DRAFT Snell / FIA CM2007 Child Motorsports Helmet Standard for Protective Headgear
Table of Contents
DRAFT STANDARD FOR PROTECTIVE
HEADGEAR
For Use in Children’s Motor Sports Activities
In motor sports accident, participants may suffer injury or death. Helmets on the market today offer varying degrees of protection, but the consumer has little basis for judging the relative effectiveness of a given model. This Standard presents rational methods for identifying those helmet models which definitely meet specified standards for impact (crash) protection and retention system strength and, afterwards, identifying those which definitely have ceased to meet these standards.
The Snell Memorial Foundation
and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) urge that protective
helmets be required for all individuals participating in supervised racing
events and encourage the general public to wear helmets which meet appropriate
performance standards1. To this end, the Snell
Memorial Foundation and the FIA jointly announce this Standard for children’s
motor sports helmets and will share the responsibility for a program of
certification to this Standard.
This Standard does
not establish construction and material specifications.
This Standard
establishes performance characteristics suitable for children’s use in motor
sports involving motorcycles, power boats, karting, all-terrain vehicles and
snowmobiles. Manufacturers voluntarily
submit helmets to be tested to this Standard and if the submitted helmets pass,
a certification is issued.
The Snell Memorial Foundation
and the FIA will make available the identity of those products which have been
certified. These products are for both
competition and general use for the age categories and activities specified.
All of the requirements
described herein, including both initial certification and random sample
testing, are an integral part of this Standard.
No helmet can satisfy the Standard unless it is subject to both
certification and random sample testing.
Snell/FIA certification
for protective headgear requires a specific contractual agreement between the
primary headgear manufacturer and the Foundation. Certification procedures may be obtained upon
application to the Foundation.
SNELL MEMORIAL
FOUNDATION and FIA are registered certification marks. CMH (Children’s Motor Sports Helmet)
is a certification mark jointly held by the Snell Memorial Foundation and the
FIA.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATION
For qualification testing, helmets shall be in the same condition as those offered for sale. No helmet or component which has been subjected to any tests described in this Standard shall be offered for sale after testing. A total of five (5) complete helmets must be submitted by the manufacturer for a certification test program for each distinct structural configuration of the models offered for sale. Four of these samples will be destroyed in testing, the fifth shall be retained for comparison and reference.
Cosmetic changes to certified headgear are permissible. Such changes are generally limited to marking or trimming the headgear with manufacturer approved paint or tape. Otherwise, modifications to certified headgear effectively create new configurations which shall not have the confidence and certification of Snell/FIA until properly evaluated. Manufacturers must not place the Snell/FIA certification label in any modified headgear without express written authorization.
The Snell Memorial Foundation and FIA strongly recommend that helmet owners not modify or contract someone else to modify their helmets. Any structural modification may adversely affect a helmet's protective capability. The Snell/FIA certification and, quite likely, all manufacturer warranties apply to the headgear only in its “as manufactured” condition.
In addition to the certification testing, the Snell/FIA program will routinely obtain and test samples of previously certified models. These samples will be selected from among those stocks intended for retail sale to consumers. In this manner, the program will attempt to ensure that the helmets made available to the public continue to meet the performance requirements of this Standard.
In cases in which helmets are provided directly to users and do not pass through a normal sales distribution system, the program will set up alternative procedures to monitor certified products. Specifically, if helmets are provided directly to teams or individuals for use in events, the program must have access to the helmets for spot checking and non-destructive evaluation.
The assembled helmet shall have smooth external and internal surfaces. Any feature projecting more than 7 mm beyond the outer surface must readily break away; all other projections on the outer surface shall be smoothly faired and offer minimal frictional resistance to tangential impact forces. Rivets and similar projections into the helmet interior must offer no laceration or puncture hazard. Restraint clips may be used at the rear or on the side of the helmet.
If the absence of any detachable component of the helmet does not prevent its being worn, then this absence must not compromise either the retention system or the impact protection. If any part of the helmet detaches during testing, it must offer no laceration or puncture hazard nor reduce the coverage of the head.
If the manufacturer provides add-ons such as visors, face shields and neck curtains with the helmet, these add-ons must neither lessen the protective capability of the basic helmet nor create a direct hazard for the wearer.
