Harness Racing Australia
Gear and Equipment


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.
 

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.

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
enquiries@humanimpacteng.com

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
hra@harness.org.au

C.  The protective vest inspection will be as follows:

(a) Visually.
(b) Check of the sizing.
(c) Drop testing to a simplified version of the standard, mainly to check the material capability and construction.
(d)
 
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)
 
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)

 
 
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)



 
  
 
 
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.

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.

 

Date of Implementation:   August 2004
Last Updated:   December 2009

back to top