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The Snell Foundation
Given
Roethlisberger's recent mishap, I thought safety topic
#2 (not SScratch’s
monkey) should be about helmet education. Not
in terms of whether or not you should wear a helmet…
because I think we will all agree that’s not even
discussable… but in terms of what the Snell sticker on
the back of helmets (not
all helmets) means.
Wikipedia has a write-up, and you can get to it using
this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snell_Memorial_Foundation
Specifically, I found the section on Safety (at
the bottom of the Wikipedia page) quite
interesting:
Helmets that pass
Snell's testing standards provide the currently highest
level of protection available. Snell Standards
significantly surpass those set by the U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT), the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI), the American Society of Testing
Materials (ASTM) and the U.S. Consumer Products Safety
Commission's 16
CFR Part 1203.
Because of technical and research developments, and to
continue to provide the highest degree
of safety to consumers, Snell Standards are updated
about every five years. These updates are based on new
scientific research and available manufacturing
technologies. As such, and in addition to other factors
such as typical use wear and tear, Snell recommends that
helmets be replaced approximately every five years to
ensure good safety.
But, from the article on this page, http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review,
we have the following comment:
But as helmet
technology has improved and accident research has
accumulated, many head-injury experts feel the Snell
M2000 and M2005 standards are, to quote Dr. Harry Hurt
of Hurt Report fame, "a little bit excessive."
Then, in addition to the Snell standard, there’s the
DOT standard, FMVSS 218, the European standard, ECE
22-05, and the BSI 6658 Type A standard from Britain.
If you are interested, the following link will take you
to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218
(Motorcycle helmets): http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/fmvss218.htm
Be Safe! |
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