insufficient fluid replacement. Some PPE may be constructed of fabrics made into a ‘mesh’ that provides cooling and a stable surface for the attachment of padding.
• Padding — Quality jackets and pants provide significant extra padding in the vulnerable joint regions described above. This can take the form of simple foam padding, or dual-density foam that stiffens when compressed, sometimes with plastic or carbon fiber outer-shells that distribute the impact across the pad. Integrated pieces can be found in some jackets.
• Weather Protection — One important aspect of PPE not mentioned above is protection from the elements. Extreme weather can make a long ride unbearable or dangerous. PPE provides protection from wind, rain and cold.

The best motorcycle clothing

Driving in your neighborhood on your bike could be highly dangerous. Approximately 90% of urban motorcycle accidents are caused the other driver not by the motorcyclist. Riding with your headlights on is very important to being seen. Bright colors or reflective stripes can help a lot.

For those of us who are into styling, there are some great looking motorcycle clothing on the market these days. However, not all of the motorcycle clothing offers as much protection as you think. Protective motorcycle clothing are not created equal. In Europe, they have a standard for motorcycle clothing. For it be lawfully sold as “safety” clothing, it has to pass a series of European standards and bear the CE mark, which are pretty lengthy. How does the clothing performance hold up in abrasion, tearing and impact tests. Once they pass the test, then the manufacturer are allowed to sell the motorcycle protective clothing with the CE mark. Unfortunately, USA has no such regulation is available in the USA. Cheer up, all is not lost. Just requires you to pay attention to what you are buying.

Research suggests that majority of bike accident deaths could have been avoided if the rider had worn protective gears like the helmet or the motorcycle jacket. Motorcycle jackets or motocross jerseys help to minimize the severity of injuries thus emphasizing their utilities.

Motorcycle jackets can be effective safeguards against serious injuries. These jackets are lined with foam and padding in the high impact areas like shoulders, and elbows. Being the only obstacle between the ground and the body (in case the vehicle crashes), these jackets offer adequate protection against severe injury and abrasion.

Not many people realize that most motorcycle injuries occur below the belt. You love your legs and feet but when you are riding a motorcycle, the are extremely vulnerable to injuries. Make sure you wear a decent pair of high boots and protective pants. Leather, thick leather is a good choice. Check the pants for reinforcement at the knees and hips. The better safety pants should attach to your jacket by a zipper. Boots should be thick leather, with a sole that can flex with the foot but has a resistance to crushing across the foot. Heard of steel toe shoes? Well not a bad ideal for when you are riding.

The history of material normally used for motorcycle protective clothing has been leather. The thick nylon and other synthetic materials will work well too. Look into Kevlar reinforced jeans which hold up much better than normal jeans while skidding across asphalt at 70 m.p.h. Here is an interesting fact. According to the European standard abrasion test, normal jeans last 0.6 seconds, while protective motorcycle pants will last 5 seconds or more. Think about 5 seconds of protection versus about 0.5 seconds. If you have to think very hard, you have been riding your motorcycle without a helmet again. Go with the Kevlar protected, re-enforced jeans.

Want to keep those fingers looking good and attached? You must have a decent pair of gloves. When you fall, you instinctively put out your hands palm side down to stop yourself in a slide, so the palms of your gloves should made of thick leather or knitted Kevlar and reinforced with patches. Knitted Kevlar is especially good for this kind of abrasion resistance, but reinforced leather works well too.

That old saying it only hurt when I stop. Well, apply that saying to when you hit the pavement. Impact protection can be bought separately like back protectors. If you buy it, make sure you wear it. Depending on your personality, it might be best motorcycle protective clothing with a degree of impact protection included so that you know when you put on your jacket and pants, the protection is there and you don’t have to remember to put it on.

Body armor is best protection for motorcycling

Body armors are protective shields that stop the projectiles from penetrating into the body. Present day armors are generally called as bulletproof vests. Moreover, the advancement in the ammunition technology has lead to the development of different types of body shields. Police personnel, army men and private security guards mainly use these bulletproof vests.

The design of body armor and the material used in them varies. Kevlar fiber is the most effectual material used to make body shields or armors in recent days. The unique characteristic of the Kevlar is that it is lightweight. However, it is stronger than the hardest steel available.

The Kevlar fibers are twisted and interwoven individually covered by other materials such as resin as well as plastic. Kevlar material is capable of absorbing huge energy.

Types of Body Armors:

1.   Soft bullet proof vest: Police personnel and private security guards use this type of vest very commonly. They are made of woven fibers and soft clothing, which are interwoven together into net.  Soft bullet proof vests protect the users from ordinary weapons and reduce the impact of bullet by dispersing its energy. These bullet proof vests are incapable to protect from high caliber ammunition.

2.   Interceptor vests: Interceptor bulletproof vests are made of Kevlar vest and other small protective plates. They weigh around 16.4 lbs. These plates are removable and serve as protection to throat, groin, front and back. These types of vests are capable of stopping 7.62 mm of bullets from penetrating into the body.

3.   Personnel Kevlar vest: This type of physical armor or vest is made of thick Kevlar filler. Personnel Kevlar vest has different sections to offer better fit. This type of Kevlar vest has swivel shaped shoulder pads, two frontal pockets, a  ¾th collar, two hangers to hold grenade and butt patches at the shoulder area to carry a rifle.

4.      Dragon skin armor: Dragon skin armor is made of small spherical discs. The discs used are of silicon carbide ceramic, which are overlapped one over the other same as that of fish scales. The peculiar arrangement of this armor offers higher flexibility and protects the body from the multiple hits.