protectors Beta or EN13158

[ReggieP]

Hi all,

a friend of ours is moving to the UK and going to start competing in BE. She has noticed a rule stating that all protectors must have a BETA level 3. She has an RXR prortector to EN13158 level 3. It seems that Beta Level 3 is the exact same standard, and that the BETA these days is simply a "trade" stamp.

Why have BE put a requirement for BETA label rather than EN13158. This protector is fairly new and not cheap. It is used by a number of international riders, so she doesn't understand why it seems that it can not be used in the UK.

regs RP

 

[JustInterested]

I ahve done a BETA hat & BP course and I think it is because to gain a EN or CE mark a body protector or hat design only has to be tested once during its first production. To gain a BETA mark the body protector or hat is checked everytime a new batch is made e.g for every 500 body protectors made one is taken out of a batch and re-tested to ensure the quality of it.

 

[ReggieP]

OK, but why doesn't this also apply to hats, where only EN1384 is stipulated.

I am not sure BE are allowed to do this under EU law, because they are in effect forcing the use of a UK BETA standard, whereas EN13158 is the stated standard in the rest of Europe for the same purpose, which offers the same level of design protection. There are case studies for other standards where one country has insisted in using its own standard rather than the European one.

I agree that it is good to have regular testing, but this is a process issue. In any case BETA could easily propose an update to the the EN13158 standards commitee of which they are a leading member. It seems to me that they profit by this monopoly relationship with BE, and it is in their interest to move slower within the EN standard.

There are some great EN13158 protectors that are more comfortable and provide better protection than many BETA labelled ones.

 

[ReggieP]

OK, so my friend got a response on the BE forum from somebody in a similar position that seemed to suggest that the BE rule was in fact a breech of UK and EU competition law, so I did a little follow up myself. Today there is no different in the design standard of BETA level 3 and EN13158 Level 3. The only difference is that BETA check the product on a regular basis.

However, BETA is a trade organisation and it seems that under competition law, it is not legal to oblige a trade association standard. In particular if there is agreement between two organisations that are not in direct competition with each other (e.g BE and BETA) they can not force a standard if one or other controls more than 15% of their respective markets. Clearly both BETA and BE have a much higher % of the market in their respective activities of body protectors and eventing.

The reason of course is that it forces potential suppliers to associate and be certified by the BETA trade association. In fact the only standards that can be obliged are BS or EN standards. I suspect that BE did not really consider these points when they drafted the rule. BE's rule on head gear seems to be OK, as it refers to EN and BS standards.

It would seem that if they continue with this rule BE could face a stiff penalty and BETA might also be partly responsible. This is quite likely to happen if body protector suppliers with products certified to EN13158 discover that they can not get access to the UK market of eventing without a BETA label.

It is interesting to note that in Ireland, the rule is slightly different. It compels the use of a EN13158 body protector, but recommends a BETA standard.

So far I have not seen any response on the forum from BE