James,
I agree with what you are saying. There are only two rather fine points that are causing the problem:
1) Of course it only makes sense for sanctioning bodies to eventually adopt a standard. They do it for belts, suits, roll cages, etc., why not H&N restraints? The fine point in this regard is that SFI Spec 38.1 includes specific design criteria that have trapped drivers in burning cars and that
have nothing to do with head injuries. If bodies want to mandate a product certified by the manufacturer to meet/exceed SFI 38.1 performance specs, fine, we already do that. But, if they want the SFI sticker on the product they are going to be dealing only with products that let the belts slip off and that trap drivers in cars. See the problem?
Why not step up and show us the 38.1 sled test numbers, not your personal test. Prove that the product really does exceed the 38.1 standard.[/b]
There is no such thing as a "personal test". All of our testing at Delphi has been to the SFI 38.1 protocol, and the numbers have been published here and provided to headrestraint.org.
...would not SFI listen to fact and reason...[/b]
2) No, they won't. That's the whole point. They are stuck with a disproven old wives' tale left over from the last millennium with this single point nonsense. If they don't wake up soon they are going to BBQ someone. And that's where the liability
increases when a sanctioning body mandates an SFI sticker.