Motorcycle gloves: a standard for optimum safety
Are you a biker? A decree and order published on September 20 make it compulsory to wear gloves that comply with regulations on personal protective equipment and, as such, bear the CE mark. Are all gloves safe? Response to EN 13594.
Users of two-, three- or four-wheeled motorized vehicles, check your gloves… and buy some if you’re still not wearing any! On September 20, the
delegation for road safety
a department of the French Ministry of the Interior, drew attention to the publication in the Journal Officiel on the same day of a decree and an order making it compulsory to wear gloves from November 20. And in this case, gloves that comply with regulations governing personal protective equipment (PPE) and carry the CE mark.
Are gloves mandatory on a scooter?
It may seem strange, but until now, wearing properly stamped gloves on motorcycles (or even scooters) was not compulsory on French roads… Unlike helmets. Visit
decree of September 19
justifies the measure by the need to ” limit serious injuries to the hands and forearms ” in the event of a fall, and punishes non-compliance by the loss of one point on the driver’s license and a fine of 68 euros.
CE marking
The accompanying stipulates that ” the gloves mentioned in
article R. 431-1-2 of the Highway Code
must comply with the characteristics of gloves for motorcyclists, in accordance with regulations governing personal protective equipment, as attested by the CE mark. “In this respect, a 1989 European directive is authoritative. Among the PPE it covers is motorcycling equipment, which is classified in a category known as “category 2”, with approval subject to passing a laboratory resistance test.
Standard EN 13594 2015
The specific methodology for this test is governed by a voluntary standard, European standard EN 13594, revised in February 2016. Among other things, the glove must offer sufficient resistance to abrasion for a very short time. An impact test is also required if the glove is fitted with a protective shell. The standard also lays down ergonomic features, such as the need to reach at least 5 cm below the wrist.
” During an accident, with thick gloves, hand injuries are reduced or avoided in 95% of cases for motorcyclists and 87% of cases for moped riders “, reminds the press release from Road Safety (source MAIDS – Étude approfondie sur les accidents en motocycles). And in 2015, motorized two-wheelers accounted for 43% of serious injuries in France, or more than 12,000 people, for just 2% of traffic.
