On 20th January 2016 the EU Parliament in Strasbourg – at a full session – passed a new regulation on “Personal protective Equipment.” This includes protective clothing sold to riders.
It does not cover waterproof rain suits designed to be worn over leathers or other clothing.
However if rain gear is fitted with protectors – which is a popular type of clothing – then the whole garment must be designed and tested to be protective. At the moment manufacturers are able to certify only the protectors and leave the rest of the garment unchecked.
There are exceptions, a number of brands sell motorcycling jeans with protectors inside and also lined with aramid to protect against abrasion injury. Some of these are tested to CEN standard EN13595 and certified under the old law, Directive 89/686/EEC.
The new regulation which will replace this will apply directly in all 28 member countries of the EU. It is also sure to affect the kind of products sold outside Europe as well.
Will this make motorcycling clothing more expensive? It should not because the products already on sale complying with EN13595 include many that are produced at the budget end of the market, but are still very good quality as shown by that level of testing.
Helmets and visors are not affected by the new law as they are already covered by United Nations ECE Regulation 22.
Very high levels of protection against injury are possible today in motorcycle sports – they have been for many years.
This is good news for road riders as better protective clothing is on its way.
FIM also anticipates that there will be a wide selection of new clothing to meet the needs of riders across all of Europe where riding conditions (and the climate) vary so much.
John Chatterton-Ross, FIM Europe’s Director of Public Affairs commented: “Over one hundred years ago when motorcycle racing started riders soon worked out that strong trousers were essential! If you look at the really old photographs you see they wore a woollen top – the leather jackets came a bit later.
“This is something road riders need to follow; the biggest risk in a fall is leg injury. This is where the new motorcycling jeans we can buy today are so good. The impact protectors we have today are great, but it is the protection against abrasion injury that is really vital. We have almost eliminated this type of injury in racing now for many years. I really hope we can improve things for the street rider in the same way. But I urge all riders to think about protecting their legs and not to just wear a motorcycling jacket.
“To be clear, this is consumer protection law, it is about the quality of clothing. It is not about what a rider MUST wear. That remains a matter for national parliaments to decide – it is not an area where Brussels plans to intervene”, added John Chatterton-Ross.
