dark tint helmet visor

tomidomi

Hi Guys, just got my shoei helmet with clear and dark tint visor.
There is a difference between those 2 visors-clear one has E6 mark on side and is made in usa and dark tint has no mark and is made in japan.
My question is: Is dark tinted visor described above legal in Ireland?

positron

I could be wrong, but I don't think there is any explicit law in Ireland making dark visors illegal. It's illegal in the UK, and is probably marked as 'track use only'.

Please Kill Me

positron wrote: »

I could be wrong, but I don't think there is any explicit law in Ireland making dark visors illegal. It's illegal in the UK, and is probably marked as 'track use only'.

That's right. There's no law here (yet) making it illegal for tinted visors but there is in the UK. Same way it's "illegal" to have sliders on your leathers as "it promotes hooliganism". :rolleyes: We have it easy here in comparison.

KamiKazi

Please Kill Me wrote: »

That's right. There's no law here (yet) making it illegal for tinted visors but there is in the UK. Same way it's "illegal" to have sliders on your leathers as "it promotes hooliganism". :rolleyes: We have it easy here in comparison.

I've never been pulled over here on the bike, always have a dark visor & knee sliders on.

tomidomi

So I keep this visor. There is also written on pinlock that with clear visor it pass less than 80% of light and is below limits in australia and europe and that it should be used for day-light driving.
Thanks for help.

Please Kill Me

KamiKazi wrote: »

I've never been pulled over here on the bike, always have a dark visor & knee sliders on.

You're lucky so. I read an article in one of the bike magazines, where a group of bikers were kicking up about it. I thought it was a bit odd and unfair.

bladespin

Perfectly legal here, also, knee sliders are fine as 'protective' clothing

Hotblack Desiato

Irish law requires a lid and it should meet the relevant European standard in force at the time it was made.
The lid can be any age.
The lid can be any size... well, presuming you can get your head into it
The lid doesn't require a visor.

Used to work with a guy who had a moped, wore glasses, rode year round with no visor.

That story about sliders in the UK is either 'embellished' or just some ignorant copper on a power trip. It's not like that never happens here.

Dark visors are illegal in the UK though, even for pillions

Please Kill Me

ninja900 wrote: »

That story about sliders in the UK is either 'embellished' or just some ignorant copper on a power trip. It's not like that never happens here.

Quite possibly mate.

ninja900 wrote: »

Dark visors are illegal in the UK though, even for pillions

Pillions too? That's a bit stupid alright.

KamiKazi

Yea I'm not sure there's an actual law on the sliders bit, probably just a common practice or something

Del2005

Please Kill Me wrote: »

You're lucky so. I read an article in one of the bike magazines, where a group of bikers were kicking up about it. I thought it was a bit odd and unfair.

It's a stupid law, they'll allow you wear shades but not a tinted visor. The reason being that you can take glasses off, but you need to stop to take them off and when stopped you can swap visors. From reading about it most police will let you away if you carry a clear visor. Which you should do if planning on riding in the dark, got caught out late a few times with only a dark visor and it wasn't fun.

Is there any UV protection in dark visors? Had a look and not too sure.

tomidomi

Del2005 wrote: »

It's a stupid law, they'll allow you wear shades but not a tinted visor. The reason being that you can take glasses off, but you need to stop to take them off and when stopped you can swap visors. From reading about it most police will let you away if you carry a clear visor. Which you should do if planning on riding in the dark, got caught out late a few times with only a dark visor and it wasn't fun.

Is there any UV protection in dark visors? Had a look and not too sure.

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/shoei-cw-1-faceshield according to this it look like it has UV protection

galwaytt

I've a dark visor and tbh if I got it for free again I wouldn't bother. Absolute PITA after dusk.....

Good clear visor and good shades is easier and cheaper.

Cienciano

galwaytt wrote: »

I've a dark visor and tbh if I got it for free again I wouldn't bother. Absolute PITA after dusk.....

Good clear visor and good shades is easier and cheaper.

Was just about to post something similar. Never understood dark visors. I always get a lid with built in shades and before that I'd wear sun glasses underneath. The idea of being stuck with a dark visor for you're entire drive sounds poxy. Especially now when it's getting dark at 4:30pm.

positron

I used an oxford dark visor insert thing for almost a year and half - my commute is fairly predictable and I know if I would be out in the dark or not etc, and I could take it off and put it back on as and when I need. However eventually the glue dried up and it's useless now.

