Testing of Protective Clothing for Motorcyclists: Validation of Laboratory Tests by Accident Studies.

Four test methods have been developed for testing motorcycling clothing: a belt abrasion test, a pressure burst test, an impact cut test and the belt abrasion test with impact. These have been used on the same pieces of materials as were previously tested on a dummy in a simulated accident. The laboratory test methods allow the protective qualities of the materials to be correctly ranked. This was not true with methods used previously. The test methods can also distinguish between crash-damaged clothing that proved protective in a crash and that which did not. The methods can be used to devise specifications for motorcycling clothing, and to develop novel materials for such clothing.