Modelling and Analysis of Foldable Motorcycle Helmet for Human Comfort

Abstract

Abstract Riding a motorcycle gives rider the freedom of the open road. However, there are some serious dangers involved in it. Thus, motorcyclists need to take extra precautionary measures to protect their body. The foremost place to start out is by protecting the top. The head and brain are the most susceptible to injury during a motorcycle accident than any other body part. Wearing a helmet increases the chance of survival significantly over non-helmet wearers. From 2008 to 2010, there have been 14,283 motorcyclist fatalities and 6,057 of them involved the rider not wear a helmet. Also, in India, it’s absolutely compulsory for motorcycle riders to wear helmets under the Section 129 of the automobiles Act, 1988. The rule also states that a standard safety helmet should have a thickness of 20-25 mm, with quality foam to absorb the impacts. The most frequent reasons for not using a helmet were weight of the helmet (77%), discomfort due to the heat, pain within the neck and inconvenience to carry it due to its bulky nature. Our project aims at easing the neighbourhood of carrying the helmet by making it collapsible when not in use making it portable and convenient. The new helmet design will have a similar design to a normal motorcycle helmet but will have collapsible/foldable mechanism that reduces the volume of the helmet by 20% and thus making it less bulky. The new mechanism is such that it doesn’t compromise on the protection of the rider. This therefore increases the convenience of usage and also the portability aspect of the helmet. The main goal of the project is to develop a collapsible helmet design that features a considerably reduced space occupied by 20% while retaining all the characteristics of a standard helmet that’s available in the market. This will therefore encourage the riders to use helmets more often and hence decrease the number of deaths caused by road accidents.