Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/141042
LEGISLA TION . 1l. 11. ,.. M '" -g FEDERAL HELMET STANDARD DOUBTFUL . c: LO NG BEAC H, CAL., Jan. 12 , 19 73 It is d oubtful that a federal standard fo r safe ty helme ts will go in to effect on March I, 19 73 , as o rigin ally sched uled, and ve ry p os sibl y no t at all d uring 1973 , stated Richard G. Babbi tt, p resid en t o f the Safe ty Helmet Council of America. He b ased h is sta tem e n t on th e . a dmin i str ati ve c han ges i n t h e Department o f Transportation and to th e i ncom p le te phy sio lo gical d a ta p ertaining to head protection as ap plied to m otorcy clists, which is currently availab le . He also said th at th e results of an ann ouncemen t b y the National Highway Traffic Safe ty Ad m in ist ration th at 9 0% of h elm e t m o d els t ested b y an ind ep enden t lab o ra to ry failed t o me e t th e vehicu lar h ead p ro tection cri te ria o f t he : A merican Nati onal Stan dards In stitu t e are m isleadin g. Th e m o st g laring exam ple of th is, ' acco rding to Bab bitt, was in th e govern men t's impact test res ults. E rro neo us ti me d u ra ti on re quirements, since corrected by unanimous vote of th e ANS I Z9 0 Com m ittee , caused fo ur times as many helm e t s to fai l than wo ul d otherwise have been the case . Corrected figures wo uld indicate that, of the ap paren t 2 ,304 ' impact blows delive re d to the 72 models tested, only 1 17 exceeded Z90 lim its , thus resultin g in a 95% passing figure. " T h e corrected figures are a far cry fro m th e percen tage figures in the governmen t re port," he sai d. "I would also like to point out that more than half the helmets tested b y the government are no longer on the market." Babbitt sai d th a t the Safety Helm e t Council actually is in favor of a federal specification. Helmet manufacturers wan t a single strong specification as a guide to b uil d their prod ucts. In lieu of th is, SHCA h as adopted the Z90 standard (as have m o st of the states) as . the best specification available. He sai d the standard is n ei th e r ow ned no r co ntrolled b y the ind ustry an d has b e e n e s ta blished an d p eri odicall y updated b y the ANSI Z90 Commi ttee. Membership on th is com mi ttee is made up o f re p resen ta tiv es o f th e industry (who are limited t o no m ore th an o n e-th ird}, the insuran ce in d us try , co ns u me r gr oup s, t he fe de ral governm ent, the m ili t ary , an d other . in terested p arties. " T here sh ould have been a federal specificati on as far b ack as 1967, " sa id B a b bitt. "Th e indus try has been ' op eratin g within a broad physiol ogical data b ase wi th ill-de fin ed b ord ers an d has never re cei ved any direc tion fro m OUf go vernme n t i n relation to manufac turing a safer h elmet. We h ave d one the best we can to sa ve lives and have succee de d wit hout h elp except fro m our own research an d d e vel o p me n t effor ts." In announcing SHCA plans for 19 73 , Bab b itt said th e Coun cil will accelera te it s p ro gram o f ass igning in depen de nt lab ora to ries to pick up helme t m o d els at rando m from dealers' shelves across the co un t ry an d te st them to the Z90·1971 stand ard. The industry's self-policing program reje cted the models of no less than eight d ifferent m an u fac turers last year. The SHCA Ce rtification program is used exclusively by the American Motorcycle Association in approving helmets for competi tion. In fact, said Babbitt, motor racing in general could n ot exist withou t to day's safety helmet. He said that the main goal of the Safety Helmet Council, which represents the producers of 80% of th e helrne ts made and sol d in this country , is to make as safe a helmet as today's technology and materials allow. "It is the contention of the industry that hundreds of lives are saved everyday by the wearing of helme ts because they offer im proved head protection," said Babbitt. "While the SH CA takes no position on ·m an d ato ry h elmet w earin g, th is co ntention is substan tiated b y figures from several states. inclu ding New York, which indicate th a t hel m e t we arin g can virtually c u t fatal ities in hal f. " HER E ARE TEN B ILLS INTRODUCED. BY SENATOR ALAN ' CRANSTON THIS PAST WEEK THAT WILL VITALLY AFFECT AL L OUTDOOR RECREATIONISTS. S6 1 - Bicycle T ra nspo rtation Act, a b ill that would m ak e High w ay Trust Fund m onies avai la ble to d evelop bicycle com m ute r systems in an d