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Clothing Requirements

Clothing requirements as of May 1, 2024What clothing must you wear?

The equipment (helmet, footwear, gloves and clothing) must provide a reasonable degree of protection, also against and/or taking into account the (weather) conditions. This protection is such that (unforeseen) contact with the road surface or the motorcycle (the exhaust) does not result in direct injury.

For motorcycle exams and tests, you must wear the following equipment:

In addition

Protective clothing, gloves and footwear will be permitted in any case if they are adapted to the prevailing or reasonably foreseeable (weather) conditions and:

If the clothing does not (entirely) meet these three requirements, it must be at first glance that the clothing can provide suficient protection under the expected (weather) conditions in the event of (unforeseen) contact with the road surface or the motorcycle (the exhaust, or gear and brake pedals) so that no direct injury is caused. CBR can give no guarantees regarding this protection. The candidate himself accepts the risks of non-compliance.

The examiner checks and decideswhether you are wearing the proper equipment to participate in the practical motorcycle exam.

Some examples of non-permitted equipment are:

Adjustments to clothing requirementsfor the motorcyclist

A motorcyclist, due to the lack of passive safety features such as cage structures, crumple zones and airbags, is more vulnerable in traffic than the driver of a passenger car. Therefore, fall- and weather-resistant equipment is necessary to ensure his safety in the best possible way. Good equipment protects the motorcyclist in the event of a fall, makes him “visible” and comfortable. Hearing protection is definitely advised on long rides. (Hearing) protection, visibility and comfort are requirements for equipment tailored to the motorcyclist.

Good equipment consists of:

The following is a description of mandatory and required equipment. First, the legal and additional requirements that a motorcyclist’s equipment must meet on the practical examination are indicated (examination requirements). Using this description, the instructor and the A examiner are able to assess whether the motorcyclist’s equipment meets the requirements for protective equipment. These requirements apply to both the vehicle control and traffic participation exams. A number of additional recommendations are then described to protect you as a motorcyclist even better than legally required.

General application exam requirements clothing from p. 8

CBR applies the following general requirement for equipment (gloves, footwear, protective clothing and a helmet). All equipment must provide a reasonable degree of protection, also against and/or taking into account the prevailing or reasonably expected (weather) conditions. This protection is such that (unforeseen) contact with the road surface or the motorcycle (e.g. the exhaust) does not cause direct injury. This requirement for the different types of equipment is further elaborated below.

Helmet  Examination requirements

The helmet must be used as described in article 60, section1 RVV 1990. If the helmet is not equipped with a visor, it is mandatory to protect the eyes from dirt and insects with glasses.

Additional advice

The helmet should preferably be light in color, or have features that enhance the wearer’s visibility in traffic. A proper fit is important for good protection. Therefore, the helmet should fit snugly on the head without pinching. The chin strap must be adjusted so that, when fastened, the strap cannot be slid over the chin. With an eye-catching color scheme and/or print, other road users tend to perceive a motorcyclist better

A motorcycle helmet must have an ECE approval mark. Please note that after a fall, the cushioning effect of the inner shell may be so degraded that replacement of the helmet is necessary, even if the helmet appears undamaged on the outside.

Protective clothing, gloves and footwearExamination requirements

By protective clothing is meant pants and a jacket, or pants and a jacket forming a single unit.

In any case, protective clothing, gloves and footwear are suitable if they fully cover the body part in question, are adapted to the prevailing or reasonably expected (weather) conditions and:

If the clothing does not (completely) meet these three requirements, it must be plausible at first sight that the clothing can provide sufficient protection under the expected (weather) conditions in the event of (unforeseen) contact with the road surface or the motorcycle (e.g. the exhaust) so that no direct injury is caused. CBR can give no guarantees regarding this protection. The candidate accepts the risks of not meeting the requirements.

An additional requirement applies with regard to gloves. Gloves completely enclose the wrists, so that they do not slide off the hands during a fall.

