DIN EN 13634:2011-03

This European Standard applies to protective footwear for motorcycle riders while driving motorcycles on -and off-road. It specifies requirements for protection, ergonomic characteristics, innocuousness, mechanical properties, marking and information for users. It also describes the appropriate test methods. The standard serves as a basis for placing protective footwear for motorcycle riders on the market under Directive 89/686/EEC on personal protective equipment. It addresses, for instance, manufacturers, test institutes or users of protective footwear for motorcycle riders. Motorcyclists' footwear is intended to give a degree of mechanical protection to the foot and ankle in accidents without unduly impairing the user's dexterity in controlling the motorcycle and operating the foot controls. The particular hazards in motorcycle accidents are abrasions due to the road surface as well as injuries through the motorcycle itself, accidents with other vehicles, road furniture and with road surfaces. Road surface injuries are worse when the foot is trapped under the motorcycle during sliding impacts. This standard sets out a number of basic requirements considered to be essential for this type of footwear, including a number of ergonomic requirements. This European Standard contains two protection levels for a number of test methods. The risk or hazard level which a motorcycle rider is exposed to is closely related to the field of application of the motorcycle and the type of accident. In the standard EN 13634:2010, protection level 1 is required as the minimum level so that the footwear provides suitable protection as well as optimal comfort in all fields of application of the motorcycle. For motorcycle riders who are of the opinion that they are exposed to an increased accident risk through the field of application of the motorcycle or the motorcycling, protection level 2 has been added to the standard, which contains higher performance requirements. However, this additional protection is presumably linked with the disadvantage of a higher mass and less comfort of the footwear, so that it is most likely not suitable for all motorcycle riders.