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I’m pretty sure that the A-10 Alpinestars I have has CE level 2 impact protection front and back. It’s comfortable, well ventilated, and non restrictive. I really like the look of the A-5 plasma. It’s the same CE rating as my A-10 but looks a lot lighter. There’s some really nice options with CE level 2 protection. I don’t think heat or restricted movement is an issue with most of them - I certainly don’t have any such problems.
sad this is treatable with highly trained medics/RNs/Docs....wrong place wrong time..RIP
Mx racing is a choice and so is wearing core protection and neck braces. wear what you think you should wear. make your kids wear what you think they should wear.
RIP Ayden Zing may his family find comfort.
Treatable in theory, but not really. It's not something that's getting diagnosed or empirically treated outside of a trauma bay or operating room. Can diagnose quickly with ultrasound and it's one of the things you look for on initial bedside trauma ultrasound, but not as easy to fix as other things. Needle decompression isn't slam dunk both from performing the procedure and whether it will be effective. Trauma surgery can crack a chest and do pericardial window but not happening unless at major trauma center and not been down for long.
On scene, if you somehow knew instantly that's what was going on, treating the tamponade doesn't fix the problem that caused it to begin with. With blunt trauma that's usually going to be shearing type of injury to major blood vessel at level of the heart caused by rapid deceleration. Usually only see this type of thing in pretty high energy car crash type of accidents, hitting tree or wall at highway speed for example. Would not be something I expect to see very often from moto crash.
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The fact that our sport prioritizes comfort over protection, has always been dumb IMO.
If everyone wears a proper chest protector, nobody has an advantage do they?
So sad, lets not lose a chance to do better.
They are certified. If you haven’t seen the F9 videos, I recommend checking them out—they go into great detail on this topic. While many of the helmets in question are street helmets, the testing standards they undergo are the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6axCCvpzMKs
What you may be referring to is a minimum certification requirement. All of these helmets are certified to meet specific safety standards, and I’m confident that someone like Aiden was using the very best equipment available to him.
That said, I completely agree—chest protectors are far more essential than the rayon jerseys we often see worn. Prioritizing real protection is key.
Here are just a few examples of certifications from well-known brands:
Thor – DOT and ECE R22.06
Shoei – Snell M2020D, DOT certified
Arai – ECE R22.06 and Snell
Bell – DOT, Snell SA2015, SFI 24.1 Youth, FIA8859, or FIA8860
6D – DOT and ECE 22.06
I could go on, but the bottom line is this: every helmet must meet a safety standard. It's up to us, as buyers, to ensure we’re making informed choices and investing in the protection that matches our needs.
As the old motocross saying goes: “If you have a $100 head, buy a $100 helmet.”
By”helmets need certification” I mean “you aren’t allowed to race unless you have an appropriately certified helmet”. I didn’t mean to suggest that certification wasn’t a thing. I should have stated this more clearly.
I have not been able to catch up with this. Are you saying the parents are looking for more answers because they think there was contact made but the conflicting reports from the track crew say there was no contact made with another bike?
If this injury is usually limited to heavy blunt force like a car to a tree or wall, then it would be hard to believe there was no contact made from another bike. See Justin Coopers's high side yesterday at Spring Creek as an example of a heavy high side where he walked away.
My Condolences to the zingg family.
With that said,
Take the gloves off in this discussion. Our sport is dangerous and lacks education! <---- Our biggest issue (Riders)... alot of us are very very stupid when it comes to self preservation which is why we race...(This goes for almost all extreme sports).. Myself included but with age we learn (well are supposed to learn)...but apparently the people who run our sport don't learn even with age... because if they did... safety things would be implemented as mandatory... arguments be damned unless they have quantifiable data to dispute it. which in our sport 90% of the time is speculation and based on, on the bike feelz.
after reading some comments on various instagram posts... I believe it was blunt force trauma from one of the 2 riders front tire...and the other riders lips have been shut.. because i guess the trauma of the situation?? (Granted this is me using deductive reasoning from what i've read)
I have no idea what happened in this situation, but in general if it's aortic injury that led to tamponade, it's caused by a sudden stop, not a sudden blow. The body stops, the somewhat mobile heart keeps moving for a split second, vessels that are tethered to the now stopped body are pulled on and are damaged as the heart continues to move.
Usual pure speculation disclaimer of course.
Getting hit in the chest by another bike could possibly lead to other mechanisms that lead to tamponade, but with the scenario I described above I could imagine a high side with enough force where you land with a big thud causing it. Further details from the autopsy should tell the story. Just know that cpr alone can do quite a bit of chest wall damage so that alone doesn't tell much. Would mostly be curious to know what the aorta and heart looked like.
If one of the new astars inflatable chest protectors fired before hitting the ground it could help in the same way airbags help in front end vehicle collisions. Would love to see them share the patent for sake of greater good as has been done with things like seat belts in the past.