Now I have a photocromatic anti-fog visor insert - it's permanently stuck to the visor, offers usual anti-fog and some tint when it gets really bright, and clear vision when dark. I am going to stay with the solution until I change my helmet, at which point I will get a clear visor and a dark visor and carry one on the tank bag.

Keith186

tomidomi wrote: »

So I keep this visor. There is also written on pinlock that with clear visor it pass less than 80% of light and is below limits in australia and europe and that it should be used for day-light driving.
Thanks for help.

I have a pinlock insert for my Shoei but I noticed that warning about suitable for daylight only.
I only have one visor so I never fitted it, is it hard to drive with it in the dark or OK?

Not sure if the warning is just to protect themselves like the one on the ear buds saying don't sick them in your ear!

Cienciano

Keith186 wrote: »

I have a pinlock insert for my Shoei but I noticed that warning about suitable for daylight only.
I only have one visor so I never fitted it, is it hard to drive with it in the dark or OK?

Not sure if the warning is just to protect themselves like the one on the ear buds saying don't sick them in your ear!

Well, go outside at night and wear a pair of sunglasses. You can see feck all! Some pinlocks are those light sensitive ones that go dark when the sun comes out, they sound good.

Hotblack Desiato

A clear Pinlock is fine in the dark, I use it year round day and night. No noticeable tint. Great in the winter for keeping fog under control.

Please Kill Me

ninja900 wrote: »

A clear Pinlock is fine in the dark, I use it year round day and night. No noticeable tint. Great in the winter for keeping fog under control.

An iridium visor is a different story though. Was out for a spin one day that went on longer than I anticipated and got caught out in the dark. Had to drive from Slane to Swords with the visor up, couldn't see a thing. Great in bright sunlight though.

Wonda-Boy

Dont see what the problem here is lads, especially when you usually get the dark visor with most decent helmets for free if you can haggle a bit so its not like it cost you extra. I carry the extra visor with me and they take up zero space....even if you have no storage you can get the oxford visor bag that goes around the waist, and it takes literally seconds to swap over the dark to the clear (on my HJC anyway, could not be simpler. Arai is a little tricky at first)

Alot of fellow bikers I talked to find the inbuilt shades or TOPGUN shades as I call them are not that good anyway, even on some exspensive lids. Sun glasses are the way to go if its a really bright morning. I got a set of oakley polaroids in the US for a fraction of the price over here and they work great.

Wonda-Boy

Cienciano wrote: »

Well, go outside at night and wear a pair of sunglasses. You can see feck all! Some pinlocks are those light sensitive ones that go dark when the sun comes out, they sound good.

Did not know about them pinlocks....good stuff.

Del2005

Cienciano wrote: »

Well, go outside at night and wear a pair of sunglasses. You can see feck all! Some pinlocks are those light sensitive ones that go dark when the sun comes out, they sound good.

You can get away with wearing quality shades at night, if you're into that. I'd a pair of Oakleys and you could see good when dark, they where just too expensive to wear! I've started buying cheaper shades and some are terrible in the dark others, slightly more expensive, can be manageable. Dark visors have the same qualities, or lack of, of cheap shades.

If you know your only going to be out in bright sunlight dark visors are best. If your not sure carry a clear, a visor bag is hardly noticeable. A mate has a Shark lid with the internal visor, he gota fully tinted one as the internal wasn't good enough.

Shades are grand but I couldn't find any that fit easily into my old lid, an Arai, which meet my cheap enough not to worry about criteria. Current lid is designed for glasses, Shark, so if needed I can wear shades. Still rather fully dark and carry a clear, since it's nearly as quick to swap as put on glasses.

Keith186

ninja900 wrote: »

A clear Pinlock is fine in the dark, I use it year round day and night. No noticeable tint. Great in the winter for keeping fog under control.

Used it over the last few days and it's great at keeping the visor clear. At night time there's a bit of a glare of lights but it's not bad at all.

kaimera

got caught rotten last week going to work on the bike; left late so threw on the dark visor cos the sun was gonna be in my face en route to work.

leaving work...****. visor up, felt like hailstones on my face. eyes were red raw getting into the house.

spring/summer, i'd wear dark visor all the day round; weather is grand and in dublin city enough lights around that the visor can stay down.

just keep the wits about you anyway

Mr Motorcycle

ninja900 wrote: »

Irish law requires a lid and it should meet the relevant European standard in force at the time it was made.
The lid can be any age.
The lid can be any size... well, presuming you can get your head into it
The lid doesn't require a visor.

