Obligatory? What sanctions? How to put them?
A retro-reflective sticker, condition for approval and resulting in a fine of 135 euros in the event of absence.
You have just invested in a superb full-face helmet at the top of technology, super light with its shell all in carbon fibers and mega class with its replica decoration of the helmet that Valentino Marquez wore on the last GP of Montargis. But now, when you take it out of its box, a small pocket of retro-reflective stickers and its instructions explain that you must affix them to your magnificent headgear.
Is it compulsory? Why? What am I risking if I don't put them on? We take stock ...
Obligation for homologation: in the Highway Code
The Highway Code requires by article R431-1 that any driver of motorized two-wheelers wear a helmet approved by the ECE 22-05 standard, whether it is jet, full-face or modular. This approval is common to all European countries and obtained by manufacturers who pass a whole battery of tests to their models.
Only here, the European regulation leaves the possibility to each state to integrate or not an obligation of signaling on the helmet. France has adopted this principle and is also the only one to have done so since the Decree of April 14, 1995. This is the reason why helmets are delivered with stickers and do not directly integrate reflective surfaces.
Therefore, to be approved in France, an ECE 22-05 certified helmet must also be fitted with retro-reflective material elements "contributing to the user's signaling, day and night".
4 stickers to put on the front, back, and sides of the helmet
Each helmet must therefore be provided with reflective stickers, which "must not be able to be removed without damaging the helmet", which indicate the presence of the user to the front, back, right, and left.
We must therefore find a sticker on the front of the helmet (at the level of the forehead or chin), at the back of the helmet (at the bottom, in the middle, or at the top) as well as on the left and right sides.
Each element must have an area of ??at least 18 cm2 in which it must be possible to inscribe either a circle 40 mm in diameter or a rectangle at least 20 mm wide. The regulations also specify how they should be positioned. In-store, the seller is normally required to install them for you, or at least offer to do so. A positioning sheet is normally present in the helmet box, like the Scorpion explanatory sheet pictured below.
These devices must also reflect white light. However, nothing specifies their color. We can therefore go through the purchase of stickers of different colors available from certain manufacturers, provided that the sizes imposed are respected. There are in particular black stickers that become reflective and are thus an elegant solution.
To do what?
As specified in the regulations, the objective is to allow other users to better perceive the rider. Not necessarily when riding, since the light beam does not normally reach his head, but rather in the event of a fall if the rider finds himself lying on the road far from his motorcycle.
What am I risking?
The regulations are very clear on this subject: no sticker, no homologation. In other words, without these small retro-reflective devices, we are exposed to the same sanction as for not wearing a helmet, i.e. a fourth class fine, materialized by a fixed fine of 135 euros (reduced to 90 €, increased at 375 €) and a withdrawal of 3 points on the driving license.
It should also be noted that the absence of a helmet or the wearing of an unapproved helmet is now part of the list of offenses that can be drawn up on the fly or via video verbalization.
The police very rarely verbalize the absence of reflective stickers. However, we are never safe from a change in road safety instructions. And not putting on a sticker is also exposing yourself to stupidly losing three points in the event of an inspection.
If I come from abroad?
A thorny problem arises for European bikers who would like to come and discover the small French roads. Indeed, in our neighbors, the helmets are approved without reflection and are therefore not delivered. But when they cross the French border, they find themselves de facto with an unapproved helmet and also risk a fine of 135 €.
Is it doomed to disappear?
The ECE 22.05 standard will be replaced by 2022 by the new 22.06 regulation which will bring in-depth tests and updated with today's technical realities. Unfortunately, no, the standard does not provide for the elimination of retro-reflective devices. As with the current regulations, the text leaves the possibility to each state to choose or not for these devices. If there is to be any change, it will be at the national level and, until proven otherwise, it is not on the agenda.
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