If rivets are used, the
heads shall not have sharp edges and shall not project more than 2 mm from the
outer or inner surfaces of the helmet shell.
Materials used in the
manufacture of the helmet should be of durable quality and not be harmed by
exposure to sun, rain, dust, vibration, sweat or products applied to the skin
or hair. Similarly, the materials should
not degrade due to temperature extremes likely to be encountered in routine
storage or transportation.
Materials
which are known to cause skin irritation or are conducive to disease shall not
be used for the parts which contact the skin.
Materials that support the growth of fungi or algae shall not be used.
All edges of the helmet shall be smoothed and rounded with no metallic parts or other rigid projections on the inside of the shell that might injure the wearer's head in the event of impact.
The retention system
shall be designed so as to discourage misuse.
That is, of all the ways in which the retention system might be used,
the design use shall be the simplest and quickest to implement. Helmets shall not be fitted with
"non-essential" features which, if misused, can degrade the
performance. Quick release buckles, if used,
shall not be able to be released inadvertently.
Fabric chin straps, if
used, shall not be secured to the shell by a bolt, pin or rivet passing through
the fabric itself. Although other
alternatives may be proposed, the preferred method of attachment is that the
strap be looped through and sewn about a metal hanger which can then be secured
to the shell by bolt, rivet or other appropriate means.
The helmet shall
provide peripheral visual clearance as measured using a reference head form
appropriate to the size of the helmet.
This peripheral vision includes a horizontal clearance of at least 210°,
an upward clearance of at least 7° and a downward clearance of at least 30°. However, this downward clearance makes
specific allowance for breath deflectors.
These clearances are described in terms of planes fixed in the reference
head forms.
Some competitive four-wheeled
applications may permit helmets with more restricted visual fields. For such helmets, a second set of peripheral
vision requirements is specified. The minimum
horizontal, upward and downward requirements for this more restricted field are
180°, 5° and 20° respectively. Helmets
satisfying this visual field requirement but not the broader visual field
specified generally are also subject to additional labeling requirements
warning that the headgear is considered appropriate only for certain uses.
Permissible helmet weights depend on the smallest head circumference for which the helmet is intended. The following table lists helmet weight limits for helmets configured without face shields. If the helmet is configured with a face shield, the limit shall be 100 grams greater.
|
Smallest size not less than |
Smallest size less than |
Maximum weight (no face shield) |
Maximum weight (face shield) |
|
- |
50 cm |
1000 grams |
1100 grams |
|
50 cm |
52 cm |
1050 grams |
1150 grams |
|
52 cm |
54 cm |
1100 grams |
1200 grams |
|
54 cm |
57 cm |
1150 grams |
1250 grams |
|
57 cm |
60 cm |
1200 grams |
1300 grams |
|
60 cm |
- |
1250 grams |
1350 grams |
Headgear shall be weighed in the most massive configuration possible with accompanying helmet paraphernalia.
Each helmet shall have durable, visible and legible labeling identifying the manufacturer, the month and year of manufacture, the model and the size. Labeling shall be uncoded and either in English or a language common to the area where the helmets are to be distributed. The headgear shall also be labeled to the following effect:
1. No helmet can protect the wearer against all foreseeable impacts. However, for maximum protection, the helmet must be of good fit and the retention system must be securely fastened to retain the helmet. The helmet, when fitted and fastened, shall not be removed easily.
2. This helmet is so constructed that the energy of an impact may be absorbed through its partial destruction, though damage may not be visible. If it suffers an impact, it must either be returned to the manufacturer for inspection or be destroyed and replaced.
3. The smallest and largest head circumferences for which the helmet is appropriate in centimeters.
4. If the helmet does not satisfy the broader visual field requirements set for general use the helmet must be labeled to the following effect: “RESTRICTED VISUAL FIELD – MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR SOME ACTIVITIES”
If any of the helmet components are sensitive to common solvents, adhesives, paints or cleansers; the helmet must also bear labels to the following effect:
“This helmet can be seriously damaged by some common substances without visible damage. Apply only the following: (Recommended cleaning agents, paints, adhesives and the like) as appropriate.”