This! I have the same way of thinking, hard shell does spread the impact. I don't really notice the mobility issues either. No one knows if it would make a difference in certain cases, but it couldn't hurt!
Regardless of if the AMA or MX sports decides to implement rules or make changes this whole unfortunate situation made me toss and turn two nights ago to the point where I got on RMATV and ordered a different chest protector for my 16 yr old. We were running a level 1 front level 2 rear AStar a4 max which has been adequate but are now going to a level 2 front and back. Will it make a huge difference? I honestly have no idea, but one thing I do know is it won’t hurt his technique or results. I said it before and I’ll repeat it here, as painful as it may be for family and friends in this or any unfortunate situation like it, we need information so we can learn and be better. I’ve had a few conversations with other families who are seriously considering pulling back from the sport because of Aiden’s death among others lately and that’s both understandable and unfortunate for the future of MX.
Yea, that's really not how it works. You dont get to show up and ride a track without boot, goggles & a helmet. Adding chest protector to that list is not a difficult task.
Common sense says a hard plated chest protector will provide my protection in the event of a front (chest) impact and mitigate some injury.
If we talk about tracks shutting down, injuries on the rise & how to grow the sport, "its a personal decision man" doesn't fly.
Aiden was wearing a chest protector.
The AMA Medical Commission has a proposal to discuss requiring all riders to wear chest and back protection. It has been required in all AMA youth classes for the last two years.
Not true. Aiden's father spoke with every rider who was on the track that day.
A posibility is to start getting the younger riders to use the proposed protection. So that when they become pro riders they are used to it.
Despite that...
"... his parents said they hoped autopsy results would help clear up the circumstances around Zingg’s death"
"The family has the same if not more information, then we have,’’ Roberts wrote in an email."
"Shari Zingg provided no additional information."
"The death is being investigated by the Mammoth Lakes Police Department."
Aidan was in first place. Those immediately behind him would have known quite well what happened. The entire field would not.
Pit Row
It's worse than that. It's fashion over protection.
I find it weird how the sport has evolved to put a stigma on wearing protection.
I'm mostly a woods rider so running my shoulders into trees is a big concern for me, to mitigate those concerns I wear this lacrosse pad under my jersey and a plastic chest pro over for some extra cushion. This lacrosse pad has an extra hard pad centered over your heart location because it's common for players to get hit with a stick and a direct hit to your heart can cause fibrillation. Sure wearing 2 protectors is hot but riding is important to me but not the most important thing in my life so I try to stay as safe as I can.
RIP to Aiden, terrible situation.
truth. growing up we had full face helmets, huge outer pads including shoulder pads, kidney belts (LOL), pads inside our pants, etc etc....it's like the sport has evolved backward in terms of actual safety for riders now going many times faster than they used to....
I dislocated my SC joint (sternum/clavical) in a crash that was consistent with one that would break a broken collar bone. Mine dislocated outward. I was told years later by an orthopedic surgeon that the SC joint can dislocate inward and if so have the potential to sever a large artery near the heart. When I read this news release that came to mind.
He wasn't in first Aiden Keefer was but Zing was behind him at least from his account of the race. I agree though somebody has to know what actually happened.
That looks like something Thor or Fly should copy with the wider front and back protection. Have a Thor Sentinel, riding more woods now so would like to have a little more shoulder protection but don’t want to go to some of the current units that have that. This looks like a much more form fitting solution for shoulder protection
Small world. I also use a Reebok lacrosse pad when riding woods.
I’m not any where near these guys speed but fast enough, about 8 years ago I was hitting a ski jump that got watered the lap before without me knowing ,,hit the jump and my back end stepped out, landed with back tire completely side ways , swapped the other way violently and over the bars I went . I hit the end of the bar while going over because handle bars were turned left hard . Not a terrible crash by any means and I’ve like most of you have hit the deck a lot . This was the worse I couldn’t breath, move and the pain was like no other . After passing out , Long story short after an ambulance ride to the er I woke up with all kinds of ekg machines and several doctors around me . I struggle hearing about this because I made it ….. Barley .this is so sad and offten remember how lucky I was . the next three weeks were the worst pain of my life . All from a bruised heart . No chest protector, I will not ride with out one ever again and I fully believe would have tremendously lessened my impact . My thoughts and prayers goes out to all effected by this .
That’s rough - glad you’re okay. I took my chest protector off once because I was hot and hit the dirt hard chest first and was in serious pain for weeks. Never again will I ride without it.
Considering that inflatable chest protectors are available (or becoming available in the coming 12 months) these days the rule book should get updated world wide. Make them mandatory at AMA and FIM sanctioned events starting 2027.
What about as soon as possible? I feel like 2027 is too far away for this to be implemented.
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