Helmet Standards

[laidback]

SECTION 4 - ANDRA GENERAL REGULATIONS 2009 - These are the latest I could find so may not reflect 2010 regs.

4.10.8 Helmets
The wearing of a protective helmet is compulsory for all competitors at all times during racing, eliminations, time trials or
practices. Each helmet must comply with the relevant standard for the level of competition. All helmets covered by the relevant
ANDRA accepted standards will be accepted for 12 years from date of manufacture, or 12 years from the Standard date for
helmets produced without a date of manufacture. Helmet must remain as manufactured, except for paint scheme/graphics.
Reducing peripheral vision of helmet in any way is prohibited. Shield, if used must remain as manufactured, may be clear or
tinted. Cutting of shield, or reducing its transparency, prohibited. Tape, tinting film, paint, decals, etc. prohibited except for a
horizontal band at top of the shield, 1-inch tall maximum.....

* All Group One Motorcycles: SNELL M2000, M2005, SFI 41.2A (or later) SNELL SA2000, SA2005, SFI 31.2A (or
later) full face helmet required

* All other sedans slower than 8.99 seconds (1/4 mile) / 5.70 seconds (1/8 mile) and drivers or riders of vehicles
not previously covered must use a full face helmet meeting one of the following standards. This also includes
all other vehicles slower than 10.99 seconds (1/4 mile) / 7.00 (1/8 mile) who are permitted to use any helmet
meeting one of the following standards:
SNELL SA2000, SA2005, SFI 31.2A (US)
SNELL M2000, M2005, SFI 41.2A (US)
BS 6658-1985
AS/NZS 1698:2006 (AS/NZS 1698)

So it would seem that any helmet with just AS 1698 would not be acceptable.

HTH...

[Takamii]

ZX Robyn -- as a helmet manufacturer I can help you with your issues with police or any scrutineers

Do you mean Importer?....

yes champ I am an importer - however legally I am defined as the manufacturer by the Australian Federal Government and the ACCC and because of this and doing all the certification insurances etc I had to use this terminology so it sort of stuck

[Takamii]

FWIW Just remember that motor sport organisations do not *have* to use same standard as that applicable to road use. They are free to stipulate what standard is required for competitions they control (if not on public roads).

Best to read their regulations to see what they require.

yes this is also very true

I have heard ( meaning hearsay) but can not prove and do not personally claim or believe the following due to lack of concrete evidence meaning at this stage its just a rumor that andra and sai are friendly so if the helmet is certified by sai its okay but anyone else its not okay - but this may be more a case of ignorance by the scrutineers again more than anything else

[ZXRobyn]

Well, here are their standards . . . and from what the scrutineer told me last week; to them, it was all about what the RTA deemed as legal/roadworthy.
Well, I have printed the RTA info from the link that MotoLegion provided and I'll post up after Wed next week, and let you know whether I was allowed to use my Shark helmet, or whether I had to, yet again, borrow one.

[Disco]

ZX Robyn -- as a helmet manufacturer I can help you with your issues with police or any scrutineers

Do you mean Importer?....

yes champ I am an importer - however legally I am defined as the manufacturer by the Australian Federal Government and the ACCC and because of this and doing all the certification insurances etc I had to use this terminology so it sort of stuck

Was just curiouse cause there is a big difference between manufacturing to getting something out of asia that is sold to other importer's under a different label....But you've clarified the situation now

Have a nice day Champ

[Takamii]

Was just curiouse cause there is a big difference between manufacturing to getting something out of asia that is sold to other importer's under a different label....But you've clarified the situation now

Have a nice day Champ

No problem Disco

the difference between the importers is there are those that just go through the motions and get the approvals and there are those ( I like to consider myself one ) that get right into the engineering and technical aspects of it so as to ensure a very deep and wide knowledge base of the product the standards the manufacturing process and the legal aspects

wether you have a shark shoei or which ever lid you choose -- just dont like seeing things happen such as has occurred with ZX Robyn who was doing everything by the book and was knocked back due to someone not knowing the latest regulations -- in my small way I just want to add to peoples understanding and education

[Takamii]

Robyn -- Check your label it will only say AS1698 I believe not AS1698-2006 --- TUV advised me during my certification process to remove reference to the 2006 and just put AS1698

this is what is causing the scrutineers to knock you back

however you have an ace up your sleeve -- show them the manufacture date on the lable inside the helmet - anything manufactured after 2006 complies with AS1698-2006 ( the 2006 just signifies the update to the standard )

I am going to send that andra paperwork to TUV and see if I can get them to contact andra and educate them on this issue

[Takamii]

Okay I sent the info and scenario to my person at TUV and will advise in due course

[MickLC]

I just looked at my HJC with the SAI label on it and it has "AS/NZS 1698" on it, so given the ANDRA document above says that's OK but "AS 1698" isn't, I'm guessing that's the distinction they are attempting to make. Sounds to me like the scrutineer hasn't updated themselves with the other certification authorities.