If the helmet model was certified according to a special addendum to this standard, each helmet shall also include the warning labels required by that addendum.
Each helmet shall also include one of two Snell/FIA serialized CMH certification labels. Helmets meeting only the narrower visual field requirement must include the special Snell/FIA label signifying that the helmet is intended only for certain activities. Helmets meeting the broader visual field requirements may include either of the two labels. This certification label shall be placed either inside or on the outside of the helmet, as appropriate, in such a way that it cannot be removed intact.
The registered trademark (certification label) of the Snell Memorial Foundation, FIA, and the joint Snell/FIA mark may be used by the manufacturer only under license. The specifics of licensure may be obtained from the Snell Memorial Foundation.
MARKING AND LABELING OF
CRITICAL COMPONENTS
If a helmet component may reasonably be replaced with an inappropriate substitute that might degrade wearer safety and performance in any of the tests called out in this standard, the manufacturer must mark those components so that users may avoid the purchase and use of inappropriate replacement parts. In particular, face shields on full face helmets must be marked to identify the manufacturer and the month and year of manufacture.
This
standard invokes six standard head forms for helmet inspection, marking and
testing. The geometry of these head forms
is according to the definitions for the ‘A’, ‘C’, ‘E’, ‘J’, ‘M’, and ‘O’ head
forms described in International Standards Organization (ISO) Draft Standard
ISO DIS 6220-1983. The impact mass
specifications for the impact test phase are comparable to those in ECE 22-05
for these same head form designations.
ISO DIS 6220-1983
includes descriptions for half head forms suitable for guided fall impact
testing or for full head forms such as those used in the positional stability
tests. Figures 1 and 2 depict the
general shapes of the half head form configuration. The following table lists useful dimensions
from the two references given above.
|
Head Form |
Circumference |
Mass |
Crown to Basic Plane |
Basic to Reference Plane |
|
A |
50 cm |
3.100 kg ± 100 g |
113.5 mm |
24.0 mm |
|
C |
52 cm |
3.600 kg ± 100 g |
118.0 mm |
25.0 mm |
|
E |
54 cm |
4.100 kg ± 100 g |
122.0 mm |
26.0 mm |
|
J |
57 cm |
4.700 kg ± 100 g |
130.0 mm |
27.5 mm |
|
M |
60 cm |
5.600 kg ± 100 g |
136.0 mm |
29.0 mm |
|
O |
62 cm |
6.100 kg ± 100 g |
140.0 mm |
30.0 mm |
The extent of protection corresponds to that region of the
head for which protection is sought.
There are a number of
planes fixed in the geometry of these head forms as shown in Figure 1. This description of the extent of protection
uses the ISO definitions of the basic plane, the longitudinal plane, the
transverse plane and the reference plane.
Other planes have also been defined strictly for convenience and
clarity.
The basic plane
corresponds to the anatomical plane (
These planes are all
well known entities. Several other
planes, however, have proven useful. The
S0 plane is parallel to the basic plane and lies above it at a
distance determined by the size of the head form. The S3 plane is parallel to the S0
plane and the basic plane and lies between them. The S4 plane is also parallel to
these planes and lies below the basic plane.
The rear plane divides
the rear third of the head from the front two thirds. It is parallel to the transverse plane and
lies at a given distance behind the point where the reference plane and
longitudinal planes intersect with the front surface of the head form. The distance from this point, hereafter
called the reference point, is determined by the size of the head form. The fore plane is also parallel to the
transverse plane. It lies behind the
reference point at a distance determined by the size of the head form.
The extent of protection provided by the helmet must include the entire region above the S0 plane and forward of the fore plane, the entire region above the S3 plane and between the fore and rear planes and the entire region above the S4 plane and behind the rear plane. Figure 2 and the associated table lay out these additional defined features and show the extent of protection and the test line.
|
Head form
|
Parameters |
||||
|
Designation |
a |
b |
c |
d |
e |
|
ISO A |
39.0 mm |
128.6 mm |
26.1 mm |
46.8 mm |
52.2 mm |
|
ISO C |
40.6 mm |
133.8 mm |
27.2 mm |
48.4 mm |
54.3 mm |