Helmets and certification.

[Whickle]

I have been looking at helmets for a bit now. Im in need of a new one and have been looking into the whole certification thing. I came across this article on the "roadrider.com.au site. Interesting.......

What makes a helmet legal?

Hard hats

It is really hard to work out

The poor old coppers (bless ’em) appear to have no idea, at least in Tasmania, and neither does Standards Australia.

In Tassie, an unfortunate rider who had just bought a new helmet was told by the local Plod that she couldn’t wear it on the road because it didn’t have the familiar 5-tick sticker on it. And when her bike shop (which had sold her the helmet in good faith) checked with Standards, they were told by Daniel Chidgey, the Co-ordinator, Customer Information Service, “My understanding is that, yes, you have to have the 5-tick certification mark issued by SAI-Global to be able to use the helmet on the roads.”

Both the police and Daniel are, however, wrong and have been for six years (!).

In case you can’t be bothered following the whole sad story, here’s the summary:
Since December 17, 2003 (!), the Australian certification marketplace has been “opened up” to competitive privately owned companies. The days of the “5-ticks” being the only certification trademark are long gone and there are now seven companies that can test and approve helmets. We can’t list them here because we couldn’t find out what they all are (believe it or not), but they include BSI Management Systems (Australia & New Zealand) Pty Ltd, Global-Mark Pty Ltd, SAI Global Limited and TÜV Rheinland Australia Pty Limited.

Umm ... so what do I do?
With the help of Maggie Zhu from TÜV Rheinland, we’ve come up with the following background story.

Before December 17, 2003, SAI Global was owned by Standards Australia International Limited (previously know as Standards Association of Australia) and delivered, via its subsidiary SAI Global, the product certification scheme commonly referred to as the “5-ticks”.

Standards Australia International was and still is a not-for-profit community-owned organisation, but on the above date, Standards Australia International divested itself of its subsidiary SAI Global and floated it on the Australian stock exchange.

Thus, since December 17, 2003, the product certification schemes commonly referred to as the “5-ticks” is operated and owned by SAI Global Limited, a publicly listed, privately owned company.

This has resulted in the “opening up” of the Australian certification marketplace, which removed in effect the “quasi” government-endorsed certification process delivered by a not-for-profit, community-owned organisation.

The Australian certification marketplace is now serviced by several Australian private companies.

Helmets must still comply with the standard AS/NZS 1698:2006 (as amended) Protective helmets for vehicle users. This standard superseded the standard AS 1698–1988 (as amended) Protective helmets for vehicle users on February 20, 2006.

The Australian Consumer & Competition Council (ACCC) Consumer Protection Notice (CPN) No. 9 of December 10, 1990, requires that protective helmets for motorcyclists comply with the Australian Standard 1698–1998. Unfortunately, CPN No. 9 has not been updated to reflect that AS 1698–1988 was superseded by AS/NZS 1698. Note that CPN No. 9 does not require a helmet to be certified or marked with a particular company’s certification trademark.

But what about the Australian Road Rules (ARRs)? These are basically a consistent set of rules that apply right across Australia and make it easier all round for road users. The ARRs were developed by the National Road Transport Commission, state and territory transport agencies, police and other organisations and approved by a majority vote of state transport ministers.

The latest version of the Australian Road Rules incorporates the amendments approved by the Australian Transport Council up to and including January 2008. The Australian Road Rules are model Rules only and have no legal effect, but they form the basis of Road Rules of each Australian state and territory. In these rules, an “approved motorbike helmet means a protective helmet for motorbike riders that is approved, for the Australian Road Rules, under another law of this jurisdiction.”

So the Australian Road Rules do not require a helmet to be certified or marked with a particular company’s certification trademark, either.
Neither do the New South Wales Road Rules. Referring to the legal definition, the NSW Road Rules 2008 requires the rider and a passenger of a motorbike that is moving, or is stationary but not parked, to wear an approved motorbike helmet.

“An approved motorbike helmet means a protective helmet for motorbike riders of a type approved by the authority,” in this case the RTA.
The NSW Road Rules do not require a helmet to be certified or marked with a particular company’s certification trademark.

As far as we can work out, the other states and territories vary in their requirements, but not by all that much.

Yes, but what do I do?
Well, when you buy your next helmet you might like to ask the shop whether the approval sticker and sewn-in label have, in fact, been issued by a company entitled to do so. But, providing the answer is affirmative, how do you know that’s true?

Don’t ask the police or Standards Australia ...

For a listing of accredited bodies, you can try taking a look at www.jas-anz.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id= 44&Itemid=1, but it’s a real dog’s breakfast. If the police question you, point out to them that the triangle with the wavy-looking base on your sticker is the licensing mark. Good luck.