Additional advice

Comfort and safety are inseparable. Protective clothing, gloves and footwear must keep the motorcyclist warm and dry. Therefore, we hereby provide additional advice:

– Protective clothing should preferably have retroreflective properties, or other features that increase the wearer’s visibility in traffic;

– Good gloves allow the motorcyclist to operate his motorcycle smoothly, which prevents his concentration from slipping while riding. These therefore contribute to the safety of the rider. In almost every crash, the hands come into contact with the road surface, which can cause serious injuries;

– Footwear with a relatively high shaft provides additional safety in the event of a fall/accident. Good motorcycle boots completely enclose the ankle and, depending on the height of the shaft, also protect the shin. Additional reinforcements or protectors are provided for this purpose. If the motorcyclist’s footwear is equipped with laces, they should be tied short and, if possible, tucked into the shaft. This prevents the laces from becoming entangled with parts of the motorcycle such as the footrests, or the shift pedal.

Eye ProtectionExamination requirements

Although there are no legal requirements, motorcyclists are required to use a helmet with a plastic visor during the exam ride. A helmet without visor is allowed under the condition of wearing (sun) glasses. The motorcyclist thereby uses an appropriate form of eye protection during the ride.

Additional advice

The motorcyclist should preferably use plastic glasses during the exam ride. This is due to the danger of glass splinters when using glasses.

Hearing protectionExamination requirements

There are no legal requirements for hearing protection.

Additional advice

Even when wearing a proper helmet, motorcyclists are regularly exposed to noise levels that can cause permanent hearing damage. Even at speeds of eighty kilometers per hour, noise levels are significantly above the so-called “health limit. The use of earplugs significantly reduces the noise load on the hearing.

CE approved equipment at practical exam A

At practical exam A you wear a covering and protective equipment. You can find what this equipment should look like here.

Want to know if your equipment is CE certified? Check the labels. The label describes what protection you can expect from your equipment. All clothing, including gloves and footwear, must conform to European Standards (EN). The EN number can be found on the label.

Protective clothing

  1. CE stands for CE certified. Book icon indicates that a manual is available for the product.
  2. Designation suitable motorcyclist
  3. The EN standard is the reference standard for motorcycle clothing with CE certification. In motorcycle clothing, this standard is stated as a number. Currently, the current standard is EN 17092:2020. The EN 17092 standard sets specific requirements for obtaining CE marking. The year of the European standard (2020) is also mentioned.
  4. Category and protection type:
    1. Category/Class.
      • AAA/AA/A products that protect against both impacts and abrasion;
      • Class B products that protect against abrasion only;
      • Class C Over (CO) and C Under (CU) consist solely of one or more impact protectors so impact protection occurs only in the areas covered by the integrated impact protectors.
    2. Protection type
      • S= Shoulder
      • E= Elbow
      • H= Hips
      • K= Knees and leg above shins
      • K+L= Knees to middle of shin
    3. Level of protection (level 2 provides more protection than level 1).
      • Impact test at high temperatures +40°)
      • Impact test at low temperatures (-10°)

Gloves

  1. CE stands for CE certified. Book icon indicates that a manual is available for the product.
  2. Designation suitable motorcyclist
  3. The EN standard is the reference standard for motorcycle clothing with CE certification. In motorcycle clothing, this standard is stated as a number. Currently, the current standard is EN 13594:2015. The EN 13594 standard sets specific requirements for obtaining CE marking. The year of the European standard (2015) is also mentioned.
  4. Level of protection (level 2 provides more protection than level 1).
  5. Protection type KP = knuckle protection

Footwear

  1. CE stands for CE certified. Book icon indicates that a manual is available for the product.
  2. Designation suitable motorcyclist
  3. The EN standard is the reference standard for motorcycle clothing with CE certification. In motorcycle clothing, this standard is stated as a number. Currently, the current standard is EN 17092:2020. The EN 17092 standard sets specific requirements for obtaining CE marking. The year of the European standard (2020) is also mentioned.
  4. Level of protection (level 2 provides more protection than level 1). For footwear, the level of protection is mapped from:
    – Degree of protection by shank height
    – Degree of protection of upper from impact and abrasion (abrasion resistance)
    – Degree of cut resistance of upper (cut resistance)
    – Degree of transverse stiffness of footwear
  5. Category and protection type:

    – IPA = ankle protection
    – IPS = shin protection
    – WR = waterproofness
    – FO = oil resistance
    – SRA, SRB or SRC = slip resistance
    – SRA: slip resistance has been tested on a ceramic tile floor with lauryl sulfate
    – SRB: slip resistance has been tested on a steel substrate with glycerol
    – SRC: slip resistance has been tested according to SRA and SRB standard =SRC
    – WAD = absorbency of insole
    – B = Water permeability