Friday, May 11, 2007
Riding Helmets Part 1 - Demystifying the Standards
I’ve recently been on a helmet-buying excursion for the young lady of the house. Her old helmet no longer fit properly and she really wanted to begin to work on speed events at the 4-H meetings which require the rider to wear a ASTM/SEI certified helmet. I have heard that term floating around the last couple of years but never really took the time to know exactly just what it is, after all we mostly drive our horses and when we do ride its just trail riding at a walk because going "fast" on a 2000lb horse isnt really somthing that interests us.So I began my search to look at the possibilities and prices from home via the trusty computer and Internet connection. I first checked out just what this certification was so that I understood just what it was that I needed. In my search I came across a number of safety websites that published facts about head related injuries in the horse industry. Some of the ones that really caught my attention were on the University of Connecticut’s Co-op extension for their college of agriculture. Did you know that horseback riding carries a higher injury rate per hour of exposure than downhill ski racing, football, hang-gliding and motorcycle racing? Researchers found that Medical Examiner reports show that 60% or more of horse-related deaths are caused by head injuries and it is believed that each year approximately 70,000 people are treated in emergency rooms because of equestrian related activities. The American Medical Equestrian Association calculates that ASTM/SEI approved helmets have reduced all riding-related head injuries by 30% and severe head injuries by 50%. The information that really caught my attention was the fact that head injuries are responsible for more than 60% of horse-related deaths and head injuries are the most common reason for horse-related hospital admissions. Those are some pretty hefty numbers coming from a reliable source.
So just what is this ASTM certification that is supposed to help us keep as safe as possible while we enjoy our horses?
ASTM stands for the American Society for Testing and Materials and it is an organization of volunteers that includes doctors, engineers and physicists. The ASTM sets standards for many types of safety equipment. The standard for horseback riding helmets is ASTM F 1163 , which was published in 1990. Basically in a nut shell the ASTM document requires that all helmets that carry the certification are made to absorb an impact thru partial destruction of the headgear like the impact absorbing bumpers we now have on our cars. So any impact that a helmet takes should in fact damage the structure of the helmet and require you to replace it.
We now know what the ASTM is but what is the SEI? The SEI, The Safety Equipment Institute, is a private, non-profit organization established to administer non-governmental, third party certification programs to test and certify a broad range of safety and protective products which is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. They were established in 1981 to administer certification programs and to test a broad range of safety equipment products. You can visit their website to see if your helmet is currently on the approved model list which is updated by them on a regular basis to make sure that it is up to date with the most current information. The most recent approved publication is ASTM F1163-04a.
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