[IanH]

I am involved in an industry that also requires adherence to a local standard (AS/NZS) and we also have products tested by the RTA (the same section that tests helmets). We have also had similar problems to those being experienced here and I have tried to clear things up a little with the information below... I am not saying that I am an expert on this but it may help a little bit… Stay with me here…

• The manufacturing and testing standard is written by an independent organisation who has an operating agreement with the Commonwealth Government to prepare and publish Standards.
• SAI Global (the "tick tower" symbol) is but one of many organisations who have been approved by a separate company, JAS-ANZ or perhaps even NATA, to conduct tests to some standards. JAS-ANZ is a global company which provides business such SAI Global/RTA with an "accreditation to test" authority allowing them to be recognised to conduct tests to the relevant standards.
• This same "accreditation to test" can be achieved and conducted by many other businesses apart from SAI Global such as Benchmark, BSI Globalmark, Burea Veritas and many others after which they will place their symbol or mark and state the relevant standard to which the test has been carried out.
• Therefore, when someone looks at your helmet and instructs that without the SAI-Global mark (the "ticktower") it is non-compliant, they are probably incorrect. The key is to ensure that the symbol/mark shown on the helmet is from a company actually approved to test to the standard. A list of these companies should be available from Standards Australia.
• The attachment above from Robyn shows that ANDRA have recognised a list of standards to which helmets MUST be tested and nominated other standards that are NOT accepted... They have NOT dictated which testing authority (such as the RTA) the helmets are to be tested by nor the labels (such as SAI Global) that must be shown on the helmet.
• Again, this certification label could be attached by a range of other test authorities approved by JAS-ANZ or NATA and this is what some scrutineering /policing types probably need to understand.
• The key here is to understand which test authorities are approved so that they can be correctly informed. I have spent a some time trying to obtain a list of these test authorities and it is proving harder than I expected but I will persevere.

This is a general overview of the situation and hopefully correct in its essence... I would suggest that a some further investigation is done before we can all be 100% sure... I hope it helps in some way

The issue regarding the acceptance of AS1698 vs. AS/NZS1698 will depend upon just how large the change to manufacturing and testing requirements is between the two. I know that with some other products, those complying to the older standards remain accepted until such time that they are unfit for use or surpass their product life which ANDRA states as being 12 years. This also may need some clarification…

IanH

[ZXRobyn]

thanX Ian

Ok, I've spoken with ANDRA this morning and have a contact person whom I will be emailing some information to, including a picture of MY helmet sticker. I will also provide him with RTA links etc.
He is at the track on Wednesday nights, and was unaware of what the scrutineer had been telling people, like myself.

I will introduce myself to him next week. He was very interested and will have some answers for me, before next weeks StreetMeet !!

Again, will keep you all posted with my progress!!

[Bogan]

Where's the thread with your times Rob? Or haven't they let you run yet???

[Takamii]

If ANDRA chooses to not accept any helmet certified to AS/NZS 1698 by any other company other than SAI it could open itself for a few problems and some discredit as a organisational body

on a bright note my carbon fibre helmets received full accreditation today - 100 % legal in Australia road and race track

I also second what Ian H has advised

[Ricko]

Hi guys

I am posting here because there seems to be a few people in the industry here. So my situation is that I have a lovely Shoei RF-1100 that I brought back from the States. I lived there for a bit and bought the helm before I returned to Oz. I have now come to learn that there is a considerable amount of red tape surrounding safety standards etc.

I have come across the link below that states that a helmet needs to have one of the Oz stickers on it to be legal.

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/mo ... lmets.html

Does this mean that a Shoei helmet (arguably one of the best helmet manufacturers out there) will not be legal on Australian roads because it lacks the stickers? It is both DOT and SNELL "certified" as it was purchased in the US.

Please give me the good news, as I would be gutted to have to buy another helmet because this one does not have the correct sticker...

I use the helm on both the road and the track if that makes a difference...

Cheers
Rich

[IanH]

Rich,
I dont want to be the bearer of bad news but unless your helmet carries one of the standards mark as shown on the RTA web link, it would probably be deemed unfit for use on our roads (tracks I dont know). The sad thing is that your helmet probably comes from the same factory, design and maybe even manufacturing batch as those approved for use locally but becasue the labels are applied either by Shoei for the local orders or maybe even applied by the importer upon arrival, yours will not be. You could go down the path of contacting Shoei with the serial number from your helmet and ask if it is of the same design as those locally approved and ask for a "Certificate of Conformity". You could then take this to the RTA and ask for some kind of approval for use... This I think would be a long shot.
IanH