Is this a 'legal' helmet?

[T40ORA]

I've just been lent a helmet for the 'track' day at Bovington next Sunday. It's got a sticker with SNELL SA90 /SA 256015 in it and was manufactured in 1994.

Will this be 'legal' on track days, now and beyond 2010? I'm not sure about the SNELL mark, nor about the life of helmets in general and what the scrutineers look for.

TIA

[changingman]

Irrespective of whether it is "legal" I wouldnt wear any helmet that is 15 years old

Edited by changingman on Monday 1st June 11:36

[T40ORA]

changingman said:

Irrespective of whether it is "legal" I wouldnt wear any helmet that is 15 years old

Edited by changingman on Monday 1st June 11:36

I'm afraid that I'm ignorant of these things; is that because they deteriorate over time, or because they might have been subjected to impacts that weaken them?

[fivesixseven8]

T40ORA said:

changingman said:

Irrespective of whether it is "legal" I wouldnt wear any helmet that is 15 years old

Edited by changingman on Monday 1st June 11:36

I'm afraid that I'm ignorant of these things; is that because they deteriorate over time, or because they might have been subjected to impacts that weaken them?

Both.

[T89 Preparation.]

fivesixseven8 said:

T40ORA said:

changingman said:

Irrespective of whether it is "legal" I wouldnt wear any helmet that is 15 years old

Edited by changingman on Monday 1st June 11:36

I'm afraid that I'm ignorant of these things; is that because they deteriorate over time, or because they might have been subjected to impacts that weaken them?

Both.

Yep, just get yourself a helmet that you know the history of (i.e it's new) and have the piece of mind.

[T40ORA]

I know the history of it; a formulae 3/4 champion, very well respected, never been whcked/crashed.

I would trust the helmet and it's previous driver implicitly, it's just the legal side of things I'm not sure of, or if they generally do deteriorate.

If they do, then it's not for me.

[Steve Evil]

Average life on a motorbike helmet is about 4 years as a guide. I too wouldn't wear one that was 15 years old, unless you're not bothered in the event of an accident whether it works or not.

[T40ORA]

Steve Evil said:

Average life on a motorbike helmet is about 4 years as a guide. I too wouldn't wear one that was 15 years old, unless you're not bothered in the event of an accident whether it works or not.

Oh, I'm bothered! I'll be handing it back then!

[GC8]

Helmets dont go out of date with the MSA, but standards do (as non-fireresistant BS6658-A is doing at the year end). Snell SA2000 is still accepted by the MSA, but the 95 standard lost approval in 2005, I think. What the organisers/venues will think about the lid is impossible to guess, given their ill-thought out insistance on and following of MSA approval.....

[GC8]

SFI 31.1A and SFI 31.2A might still be legal though, if the helmet also carries those stickers/labels?

[T40ORA]

GC8 said:

SFI 31.1A and SFI 31.2A might still be legal though, if the helmet also carries those stickers/labels?

I'll check when I get home later in the week.

It may be OK for me on Sunday, but not after that I would guess.

Looks like getting a 'current' SNELL one will be more expensive than the BS...Type A one.

[changingman]

I'm sorry but I cant see the point even discussing this, DONT wear a 15 year old helmet, they do deteriorate. How much is a helmet? £200 £300 £400? Just buy a new one and keep your head as safe as possible.

[GC8]

They deteriorate with use, they dont simply go off on the shelves.

This makes interesting reading. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/safety/2742897...

[anonymous-user]

OK I’ll start an argument, not living in the EU or the US I can legally ware what ever helmet I want, and I have a selection for town use, weekend and track, I keep the track helmet for exclusive use as the ware point is the strap.
So how exactly does polystyrene deteriorate? That’s what a helmet is, and as far as I know no helmet manufacture makes Polystyrene, or fiber glass, so they buy it from chemical companies. And I do now chemical companies, and I know that separate batches are of chemicals are not made dependent on the customer, so the components of a cheap helmet and an expensive one are the same and probably come from the same source.
Now perhaps there is a difference in thickness and lay up of the material, but it would be minimal, ( ’ll accept that a really expensive carbon one may perform marginally better, and that a very cheap far east helmet that meets no standard will be rubbish) but any safety difference between a 50 pound helmet and a 400 pound one (that meets a recognised safety standard) is in my opinion .so marginal that it can be ignored.
So tell me why my expensive Nolan is any better than the 15 pound Thailand Helmet I also have?, both meet DOT stds
I used to now people who made climbing helmets, a BSI one and a non BSI and interestingly the highest deaths occurred with BSI helmet because while it past all the tests it transfered load to the spinal column.
Accepting that nearly all plastics deteriorate in UV light so they will ware out in time, in practice Helmets wearing out (from a safety point of view) is marketing rubbish. You will need to replace it from the point of comfort and ware to the lining or strap long before it deteriorates from the safety view point.
I’ve just replaced my Nolan after 3 years because the lining is worn out and it is uncomfortable.
Manufactures did argue that you need to replace helmets if they ‘fell of your seat in the petrol station”. Bike or Ride did some test a few years ago on helmets that had been dropped and all still past safety requirement.
I do accept that helmets are worth paying for from a comfort point of view, but (subject to the helmet meeting safety standards) I’ve never seen any argument that convinced me a 50 pound say DOT approved helmet is safer than a 400 pound DOT approved helmet.
I’d also argue from a persona point of view that if I were saved by some possible magical marginal safety advantage arising from an expensive helmet the damage to the rest of me would be so bad that I may have been better snuffing it anyway.

[T40ORA]

Interesting stuff coming on this thread.

I'm not much nearer to knowing what to do yet, but I'm learning lots!

[mattdaniels]

Berw said:

OK I’ll start an argument

OK I'll start a different one. What's all this "legal" nonsense? We're talking about trackdays. When was the last time you did a trackday and your helmet stickers were checked on sign-in?

Edited by mattdaniels on Tuesday 2nd June 11:11

[mr_spock]

Some inconsistent statements in the Telegraph article... how does this:

Telegraph said:

says Brian Walker of Head Protection Evaluation, Britain's principal helmet test lab.

"But a top bike helmet would breeze the Snell test for car racing."

match with this:

Telegraph said:

"The MSA asked if we could accept EU-standard helmets for racing and I said 'No way'. Pretty much all the Snell helmets passed the EU test, but when we put the EU helmets to the Snell test, they were lethal."

Edited by mr_spock on Tuesday 2nd June 11:38

[T40ORA]

mattdaniels said:

Berw said:

OK I’ll start an argument

OK I'll start a different one. What's all this "legal" nonsense? We're talking about trackdays. When was the last time you did a trackday and your helmet stickers were checked on sign-in?

Edited by mattdaniels on Tuesday 2nd June 11:11

But should they be checked at track days? Having only hired them in the past, I assumed that checking should happen but was just a little less stringent than at race meetings.

[rossm]

Never had a helmet checked at a trackday

[T40ORA]

rossm said:

Never had a helmet checked at a trackday

Hmmm. But are they supposed to be? I wonder how I would find out the official line.