The incidence of collisions between motorcyclists and other vehicles may be significantly reduced by researchthat improves the acoustic awareness of cyclists, and thus heightens the ability of cyclists to respond to unexpectedincursions from the surrounding traffic. We use our hearing as an early warning system, and hearing swiftly redirects ourvision and attention. This shift in gaze is critical to our capacity to assess the location, direction of travel, and velocity ofapproaching vehicles. The present study was composed of two experiments. In the first experiment a Neumann KU-100dummy head with embedded binaural microphones was used to measure noise levels in a motorcycle helmet as a functionof velocity. Noise levels were measured in two helmets, one with active noise reduction technology, and one without. Theresults showed that noise levels exceeded 100 dB (A) at highway speeds in the absence of noise reduction technology.The helmet with active noise control ear muffs was able to attenuate helmet noise by up to 26 dB. Active noise controltechnology shows great promise for noise reduction for the motorcycle helmet industry, and the development of “quiet”helmets is important for both hearing conservation and highway safety. The second experiment surveyed subjectiveperceptions of helmet noise by motorcyclists. The results from the present sample showed that 92.1% of the respondentsobjected to the high noise levels associated with cycling, 63.5 % wore earplugs, 46.8% reported tinnitus, and 95.2%wanted a quieter helmet.
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