Used to work with a guy who had a moped, wore glasses, rode year round with no visor.

That story about sliders in the UK is either 'embellished' or just some ignorant copper on a power trip. It's not like that never happens here.

Dark visors are illegal in the UK though, even for pillions

Thats not strictly true (they are illegal in the uk after offical lighting up time) if your riding the bike in the daytime a tinted visor is fine in the uk but if you then ride at night with the same tinted visor it is illegal


common sense really when you look at it

Hotblack Desiato

Bollox, visors under 50% transmisssion (a tinted visor will typically be 15-20%) are illegal day or night in the UK.

Mr Motorcycle

ninja900 wrote: »

Bollox, visors under 50% transmisssion (a tinted visor will typically be 15-20%) are illegal day or night in the UK.

Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 subsection 3 states "...if a person driving or riding on a motorcycle on a road uses an appliance of any description for which a type is prescribed under this section and that appliance is not of a type so prescribed, or is otherwise used in contravention of regulations under this section, he is guilty of an offence." The Act also includes anyone selling such items.
The Department of Transport gives simpler guidelines on legal visors: "Visors are to have a trademark or trade name on them and should have the words 'Daytime Use Only' if they are unsuitable for night time use. They should also have an international approval mark consisting of a circle surrounding the letter 'E' followed by the number of the country. In the UK, BSI Kite Mark BS 4110:1999 applies specifically to visors."
This ensures that they let enough light through, and a visor that lets through less than 50% light transmission is illegal. Dark tint and iridium visors have particularly low light transmission rates and are normally therefore illegal. On reputable websites that sell visors there's usually advice on which ones are road legal


Read more: http://www.access-legal.co.uk/legal-news/tintedark-visors-road-legal-lu-3362.htm#ixzz2Gxg8CmVa


so not all tinted visors are illegal in the uk bud

A light /smoked tint is fine

Jusy saying

Hotblack Desiato

Exactly. They won't kitemark a visor with less than 50% transmission, so dark visors are illegal day or night. You should have clarified that only light tints are legal in your first post and my post that you replied to was referring to dark visors, not light tints.

Even a clean, clear visor will block something like 15-20% of the light, so a 50% tint isn't dark at all.

Mr Motorcycle

ninja900 wrote: »

Exactly. They won't kitemark a visor with less than 50% transmission, so dark visors are illegal day or night. You should have clarified that only light tints are legal in your first post and my post that you replied to was referring to dark visors, not light tints.

Even a clean, clear visor will block something like 15-20% of the light, so a 50% tint isn't dark at all.

The question was were dark/tinted visors illiegal in the uk
the answer is no
that said it obvisouly depends on the amount of tint /light refraction the visor has.

your splitting hairs at this stage

Steve.N

I've used black/ irridium visors for decades on lots of various different helmets - cos let's face it, they look the dogs nuts!!
I'm originally from Scotland and in the past been pulled over on numerous occasions for wearing one but only got warnings - Oh, you're talking bollox on the sliders issue BTW!!
If I was planning on being out after dark then I would simply take my trusty Oxford bumb bag with me which doubled as a visor holder for my clear one - but on countless times if I found myself being stuck without my clear visor then I would have to 'use the force'!!
I just got used to riding like this after all these (accident free) years that I never thought about it until I bought a new Shark lid last year with the build in flip down shades - It is absolutely brilliant!! I find myself mostly riding with the clear visor up but with the shades flipped down (obviously in dry weather only).

Like everything in life, one thing may suit some people & not others - try your dark visor out - if u like the look and can get used to riding wit it then keep it, if not take it off and stick to a clear one ;-)

bladespin

ninja900 wrote: »

Exactly. They won't kitemark a visor with less than 50% transmission, so dark visors are illegal day or night. You should have clarified that only light tints are legal in your first post and my post that you replied to was referring to dark visors, not light tints.

Even a clean, clear visor will block something like 15-20% of the light, so a 50% tint isn't dark at all.

Depends on what you classify as dark TBH.