Folks is anyone out there up to speed on the helmets rating systems. Snell was the higher end standard at one time but now I am seeing this ECE rating. What gives?
Clear as mud!!
Clear as mud!!
Helmets DOT vs ECE 22.05 vs Snell
- Thread starter FieSTa45
- Start date
There's some good info about helmets on webbikeworld.com
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
ECE is the United Nations' Economic Commission for Europe, which was set up in the late 1940s to promote economic integration among European countries. The U.S. and Canada are members, and the Commission has a branch that sets up automotive standards like headlight bulbs and motorcycle helmets. ECE 22.05 is their standard for helmet performance and is required by 50 or so countries the same way the U.S. requires FMVSS 218 (DOT) to be street-legal.
Every helmet sold in the U.S. has to meet DOT; Snell and ECE are entirely optional. Some meet just DOT, others add Snell or ECE and some pass all three. ECE and Snell are more stringent than DOT, but to classify one as "higher-end" than the other doesn't make a lot of sense. The two standards are different and there will be endless debate about which one's "right."
Personally, I figure both standards have their problems and that any helmet you're wearing is going to be a compromise that won't be the right thing for every possible impact. Hurt found that DOT is stringent enough to cover 90% of real-world impacts, so wearing a helmet at all already puts you way ahead of the game.
--Mark
Every helmet sold in the U.S. has to meet DOT; Snell and ECE are entirely optional. Some meet just DOT, others add Snell or ECE and some pass all three. ECE and Snell are more stringent than DOT, but to classify one as "higher-end" than the other doesn't make a lot of sense. The two standards are different and there will be endless debate about which one's "right."
Personally, I figure both standards have their problems and that any helmet you're wearing is going to be a compromise that won't be the right thing for every possible impact. Hurt found that DOT is stringent enough to cover 90% of real-world impacts, so wearing a helmet at all already puts you way ahead of the game.
--Mark
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
(This was continued in a PM, but I thought I'd post a copy here for the benefit of those who are interested.)
Shoei, Arai, HJC, Bell, Scorpion, KBC and probably a few others offer Snell-certified helmets, so there should be a bunch to choose from in all sorts of price ranges. I've been wearing nothing but Shoeis for the last 14 years because they fit me well, are comfortable and have a set of features I like. (The yellow helmet in my Avatar is a Shoei RF-1000, which was a DOT/M2000 model. I'm currently wearing a white Qwest, which is a DOT/M2010 model.)
By the way, Snell has multiple standards, so the one the SCCA requires is probably the SA series. I haven't read that standard, but I'd imagine it's different than what's required for motorcycle helmets.
ECE isn't new; it's been around at least as long as the Snell M series of standards, the first of which appeared in 1985. You didn't see ECE helmets in the U.S. until recently because the two standards were incompatible and manufacturers had to have separate models to satisfy the different requirements. I'm guessing they stuck with Snell for the U.S. models because that's what they'd been doing, and maybe somebody in marketing figured that a certification from an outfit based here would appeal to more red-blooded, flag-waving Americans than something from Europe.
I'm not wading into the Snell/ECE controversy other than to say that both are much more stringent than DOT. Snell's adjustments in M2010 made it compatible with ECE, so I figure you'll probably start seeing helmets that sport both in the next few years. I doubt (m)any of the half helmets that legitimately pass DOT would (or even could) pass Snell or ECE, so that right there should tell you something about whether spending the extra dollars on something that goes beyond DOT is worthwhile. I find that the big manufacturers' mid-range ($300-400 bracket) helmets tend to be better thought out in non-safety-related aspects, which is why I buy them.
Anyway, here are links to all three of the current standards:
--Mark
Fiesta45 said:
Shoei, Arai, HJC, Bell, Scorpion, KBC and probably a few others offer Snell-certified helmets, so there should be a bunch to choose from in all sorts of price ranges. I've been wearing nothing but Shoeis for the last 14 years because they fit me well, are comfortable and have a set of features I like. (The yellow helmet in my Avatar is a Shoei RF-1000, which was a DOT/M2000 model. I'm currently wearing a white Qwest, which is a DOT/M2010 model.)
By the way, Snell has multiple standards, so the one the SCCA requires is probably the SA series. I haven't read that standard, but I'd imagine it's different than what's required for motorcycle helmets.
ECE isn't new; it's been around at least as long as the Snell M series of standards, the first of which appeared in 1985. You didn't see ECE helmets in the U.S. until recently because the two standards were incompatible and manufacturers had to have separate models to satisfy the different requirements. I'm guessing they stuck with Snell for the U.S. models because that's what they'd been doing, and maybe somebody in marketing figured that a certification from an outfit based here would appeal to more red-blooded, flag-waving Americans than something from Europe.
I'm not wading into the Snell/ECE controversy other than to say that both are much more stringent than DOT. Snell's adjustments in M2010 made it compatible with ECE, so I figure you'll probably start seeing helmets that sport both in the next few years. I doubt (m)any of the half helmets that legitimately pass DOT would (or even could) pass Snell or ECE, so that right there should tell you something about whether spending the extra dollars on something that goes beyond DOT is worthwhile. I find that the big manufacturers' mid-range ($300-400 bracket) helmets tend to be better thought out in non-safety-related aspects, which is why I buy them.
Anyway, here are links to all three of the current standards:
- U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218
- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 22
- Snell Memorial Foundation M2010
--Mark