Helmet Certifications/Helmet Rule

[modsquad]

Not to open another can of worms, but how long our life jackets good for? when do they have to be recertified?

[Racerkyle20]

I can tell you that the APBA BOD did not make SNELL 2005 illegal, we simply enforced what was in the rule book already. The APBA safety committee in 2016 put an expiration date for SNELL 2005 helmets as 12/31/18. That date has been in the rule book for several years now. All the APBA BOD was enforce what was in the books. As far as SNELL 2010 and 2015 helmets those expiration dates will be up to the safety committee to determine, but 14 years has been the standard time-frame from manufacture year.

Kyle Bahl
APBA BOD member

[jsilvestri]

Thanks for the clarification.

Any idea when the safety committee will determine the actual time frame for the obsolete dates of the 2010 and 2015? I just don't understand how we can have a rule without being able to enforce it, hence the obsolete dates.

[Racerkyle20]

Nope. My guess would be the next National meeting, which is in Seattle next January.

[dholt]

What about those of us that just shelled out several hundred dollars for a BRAND NEW helmet made in 2019 but has a 2015 Snell sticker. Have I already lost 4 years of use out of it because the new sticker is coming out next year? That's complete crap. The helmet is not physically 4 years old...but in the sticker/safety issue...APBA is saying it is.
That's BS.

[opie see]

Based on what was written earlier on this thread by a member of the APBA Board...the fourteen year rule is the guide line to use.
On that basis your Snell 2015 helmet should be good until 2029. Not worth complaining about.
A Snell 2010 rated helmet would be good until 2024.
Understand that a Snell rating has little to do with the age of the helmet or the year in which it was made. It has everything to do with those Snell testing standards that were established and put in place on that year. Those become the standards to be met by the manufacturers until a new rating comes along.
Based on recent history, that would be on five-year intervals..
APBA has arbitrarily said that helmets that meet Snell ratings in place and identified in the helmet as
2010 Snell rated are still OK.
Which is fair because someone could have bought a helmet with a Snell 2010 rating n 2015 (or later) ...and it will still be OK in 2024.
Personally, I believe the useful life of a helmet in boat racing is less than 10 years. The degradation of the fiberglass (or carbon, or Kevlar, etc.) shell over time is not as much an issue as is as the weakening of nylon strapping, the loss of resiliency of the helmet liner's "padding", etc.
Race boat helmets get wet from perspiration, immersed in all kinds of water, left to dry in the sun, put on a shelf in unheated garages for winter months .. they are treated to some cruel and unusual punishment.
To me, regardless of the date of the Snell tag, a ten year old helmet has served its useful life.
But that's just me. Everybody has their own aversion to risk or injury, Act accordingly.

[Racerkyle20]

Opie See your assumption is probably correct on on the SNELL 2015 helmets. But we won't know until the safety committee has an expiration date. You're also correct that a 10 year old helmet has probably served it's purpose.

Bob Wartinger will give you the same explanation you gave on boat racers and their helmets as well.

[jsilvestri]

Valid points Opie see! I believe the frustration comes from the rule being incomplete. Put a formula or chart in with the rule then everyone knows how to proceed. At this point no one knows how the decisions are being made in regards to obsoleting helmets.

[jsilvestri]

I've been told the safety committee is being asked to look at this. Thank you to those looking into this issue.

Kyle, you mean to tell me that in 2019 the safety committee can't have a teleconference or something similar to discuss this? That seems illogical.

[ricochet112]

If APBA is so concerned about helmet safety, there should only be 1 color that's legal, orange, and 100% orange with ho other graphics at all.

[modsquad]

If APBA is so concerned about helmet safety, there should only be 1 color that's legal, orange, and 100% orange with ho other graphics at all.

It's funny when you think about it....same color helmets as the turn buoys!!

[Brian10s]

Easy now - you start picking exact colors, you will eliminate half of the available helmet selection, most of which are the more reasonable priced units. With Helmets now needing to be replaced every 12 yrs, the last thing we need to do is restrict selection to only the higher end helmets.

[Matt Dagostino]

Easy now - you start picking exact colors, you will eliminate half of the available helmet selection, most of which are the more reasonable priced units. With Helmets now needing to be replaced every 12 yrs, the last thing we need to do is restrict selection to only the higher end helmets.

Brian.....isn't that where spray paint comes in handy? In the day we always painted our helmets solid orange as it is the best color to see when in the water. I agree all helmets should be solid orange. To bad APBA allowed all different colors nowadays.........

[jsilvestri]

Matt, no reason a person should spent $400-$500 dollars on a helmet and then have to spray paint it. Im all for safety but also logic. There was a study done a few years ago on color of helmets best seen in the water, which is how we ended up with various colors being acceptable.

Let's keep this thread on track! Certifications for helmets. The 2005's are out per the old rules in the rule book, I don't agree with it, but fine. There was a rule in place that I wasn't aware of. Moving forward, let's get obsoletion dates for currently legal helmets so those of us that need to buy a helmet have some guide lines. Telling someone to buy the newer legal certification is not a guide line. Just as, telling someone that the safety committee's past history says that they outlaw a helmet roughly every 14 years, is not a guide line. Set up perimeters, a chart, a formula, something moving forward. Get it passed now, publish it and let's move on!

[ricochet112]

It's funny when you think about it....same color helmets as the turn buoys!!

That's the point, you don't hit anything orange in the water.
Possible second color would be yellow. All the different shades, plus green being allowed now is illogical.
It should be about safety, not money or convenience

[jsilvestri]

I believe the data said green was the best color, not orange. So don’t hang your hat on an orange can of spray paint. Again, I’m all for safety but also logical solutions.

[deeougee]

Rules need to match manufacturers change to a new snell rating. So for instance manufacturers don’t supply Snell 2015 helmets until 2015. Why would APBA rules not reflect when the manufacturers make the change? Or better yet why not say 10, 15 years from the manufacture date of the helmet? Reason why this would make more sense is because the helmets we use are not developed specifically for boat racing. There’s no data to support a Snell 2015 rated helmet is any better than a Snell 2005 for water sports considering that most of the helmets we use are rated for motorcycles and the testing of the helmet reflects that. As we are outboard boat racers when it comes to helmet fit you have to be mindful of helmet drag, so if you are looking for the tightest fit possible we may be compromising the helmet’s ability to absorb impact because the inner helmet material is compressed too much.