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Message SCCA AIRBAG ADVISORY ATTENTION SCHOOL, SOLO, SHOWROOM STOCK AND RALLIEST November 16, 2004 - Notification from SCCA National Staff It has been brought to the attention of SCCA Technical Services that the use of full-face or closed face helmets while driving vehicles with active airbag restraint systems may result in injuries in the event of a crash that deploys the airbag. Because of the location of the steering wheel relative to the driver's position, the airbag axis is on a level with the driver's chin. In a crash with airbag deployment, contact with the chin area of a full-face helmet can be so powerful "that fractures to the jaw cannot be ruled out".(Hubert Gramling, FIA Institute, FT3/AF, 18.5 1999) Therefore it is highly recommended that full-face helmets not be used in vehicles with functioning airbag systems. Potentially more restrictive language is currently being considered for 2005, which could appear in an early 2005 issue of FasTrack.
If you are not scared you're not going fast enough. Michael Andretti
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