Nicholson Speedway, May 4th & 5th

[Kurt Bogerman]

Hi al,
great post one i think should be at every vintage kart event!!
the importance of safety cannot be over rated ever.

so for any newbes what these two rules mean
1.  a helmet that is rated snell 2010 .
snell 2010 is simply a helmet that was made AFTER 2010 but it MUST have a snell 2010 sticker on it.
there are also 2015 helmets available.
since these helmets lose their ratings at about ten years the 2010's will be cheaper but almost out of date to be legal.
for guys who try to be tricky and just adding a sticker to any helmet there is also an inner tag saying the snell rating.
at most tracks they check the inner tag for the rating .
an important thought is many helmets are designed for car situations. you do not want a car helmet unless it is also capable of withstanding significant ground contact.
tell who ever you are buying helmet from what you'll be using it for at the track....

I don't want to hijack this thread, but based on Dave's comments above, I'd appreciate the opportunity to quickly inquire further about helmet certifications, please...

I have two BELL helmets in front of me. The first one is dated 3/2011 with a "SNELL M2010 APPROVED DOT" label. I assume, then, that this helmet is VKA approved, good through 2021, per current rules?

The other helmet is dated 8/17. In addition to a DOT label, a separate label says only "SNELL APPROVED". In other words, the sticker does not specify which SNELL certification it has been awarded. However, the label inside the helmet, under the liner, does indeed specify the M2015 SNELL approval.

So, based on that, the exterior sticker may not actually be the last word on the issue, and inspection of the interior label may be necessary? Or does the production date imply compliance with the most current applicable standard?

I really intend these as serious points of discussion. I wouldn't want to be dq'd from participation due to a technicality.

--Kurt