Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Driving the M3W with a Helmet?

In Portugal tricycles with an "outer" structure or safety structure and seat belts do not require the use of helmets. Here the "google translation" to English, with a few "add ons" by me, of #3 and #4 of article 82 from our "Código da Estrada" (Road Code I guess)

3 - Drivers and passengers of mopeds, motorcycles with or without sidecar, tricycles and quadricycles, must protect the head using officially approved type of helmet, properly adjusted and tight.
4 - Exempt from the provisions of the preceding paragraph are the drivers and passangers of vehicles with a rigid outer closed structure or vehicles with both rigid protective structure and seat belts.

Here the original, in case anyone wants to learn portuguese

Does that mean it needs a roof?

The way I read this



the M3W falls under the last category "protection structure and seat belts"

I think the "rigid outer closed structure" means no helmet is needed if you're driving this:

Hope you're right. I'm still surprised we're allowed to drive the things anywhere in the world without helmets!

Australia, if I understand correctly, has decided that if the vehicle has two wheels in front (reverse trike) and car type controls it is a car. If it has two wheels behind and bike type controls it is a bike. End of story and no confusion.

I would imagine that a helmet is not therefore a legal requirement for an Australian M3W when they are eventually approved. The latest news on the Morgan Australia web site is that they are still working on it.

The eventual price is expected to be over AUD$70,000. The base price for a Morgan 4/4 in Australia is AUD$79,990 (about EUR€54,000 or GBP£43,000) plus delivery charges etc.

The costs of Australian homologation must be huge and the price will also be effected by the special variations required for Australia. All this has to be recovered by the importer.



PS. Note the "Higher roll-over hoops designed and added. Padded head rests designed and added"

This was to provide adequate roll over protection and whiplash protection in the case of a hit from the rear.

With two helmets it is better

In Austria its mandatory to use helmets with ECE-number. Other helmets should not be used! Take these useless helmets off!

I use a colour matched Bell Pit Boss half helmet - it looks just the part and doesn't overstate the helmet against the car - It's pretty cool and provides a somewhat Fangio look to the drive.
It comes with a neck piece and a flip down visor absolutely fantastic. - Other half has a matching one also.

Best helmet Bell have ever produced IMHO

I made the mistake of showing that to
She did not find it anywhere near as amusing as I did