That whole shemozzle doesn’t seem acceptable to us. We will pursue this further.

Not sure how old the article is, but its on the front page of their site.

Going by this and other articles i have read, there is a lot of uncertainty relating to helmet certification

[brucek]

Someone I know bought a USA-approved (and Euro-approved) helmet on-line and, when it arrived, he simply carefully removed the SAI-Global sticker from his existing helmet and stuck that on his new one.

Many of the Australian Standards (not necessarily helmets) are just echoes of those applicable in Europe.
There may be minor differences but the core of the matter is the same.

[You]

It's actually a really good idea, considering you can import a Shoei or Arai helmet from the US for half the price as what you would pay at an Australian retailer.

Someone I know bought a USA-approved (and Euro-approved) helmet on-line and, when it arrived, he simply carefully removed the SAI-Global sticker from his existing helmet and stuck that on his new one.

Many of the Australian Standards (not necessarily helmets) are just echoes of those applicable in Europe.
There may be minor differences but the core of the matter is the same.

[Whickle]

Problem with this is your insurance should the helmet be scrutinised by the plod or your insurance company.

They can and will refuse a claim for any reason. Most often, there is no stopping them.

[Yedi]

I was up in Sydney over the long weekend, and went helmet shopping on the Saturday. Helmet Warehouse, 401 Hume Hwy Yagoona FTW!!! Shoei helmet marked down from $790 to $570! Previously I've avoided Shoei purely on the basis of expense, but was looking to spend up to that amount anyway, so figured what the hell... Most comfortable and quietest lid I've ever worn, will be sticking with them from here on in I think

[brucek]

Problem with this is your insurance ......

Yep, that's the cruncher, all right.

[adr1an]

and that the 5 tick sticker is actually multi-layered and leaves behind VOID-VOID-VOID-VOID on the bottom layer... and most ambulance offices look for it to rip off the sticker to reveal void-void-void in an accident.... and you'd most likely trash your old helmet by fudging the sticker and still fail to have a legal new helmet.... And of course, there is the unknown element of the new testing stickers, and what security measures they have in place (since they must be security stickers to prevent removal).

I don't understand what peoples difficulty/problem is with a local test regime ?? Its so that You (your mother, wife, children, etc), have a Legal Australian Entity that is Fully Liable.. and that I (or lets face it, my Family/Next-of-Kin) as an Australian Consumer, can sue for damages should their helmet fail to meet minimum spec.... No weasling out based on jurisdiction, etc etc. Its a *legal* protection - FOR YOU

In Europe, the EU/EEC provides cross-jurisdiction protections... something we (as in Australia) aren't a member of and thus don't get afforded any of those protections. Therefore, an EU Cert is *not* the same as an AU Cert and is wholly worthless from a legal standpoint in this country... But in Europe, works just fine, amongst EU/EEC Countries...

Sorry guys.. but I'm shaking my head in dismay at the suggestions from some in this thread... Its actually pretty disgusting...

Do people feel the same about Registration ? Would you be happy to pay me half as much as actual rego, but I'll give you a sticker that looks identical honest! I'll even gurantee unique plates! Of course - you may have issues with the police, legalities in an accident, etc etc. But those things are never going to happen are they, so the main thing is, you saved 50%!!

[Lurch]

Bruce - Australia has one of the strictest standards in the world. Just assuming that one standard is as good as another is a really bad idea, and not only leaves the person open for all kinds of legal issues - it can put the wearer in a very dangerous position where the helmet fails significantly in an accident. Then not only that, it leaves the family with zero recourse from a compensation point of view. Even things like life insurance, health insurance can be put at risk if the company was to find out that the rider died of severe head trauma while wearing a non-approved helmet.

Nutshell: its a bad idea, and the person would have to be a mug to do it.

[Elmo]

I was up in Sydney over the long weekend, and went helmet shopping on the Saturday. Helmet Warehouse, 401 Hume Hwy Yagoona FTW!!! Shoei helmet marked down from $790 to $570! Previously I've avoided Shoei purely on the basis of expense, but was looking to spend up to that amount anyway, so figured what the hell... Most comfortable and quietest lid I've ever worn, will be sticking with them from here on in I think

I've bought from them too when i need a motorcycle helmet... the reason why they're a fair bit cheaper as well??? look at the manufacturing date on the helmet. just cos its new in a box doesnt mean its that new. my Shoei i bought from them in 2008 was manufactured in 2006 already.... thats not to say tho the same would happen from CMC etc.. it still does.

[Elmo]

Sorry guys.. but I'm shaking my head in dismay at the suggestions from some in this thread... Its actually pretty disgusting...

I think u should ban them. I mean.... you wouldnt steal a car would you??