Is Snell really better?

[Das Borgen]

I can understand the thinking that Snell is better for one's safety until you examine the standards between Snell, DOT and ECE 22-05

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Dexter Ford who wrote that article got fired from Motorcyclist for writing that article for NYT because advertisers got pissed

Wes Siler wrote for Hell For Leather the story

http://jalopnik.com/5582380/how-the-truth-about-motorcycle-helmets-got-a-journalist-fired

God Bless Capitalism for making a guy lose his job over investigative reporting which seems to be fairly exhaustive and well researched

I leave you now with an excerpt

James A. Newman, a former director of the Snell Memorial Foundation, considers the Snell tests obsolete. “If you want to create a realistic helmet standard, you don’t go bashing helmets onto hemispherical steel balls. And you certainly don’t do it twice,” he said.

Mr. Newman has estimated an impact of 200 to 250 g’s to the head corresponds to a severe brain injury, that a 250 to 300g impact corresponds to a critical injury, and that a hit over 300 g’s is often not survivable.

“Over the last 30 years,” Mr. Newman said, “we’ve come to the realization that people falling off motorcycles hardly ever, ever hit their head in the same place twice. So we have helmets that are designed to withstand two hits at the same site. But in doing so, we have severely, severely compromised their ability to take one hit and absorb energy properly.”

and even better

In one comprehensive study of real-world impact performance based on research done for Motorcyclist Magazine, presented by Mr. Thom to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, a $79.95 helmet certified to Transportation Department standards performed the best of the 32 tested, withstanding the most violent hits while transmitting as much as 67 g’s less impact force to the headform than a $400 Snell-certified helmet.

The M2010 Snell standard will drop its maximum allowable g’s from 300 to 275. It will also adopt graduated-weight headforms.

food 4 thought

[Disclaimer]

Ece 22-05, ftw.

[Das Borgen]

read through the who;e jalopnik article

it was originally written by Wes Siler for HellForLeather (Wes used to be on Jalopnik, always been my favorite reporter on there, even when he moved completely to HellForLeather)

I ll have to do more digging around but I m ready to retire my Snell M2005 to uniquely car driving events.......... Screw Arai and Shoei for their blatant disregard for ethics over profit in getting Mr Ford fired over good work

agreed on ECE22-05

[Disclaimer]

Yea, I'm aware of Mr. Siler's backstory w/ Jalop and his own site. I've got Jalop and HellForLeather on my RSS feeds (along w/ ORDN and Digg)

He seems like a good guy. I read Jalop because a couple kids I went to college with are writers on there.

[jporter12]

Snell better than DOT? Maybe not better, but at least as good. It's also good to know that they are regularly, INDEPENDANTLY certified. From what I understand, DOT helmets can be sold without the DOT ever testing one, and then if they fail, they have to be recalled. If the tests were 100% the same, I woudl still want a helmet that is tested more often. Snell requires one of out a certain number (1000 I think) to be sent to them for testing.

[Cheech]

Snell better than DOT? Maybe not better, but at least as good. It's also good to know that they are regularly, INDEPENDANTLY certified. From what I understand, DOT helmets can be sold without the DOT ever testing one, and then if they fail, they have to be recalled. If the tests were 100% the same, I woudl still want a helmet that is tested more often. Snell requires one of out a certain number (1000 I think) to be sent to them for testing.

This is all well and good, provided the test simulate real-world scenarios. Getting nailed by a hemispherical ball twice in the exact same spot isn't a real-world scenario.

[Steve Butters]

dont care what the article says, ill take my shoei over an entry level DOT helmet any time! the fit, finish, quality, comfort, ventilation, aerodynamics, everything....its all better than cheap helmets....switching from my entry level hjc to my rf1100 was great!

[chachi1189]

dont care what the article says, ill take my shoei over an entry level DOT helmet any time! the fit, finish, quality, comfort, ventilation, aerodynamics, everything....its all better than cheap helmets....switching from my entry level hjc to my rf1100 was great!

gotta love the look and feel of a good helmet!

until your head gets bashed in

[Disclaimer]

The asphalt, guardrail, or vehicle you smash your face into don't care about your shoei.

[Das Borgen]

dont care what the article says, ill take my shoei over an entry level DOT helmet any time! the fit, finish, quality, comfort, ventilation, aerodynamics, everything....its all better than cheap helmets....switching from my entry level hjc to my rf1100 was great!

but is it REALLY any safer

safety is not really that easy to measure but in the corporate cog of capitalism, it s easy to make people people than snell really is better (at least m2005...i ll have to wait for m2010)

[Steve Butters]

oh damn....shoulda spent $29.99 and got myself a safe helmet instead of the death cage i wear on my head now

oh, and mines snell M2010, not M2005

it also has 2 layers of EPS foam, and was designed with ECE22.05 in mind (hence the m2010 new standards)

so yes...ill take the snell approved helmet over a DOT helmet that has never even been tested..... my helmet meets dot, snell, and ece standards - ill take that over a DOT vega helmet....you know the saying: DOT: Dropped Off Table - if it doesnt get ruined, its good enough!

Edited July 9, 2010 by Steve Butters