Stop Wearing Your Bell Scout Air Helmet Now, Recall Issued Over Penetration Protection

Some Bell Scout Air helmets don't provide proper penetration protection, and an NHSTA recall has been issued.

Photo by: Bell Helmets

By: Robbie Bacon

Jan 13, at 7:17am ET

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If you or anyone you know wears a Bell Scout Air helmet produced between November 2022 and around December 2023, this recall concerns you. Bell Sports Inc (Bell) is recalling certain Scout Air helmets, sizes S and L. The helmets may lack proper penetration protection. As such, these helmets fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 218, "Motorcycle Helmets."

Due to the issue, some Bell Scout Air helmets won't provide adequate protection and increase the risk of injury during a crash.

Interestingly, and thankfully, the discovery wasn't down to users or those close to them reporting the fault, but rather the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA appears to have randomly performed its own testing and found that the size small and large helmets weren't in compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 218.

Bell Sports Inc says that the current production helmets have been tested and comply with FMVSS 218, and that testing and external test reports show this to be an isolated incident, and that no injuries have been reported. The manufacturer hasn't said much else regarding the issue apart from describing the cause of the recall as "Non-compliant result of impact and penetration testing per FMVSS."

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If you have one of the affected Scout Air helmets, Bell will replace the helmet or reimburse owners as necessary, free of charge. Owners may contact Bell's customer service at 1-800-216-9446. Only about 150 units are affected, thankfully, and the NHTSA ID number for this recall is 25E088000.

This helmet passed both ECE and DOT testing, which is quite terrifying and makes you wonder how many other models are on our roads that haven't been randomly tested by the NHTSA and don't provide adequate protection. If you own one of the affected models, let us know.