around American cities . S62 - A b ill to . save th e rar e species of Desert Pupfish , along with m an y en dangered species of dese rt flowering plan ts. S63 - To establish the Cal ifornia Deser t National Conserva ti on Ac t - This is to estab lish m o st areas o ut of bounds for all active u se of the desert, with little concern fo r PEOPLE an d the ECONOMY of the nation . S 1 10 - To d esign at e ce rtain lan ds in Clevel and National Forest of California as Agua Tibia Wilderness for incl usion in the National Wilde rness Preserv ati on System. .., ~ w Z w oJ U >- U It lo o ks like a n y o ther H onda .. . but o utpe rfo rms everyt h ing in its class a nd is as d ep enda ble as a st oc k hike ! It's sec ret? . . . PO W RO L L h igh pe rforma nce e ngi ne modifications! POWRO L L ma nufact u res precisionen gine ered power packages for all popular Hon da s. The o nly thi ng other riders see . . . is you r dust . MAVRICK BIG BORE KITS HIGH-COMPRESSION PISTONS STROKER ASSEMBLY MOTOCROSS MODE L -$32.00 pair Dealer Inquiri es Invited Phone: r I (8D5) 824-4261 Deluxe Mbde l $34,00 pair 4" travel w/ 60-90 progressive lY $29.95:::r sprlnes CAMS AND TUNE PIPES D Send fo r our complete ca ta log (and bo nus offerl). $ 1.25 ca sh o r mo ne y order. Catalog excerpt fo r your specific year and model only SOc. In d ividu al q uestions . a ns wered gladly. I) Spring Ratios from 6s t to 12St In st eek Shoeks came with 78t as st andard spare springs $8.00 pair. Complete rebui l d kits $S.OO ea. l \?" Ellenslons $3.00 pr. Sea l s $1.50 pair Please speci fy motor cycle make & model . Mount ty pe requir ed. Eye at eaeh end or eye and elev ls t ype. Haw in stoek t he new " Mavrl ck" S-way ' adjustable heavy duty shoeks, rebulldable lustr ous ehrome sprlnes. 11\2" or 12;4" I..gth available. Center to eenter of eyes 3\2" POWROLL PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, INC. P.O. Box 1206 C3 . Bend, Oregon 97701 travel. S I l l - To d esign a te certain lan ds in the S tanislaus National Fo res t o f Cal ifornia as th e Em igrant Wilderness in th e National Wilde rness Pr ese rvation Sys tem . S 11 2 - To d esign a te ce rtain lan ds in Yo semite Natio n al Par k in Cal ifornia as wild erness. S 11 3 - To d esign ate certai n lan ds in San Luis Obisp o County as the San ta Lu cia wi lderness. S 11 4 - To d esign ate ce rtain lands in Men d o cino National F orest o f Cal ifornia as S n ow Moun tain Wild erness, to b e included in th e Nation Wild erness Pr eserv a tion S ystem. S 115 - T o de signate certain lands in th e Pinnacles National Monument in California as wild erness. SJ Res. 6 - A resolution to set up an ad d it io n al prese rve fo r the Tule Elk in th e Ow en Val ley a t th e exclus io n o f ca t tle ranchers who n ow use the area for fo rage. REM EMB ER, ALL LEGAL WILDERNE SS IS O FF LIMITS T O ALL MOTORIZED VEHICLES. IT IS AN EXCLUSIVE PLAYGRO UND O F MILLIONS O F ACR ES FOR O NLY Y2 O F 1% OF T HE NATION 'S PO PULATION. BACKPACKERS A ND HO RSEME N. W Pay Postage an Prepaid Orders. e California Resident s add 5% for sal es tal NOW••••••HEW ADDED WARRANTy •••••• If t he seal fall s an any MAVRICK unit with in 90 days from date of purehase we wi ll replace the seal free. P.S. Do.. anybody else do th is ? # ROOM AT THE TOP _ II . MAVRICK DOES IT AGAIN Takoo advantage of the best buy of the year. SPOOL HUBS, 40 hale with S/8 " bearings Ineluded. Best allay with ehrome II ke II nl sh. . .. . .". $10 00 .... an this ,.."' -' Int roductory l\. offer , T he Wild ern ess Act of 1964 m a ndates some wi lderness classi fications th rough 1974. In ea ch instance whe re the National Forest Se rvic e has recom m e n ded a certain numbe r o f ac re s fo r classification th e Sierra Club is d emandin g ad ditional amo unts, usu all y m an y ti mes as m uch . In Se nator Cranston's press release he states that in each case the sizes are th e la rge r acreages that h ave been reco mmended b y the Sierra Club. the Wilderness Society and the Friends of the Earth. You can eas ily understand that we m ust all act immedia tely an d together. Please carry this in fo nna tion to you r dubs, and write to "The H ono rable Alan Cran st on " , 452 Senate Office Building. Washington. D.C . 20510 and secure co pies of the above bills. Make your o w n evaluation and write to your congressmen an d Mr . Cranston. MAVRICK NORTH AIiEfUCAH IM PORTS 2325 cerro Gonlo, P.O. Box N Mojave, Calif. 93501 INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA