ESSEN: Motorcyclists with an open helmet visor risk getting hit in the face by flying insects, stones or swirling dust and dirt. A particularly unpleasant possibility is that a wasp could get stuck in the helmet while you're riding.

If this happens, it's essential to keep calm and slow down gradually, advises Matthias Haasper from the German Institute for Motorcycle Safety (IFZ). If you brake too quickly, you risk danger from and for traffic behind you.

Instead of trying to rip off the helmet as quickly as possible, you should simply accept that you are going to be stung by the wasp, Haasper says.

Even reaching into the helmet while you are driving is not a good idea a driver's full concentration should be on safely coming to a stop.

Even at slow speeds, foreign objects can temporary blind riders if they are hit in the eye. The IFZ therefore advises always riding with your visor closed, or at least with goggles, even if it is tempting to enjoy the breeze.

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