In today’s ongoing corona endemic a mask is an absolute must as soon as you open the door of your house. This article tries to put light on the argument of riding with or without a mask. This argument is only valid for full-face helmets, as a half-face helmet just nulls the argument. If you are one of those who prefers a half-face helmet please wear a mask to ensure the safety of fellow citizens.
Starting with the mask on crisis let’s assume you being a responsible citizen puts on a mask and then a helmet. Please note that you will be needing a flexible mask that adjusts to your face covering your mouth as well as your nose and is still breathable and comfortable to adjust a little cushioning of your helmet sides and does not mess with your view. A hard mold mask is a big no as it might fit in your helmet but in an event of a road accident, it poses a high risk of breaking your nose or even worse.
The point that stands out the most is that while putting on a helmet or while taking it off there is a high chance that one may touch their face and thus increase the chances of infection. Also, you may occasionally scratch your nose or try to bug off an insect that has entered your helmet. Mask ensures your safety in such circumstances. There is also a possibility that you may put your helmet at an infected place during brakes and that will pose you a threat.
Moving on, one would also lean forward or lift up their visor as helmets reduce the hearing ability, a mask seems like a must in such situations. Also, riders have a habit of keeping their gloves inside of a helmet and that is a threat that could be diverted to certain degrees through mask usage. Last and most importantly, if you are an Indian rider you need not worry about the cops harassing you for not wearing a mask out in public.
The Government of India has made it mandatory to wear a mask at all places to help contain the highly contagious virus. Ensure your mask is breathable along with your helmet. Open up your helmet’s air vents for the maximum amount of airflow into your helmet. Also, an anti-fog visor is advisable as the mask tends to fog up the view and that could result fatally in a worst-case scenario.
Moving from the mask on to the mask off side of the argument, a full-face helmet is in itself a shield safe enough to protect most. A full-face helmet will ensure that no virus is being spread at all. One needs to wash and disinfect the helmet regularly so that it does not become a carrier of the disease. This will also not mess up with scorching heat, teeth-chattering cold, or a heavy downpour. A hot day will make you sweat and your mask will be covered with your own sweat resulting in an unpleasant ride. A chilly ride will add up your fogging of the visor with a mask on and finally if there is a shower and somehow water manages to seep in your helmet which is most likely you will end up with a mask wet enough to run up your nose and mouth each time you inhale causing your attention to move from the road towards the mask.
Concluding the debate if one wishes to put on a mask while riding it will ensure the rider’s as well as people around him to be safe from possible infection. Things you should consider are that your mask should be flexible, shouldn’t hinder your view, and should be disinfected regularly.
If a rider does not prefer a mask over a helmet he should always keep the visor closed, be careful not to touch the face while removing or putting on a helmet and keep the helmet at a place that does not possess a disease threat. Also, the helmet needs to be disinfected regularly with proper precautions and care.
Choosing a helmet & know how to size a motorcycle helmet, and especially when it involves one meant for motorcycle riders, isn’t as simple as people often think.
That’s really an amazing and informative article mask while riding a motorcycle
While Everyone should wear a helmet as it is for Safety but most people don’t care about the size of the Helmet they should wear according to their head size.
Great article.