Helmets

[Ro Yale]

I just got my new Bill Simpson Lightning helmet in today. In the product brochure it says it's SFI approved. Inside the helmut it has a manufactoring date of 3/04. Does this need a snell decal also or have things changed? It's advertised as having a light weight fire resistant material plus I have a head sock. It's a Champ model. Any help would be appreciated.
 Thanks, Ro

[landracing]

The Helmet MUST be a snell 95 rated or newer, as of 2006 it MUST be SA2000 or M2000. As far back as I can remember it always has been a SNELL rating REQUIRED. And yes it needs a SNELL decal.
 
 Jonathan

[Seldom Seen Slim]

...And that Snell sticker is usually affixed to the inside of the helmet, UNDERNEATH the lining, and the sticker is printed on shiny material with real faint ink so it's hard to read unless you're outside in the sun and you know what you're looking for.  There's regular printing that says regular stuff -- the "M2000" (also the 1995) is in faint colored ink and overlays the  regular print.
 
 I've inspected quite a few helmets and speak here from experience.  If it don't got a Snell 95 or 00, I don't let you race.  Simple enough, hey?
 
 There ARE other safety certification standards and rating agencies, and they may use other parameters for testing, which parameters may or may not yield equivalent safety compared to Snell -- but SCTA/BNI/USFRA/ECTA recognise only Snell, so that's what you need.  You can go to the Snell Foundation website and find a list of all helmets (manufacturer, model, even size) that have been granted Snell certification.  Try that to see if your Simpson is okay (if you can't find the sticker).  If no sticker but the model IS listed you can try bringing a copy of the approval from the Snell site -- an inspector may allow that end-run around "no sticker inside the helmet".

[Seldom Seen Slim]

You know, I realised (after I clicked send) that maybe you're talking about a car helmet, not a bike helmet.  My comments are directed to motorcycle helmets only -- don't have experience in the car section of the rulebook.

[Ro Yale]

Thanks for the attempted help. I called the company today and they told me the SA2000 is on the upper left side where as in helmets before I always saw them at the back. So I looked at mine and it has it, thank God!
 Later, Ro

[GH]

I can't find any numbers inside of my new helmet. Can I still race with it???

[John Noonan]

I can't find any numbers inside of my new helmet. Can I still race with it???

I thought the helmet was going to go with the car..?   

J

[GH]

I sure would hate to part with it. I saw a guy riding a motorcycle the other day wearing probably a real helmet with big horns on it....

[bak189]

AMA Racing Supplemental Regulations (BUB all M/C Trials)

2.L (III) Helmet:  ....exceed DOT standard 2000.......Snell..
OR ANY OF THE FIM SFI APPROVED CERTIFICATIONS....................................

[jimmy six]

I believe the SCTA is on a 10 year cycle on helmets. Which means you have 10 years of use from the Snell date not when you bought.

I have always been careful when buying a new one making sure it was right after the new Snell cycle. The next cycle for them should be 2010. I would then buy a new helmet in 2011 with the 2010 sticker and nothing else, giving me 10 years of use. If I read it right a 2000 Snell is done after 2010 just 2 seasons of racing if bought now.

If I said this wrong I apologize. But I know how and when I replace helmets.

I have sold a lot of perfect appearing helmets at swap meet that were out of date for the SCTA. Good Luck

[guttley782]

We always have some trepidation when we come over and run our motorcycles at Bonneville because we do not have Snell in England. The ACU stamp is a higher specification, and Snell is not recognised in the UK. All the Moto GP riders use ACU approved helmets. I have to say that the last time we raced in 2004 the technical inspectors remembered this, and gave their approval quite happily.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

I learned the hard way that...when buying a helmet, SPECIFY on the order (assuming you're ordering online or using a paper order) that the helmet must have Snell 20xx (whatever's appropriate here) rating.

I bought a new helmet for Nancy a couple of years back, waiting 'til the 2005 helmets were out - and until I had checked that the model I wanted for her was indeed Snell 2005 rated.

They shipped me a 2000 unit (and this is before I learned to specify the acceptable date) -- saying they wanted to sell the "old" stock before shipping newer units.  So, indeed -- I got a helmet that'll be good for only four years instead of the nine I could have had when buying new in 2006.

On another (Snell) topic -- inspectors must see the Snell sticker that's inside the helmet, hidden under the inner liner, usually affixed to the shock absorbing material.  It's always a metal-like sticker, and difficult to read in the light of day.  The inspector will not accept that a helmet is Snell rated by only observing a "Snell" sticker that's stuck to the back/outside of the helmet.  We've got to see the inner sticker.

[bak189]

So let get this right......SSS stated without a Snell sticker you don't race.......However, Guttly stated that he was able to race at Bonneville with a ACU sticker helmet.......Was Guttly racing the BUB Trials?  or was he racing SCTA/BNI.......if he was competing at BNI, the statement "you don't race" is not correct................Please, clear this up...
What is correct and what is wrong........................
                                                                                                                                                         

[55chevr]

Rule books state;

SCTA- 3.A.2 "All drivers/riders shall wear a full face helmet with face shield. A Snell Foundation tag reading SA2000 or M2000 or later is required."

ECTA- III.-1.1 "All drivers/riders must wear a full face helmet with face shield which meets A Snell Foundation SA2000 or M2000 or later specifications."

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Bob:

I tried to qualify my statement with the line about "another (Snell) topic", to imply that if there is a Snell requirement with the sanctioning organization . . . and so on.  That's the case with SCTA/BNI and ECTA.

I will yield, however, and hope that you'll forgive me if I didn't think of this before -- that there may well be an avenue to have that rule interpreted to allow a non-Snell-rated helmet to be used at a venue where there is a stated Snell rule, as Guttley mentioned in his post.  You're right in noticing that he didn't state whether he was referring to Bub's, where the Snell rule is not stated, or at one of the events where there is a Snell rule.  If I were inspecting helmets (I inspect at ECTA and SCTA/BNI) and I was approached by an entrant that had a helmet that didn't have the Snell sticker -- but said entrant felt his should be allowed because of another rating that the helmet did qualify for -- then I'd be happy to help him find the chief inspector so he could ply his case directly to a person that has authority to overrule the stated requirement.  I'm not necessarily well-enough versed in Snell vs. ACU vs. any other rating system and don't need to be.  The chief may be so informed -- I just pass the question up the chain of command. 

But -- we're inspecting first of all to do what we can, with the methods we have at our hands, to assist each entrant to be safe,  Second -- I am happy to say that the inspectors with which I've worked all want to let every entrant race -- we don't want to send someone home on a technicality "just because we've got that power".