Please Note: On 1st March 2008 Harness
Racing Australia Inc (HRA) replaced Australian Harness Racing Council Inc (AHRC)
as the organisation's name. All AHRC's formal structures, rules,
regulations, policies, processes etc., now
pertain to
HRA, and any reference to Australian Harness Racing Council Inc, AHRC,
Council or The Council shall mean Harness Racing Australia Inc or HRA.
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HRA
REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL OF DRIVERS' PROTECTIVE VESTS
Introduction of BETA 2000 Standard - August 2004
1.
Scope
These requirements outline the minimum
performance level for protective vests to be used by harness racing drivers
in Australia.
2. BETA 2000 Standard
Harness racing drivers in Australia are required to wear
protective vests certified by the British Equestrian Trade Association
(BETA) according to the BETA 2000 Standard, at the minimum performance
Level 2. Certified protective vests will have an attached swing ticket
marked with the
Official BETA 2000
label. The performance level 2 class label is
brown with white text.
The BETA Standard for Horse Rider’s Body and Shoulder
Protectors: 2000 (known as the ‘BETA 2000’ Standard) is based on EN
13158:2000 Protective Clothing – Protective Jackets, body and shoulder
protectors for horse riders – Requirements and test methods. This
standard has been adopted for harness racing drivers in Australia in
order to:
(a) Increase the required impact performance
of the vests for better driver protection.
(b)
Increase the availability of vests in the relatively small Australian
market. This will ensure that the costs are kept to a
minimum as vest
manufacturers are given access to the market without the need for
re-certification in Australia.
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3. Existing Approved Vests
The vests currently approved by the HRA (see list) continue to
be approved and acceptable for use by harness racing drivers in official
races and trials. These protective vests have been tested and approved by QAS (Standards Australia).
4. HRA Approval Process
A.
Applications
for protective vest approval will require the
manufacturer/importer/distributor to send one vest of each size to be
approved direct to Human Impact Engineering marked to the attention
of:
Tom Gibson
Director
Human Impact Engineering
Unit 3, 36 Albert Street
St Peters NSW 2044
Australia
t 61 2 9557 0933
f 61 2 9552 0096
e
enquiries@humanimpacteng.com
w
www.humanimpacteng.com
B. The
application will include all necessary documentation with the information
that the vest(s) are certified to the BETA 2 standard by the manufacturer. A
further copy of the documentation should concurrently be sent to:
Chief Executive
Harness Racing Australia Inc
Level 7, 390 St Kilda Road
Melbourne Vic 3004
t 61 3 9867 8033
f 61 3 9866 8356
e hra@harness.org.au
C.
The protective vest inspection will be as
follows:
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(a) |
Visually. |
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(b) |
Check of the sizing. |
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(c) |
Drop testing to a simplified
version of the standard, mainly to check the material capability and
construction. |
(d)
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Other tests as required will be notified
from time to time and will be made. (Note, this information can be
obtained directly from Human Impact Engineering). This is to ensure
compliance with the BETA 2 Certification and maintain up to date
information for approval processes. |
(e)
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A confidential report will be prepared and
sent to Harness Racing Australia Inc. In the event of a protective
vest’s inspection disclosing a reported fault this will be rectified in
conjunction with BETA prior to any approval being further considered by
HRA. |
(f)
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Surveillance Testing by
Human Impact Engineering
Through Human Impact Engineering, HRA will
continue to monitor the quality of vests available to the industry. Random sample performance testing will be carried out by Human Impact
Engineering to ensure that supplied vests remain in compliance with the
BETA 2000 Standard. (Manufacturers should refer to the BETA 2000
requirements for certification). Any enquiries can be directed to
Tom Gibson at Human Impact Engineering at the above contact points. |
(g)
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If a vest failure during the random sample
testing process occurs then the following steps will be taken:
(i) The
manufacturer will be allowed to supply more samples for testing.
(ii) If the vest fails again, this should be regarded as
serious and HRA's approval for the protective vest will be revoked, the State Controlling
Bodies' Chairmen
of Stewards notified and a public announcement made.
(iii) The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA), Stockheld
Park, Wetherby, LS22 4AW, England, concurrently notified for action.
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D. The process
above will be required for obtaining approval and applicants are advised
that a protective vest maybe checked randomly up to once a year at the
manufacturer, importer and/or distributor’s expense.
E. The applicant
and/or distributor for approval of the protective vest will be responsible
for fees in the inspection and random sample testing processes undertaken by
Human Impact Engineering. All fees must be paid within fourteen (14) days of
invoicing. Fees will reflect the cost of testing equipment purchased
and utilised in the testing process together with the specialised technical
resources required to undertake the testing under HRA's agreement for
Human Impact Engineering to undertake the testing processes.
F.
Enquiries can
be directed to the Chief Executive, Harness Racing Australia Inc. Technical enquiries should be directed to Tom Gibson, Human Impact
Engineering at the above contact points. However, manufacturers should refer
to the
BETA 2000
requirements for certification.
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