B.RAD Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Hi all I'm after some advice/guidance on visors in sprinting. I currently have an OMP Grand Prix 7S Hans helmet with two visors, a smoked visor and a clear visor. At Anglesey, the scrutineers got very iffy with me about my smoked visor, they were overly objective to it and bordered on banning me from the event. The chief scrutineers parting shot was "if I see you with that visor again, you'll be banned from competing". The issue is apparently to do with needing to see the drivers eyes in the event of an accident to ascertain consciousness. I should add that I ran all year with the same visor and it was only the last event of the year that this was raised. My issue is that I have tried both and only like the smoked visor, the clear visor does nothing to filter sunlight and I find myself squinting or being blinded by the sun, so if I do have to ditch the smoked visor, what do I do? I have very poor vision without my contacts/glasses and a small part of that poor vision is increased sensitivity to bright light. This is detailed within my licence application and on my licence. So my questions are: 1) are smoked visors illegal or is this just over-zealousness on the scrutineers part? 2) if I have to run with a clear visor, can I wear sunglasses? In which case, why can't I just use a smoked visor? 3) if I can't use a smoked visor or wear sunglasses, what does everyone else do? I realise this is not the most pressing of issues but it's one that keeps bouncing around my head, so thought I'd seek the guidance of the collective wisdom! Cheers Barny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I'm in exactly the same position as you... couple of strips of black insulation tape across the top of my visor helps a lot. It reduces the amount of light coming in overall, and you can just dip your head a touch if there's low sun. A bit disconcerting at first as you do lose some field of vision, but you get used to it. Related info - I have raced with sunglasses on before, and I know a few who do that regularly, plus others who use very dark (think Oakley sunglasses!) visors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 It does appear to depend on which scrut sees you. I prefer smoked when sunny as I too struggle with bright conditions. To help I've added extra 'tape' / visor sticker to vise as far down as does not effect visibility. I struggle to follow the argument that they cannot see your eyes, as there are plenty of high profile motorsports where dark visors are used. Surely it's better to be able to see, rather than blinded, when safety flags could be missed or obstacles hit. But appologies as I have no idea as to the 'official' line under msa. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I just wear sunglasses if I need to and use a clear visor. Never been a problem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Morcom Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 At the end of the day what ever the Scrutineer says normally goes. But you can reason with some. MSA Bluebook states 11.2. Recommended visor and goggles standard (minimum) BS4110, BS4110:1999, BS EN 1938, European Standard 89/686/EEC. BS4110 requires a minimum of 50% light transmission - you can get visors that meet this standard and will be stamped on the visor. It's better than no tint but is not as effective as a dark tint on a very sunny day. I have a dark visor and have used it for years with no comment from the scrutineers. I do a couple of things... 1. When scrutineered I always have the clear visor fitted. 2. I only fit when I see a significant number of other competitors already using dark visors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castlecroft Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 i asked the MSA a few weeks ago on this very matter and this is the reponse that i got. The regulations require visors to be clear, or a neutral density filter. If the darkened visor is a neutral density filter, then it is acceptable. Best Regards, Joe Hickerton Technical Administrator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.RAD Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 Thanks all, glad I asked the question. I think I'll go for the clear when scrutineered approach, then judge if it's sunnies or tinted visor based on the weather. I like the idea of a strip across the clear visor Ads, think I'll have a go at that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHew Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I'm not into racing and my red AGV is collecting dust since I sold my Ducati some years ago, but I know Guy Martin uses a flip down smoked visor that can flip down inside the normal, clear one. I think some Shoei helmets (and possibly others) have this feature anyway, google QSV1 sun visor, The flip down visor is activated by a switch on the outside of the helmet, so could obviously be flipped by an attending person at a racing incident? Perhaps they've very expensive, not my call, just wanted to point out that there seems to be a technical solution if you need to race with the option of a sun visor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.RAD Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 Thanks, good idea, I have seen those and they're great for bikes and track days, but to sprint you need a helmet that conforms to specific regs (SA2010) which sadly bike helmets do not. That sort of thing would be an ideal solution though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.RAD Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 i asked the MSA a few weeks ago on this very matter and this is the reponse that i got. The regulations require visors to be clear, or a neutral density filter. If the darkened visor is a neutral density filter, then it is acceptable. Best Regards, Joe Hickerton Technical Administrator How do you determine if a darkened visor is a neutral density filter? Might just chuck that one in to a challenge to see what happens... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castlecroft Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 neutral density by definition means "reduces or modifies the intensity of all wavelengths or colors of light equally, giving no changes in hue of color rendition". So how i am reading this is, darkened visors are fine but visors such as a Yellow visor don't comply with the regs. There was an answer from the lotus7 club that i found will also help clear things up "Neutral Density = able to see flags and lights in there true colour. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry H Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 During the first Singapore F1 race the commentator remarked that, for the first time, you could actually see the drivers' eyes, so presumably they use tinted visors for daylight racing, which would make sense. I hated wearing glasses under a crash helmet as they were forever fogging and if other than a perfect fit, move about, which is a real pain with varifocals. You could always try my technique, just don't clean the cr@p off your visor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Thanks all, glad I asked the question. I think I'll go for the clear when scrutineered approach, then judge if it's sunnies or tinted visor based on the weather. I like the idea of a strip across the clear visor Ads, think I'll have a go at that too. This'd do the trick! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAFKARM Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Same issue as you Barny re light sensitivity. Solved it the same way as Adam, insulation tape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTR2Turbo Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 I always wear sunglasses, mainly because I can't get my everyday glasses to fit with my helmet on. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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