Some good info on helmets
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html?_r=3
Dexter Ford of The New York Times has written an interesting article on helmet ratings and whether motorcycle riders should choose Snell-rated helmets. 'The certification by Snell, a nonprofit research and testing organization financed by helmet makers, is not mandatory for road use but it is for some racing series, which can lead consumers to assume that a Snell-compliant helmet is safer — an assumption that is not agreed upon by researchers,' says
According to Ford's article, 'Many head-injury scientists, motorcycle-accident researchers and helmet makers say they are concerned that the “premium protection" proffered by current Snell-certified helmets may not be better after all. They argue that current Snell-rated helmets are too rigid and unyielding to properly absorb impact energy in the great majority of motorcycle crashes, subjecting riders to preventable brain injuries.'
'Hugh H. Hurt, a researcher who developed the Head Protection Research Laboratory at the University of Southern California, and author of the Hurt Report, a seminal study of motorcycle crashes, calls the current Snell M2005 standard 'a little bit excessive,' says Ford's article. 'People are wearing these so-called high performance helmets and are getting diffuse brain injuries. Well, they’re screwed up for life. Taking 300 g’s is not a safe thing,' says Hurt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html?_r=3
Dexter Ford of The New York Times has written an interesting article on helmet ratings and whether motorcycle riders should choose Snell-rated helmets. 'The certification by Snell, a nonprofit research and testing organization financed by helmet makers, is not mandatory for road use but it is for some racing series, which can lead consumers to assume that a Snell-compliant helmet is safer — an assumption that is not agreed upon by researchers,' says
According to Ford's article, 'Many head-injury scientists, motorcycle-accident researchers and helmet makers say they are concerned that the “premium protection" proffered by current Snell-certified helmets may not be better after all. They argue that current Snell-rated helmets are too rigid and unyielding to properly absorb impact energy in the great majority of motorcycle crashes, subjecting riders to preventable brain injuries.'
'Hugh H. Hurt, a researcher who developed the Head Protection Research Laboratory at the University of Southern California, and author of the Hurt Report, a seminal study of motorcycle crashes, calls the current Snell M2005 standard 'a little bit excessive,' says Ford's article. 'People are wearing these so-called high performance helmets and are getting diffuse brain injuries. Well, they’re screwed up for life. Taking 300 g’s is not a safe thing,' says Hurt.
