MEPs set to support bid for safer riding gear

Date: 05/03/1998

By Rory Watson

AN IRISH father whose son was tragically killed in an equestrian accident looks set to win MEPs' support for his fight to persuade European standards authorities to improve safety requirements for riding helmets.

Peter Downes began his campaign after his son Stephen suffered fatal head injuries in September 1995, even though he was wearing a helmet recommended by the Irish Turf Club.

The specific target of Downes' efforts is the pan-European standard for riding helmets established in 1996 by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). His campaign, however, is also raising some fundamental questions about the establishment of technical norms allowing goods to circulate freely within the Union.

“We feel that the whole mechanism for arriving at these standards is flawed,” said Ciaran Costello, an engineering consultant who is supporting Downes in his campaign.

“The procedure is controlled by representatives of the manufacturing bodies. Commercial interests seem to count for more than safety requirements. Users should be consulted when standards are being decided, but there is no mechanism for this.”

These allegations are rejected by CEN, which points out that the technical committees that carry out the work are made up of national delegations representing all national interests.

CEN eventually agreed three months ago to review the standard, but the relevant technical committee will not discuss it until October. CEN insists it is still waiting for scientific evidence from Downes and Costello, a claim disputed by both men, who put their detailed arguments to the committee last November.

Now the European Parliament's petitions committee has entered the fray. It is preparing to examine Downes' complaints after Easter, but has already told CEN that the technical committee should complete its review of the norm as quickly as possible.

Critics of the disputed standard insist it does not meet the requirements of 1989 EU legislation which stipulates that the safety norm must provide “adequate protection against all risks encountered” and “the highest level of protection possible”.

Downes argues the European standard does not take account of helmets now being manufactured according to higher British and American norms which give riders greater protection.

In particular, he maintains the European version does not provide sufficient head protection, with the standard test allowing energy absorption ability to vary according to head size, making children potentially more vulnerable than adults to a horse's kick.