Well, I think the issue is that there is nothing that guarentees better coverage in that area, and there is nothing out there specifiying the need for it either. Some may look the part to suit your perspective, but knowing whether or not it is serving a purpose is a different story. That can be said for back protectors as a whole in the scheme of things, when you really dive into the reasons for wearing one and what any are actually capable of providing. At any rate, a good example of what I am saying, is look at a Bohn, they are long, but they aren't certified to any standard, and likely aren't as effective as a level 2 piece anywhere within the coverage area. Same for the Astars Tech Race. It looks as though Astars removed some of the less flexible parts of their CE certified Tech protector and replaced them with comfort foam. I'm sure that pleased some of their sponsored racers, but it did nothing but decrease the coverage of the impact managing area.
While I think ahving more coverage, better standards, and better gear is something we should be asking for, there are a few things to consider about all current back protectors and their limitations. They aren't really made to affect injuries to the lower back, regardless of the hopes. They are more made with the goal of protecting ribs and rib cage area bruising, than any sort of spinal flexion or even vertabra break protection. Vertabra, and especially those in the limbar region don't typically fracture in the way we associate them under direct impacts. The small outer spinal protrusions called processes can break fairly easlly, like a rib, but the amount of force and the direction of the force needed to break more serious fractures cannot be handled by any sort of current motorcyclist back protector, and no other piece of equipment I know of out there to date. Hip impact protectors would likely be the best source of protection for that region, and a cocyx piece in your pants would be the other for tailbone protection. I don't think direct impacts to the lubar spine wil lbe as comon as other areas, as the curve of the spine in a natural state or even when rolled in a fetal postion keeps otehr areas in contact positions. Having a tailbone pice connected to your pants is likely the best solution, as is something across the higher points of the back. A piece connected to your pants will likely have more effect and likeliness to stay in place, and minimize more debilitating compression injuries.
I'm not sure about the scapular fractures, but again, I think many of them may be caused by blows drictly or even to the front of the shoulder. Perhaps some protectors again may provide more coverage in that area, but it's not specified within the standard, which does specify more coverage in that area, as a percentage of total lenght of the torso. I think the width must be 50% of the total length of a piece at 1/4 the length from the top edge.
The CE standard is stil lthe best measure of effectiveness for any of these seperate pieces. There is no other standard covering the cocyx area for protection, as far as I know for any activity, but ther is a horse rider's standard for body portecotrs, the coverage area as far as length is similar, but it does specfiy more shoulder, rib, clavicle, and chest coverage for those protectors, as well as taking the force meausrements down to more apprpriate levels than the current motorcyclist satndard requires, at 4kN. That is the level at which ribs typically fracture. The BETA 2000 Level 3 standard. I think those pieces are worth a look if you want more coverage, and they provide similar protection for the chest, an area more often struck and injured than the back, for which there is no motorcyclist-specific standard or very many good options. The BETA standard is identical to the CE standard covering horse riders body protectors ,but ensures yearly compliance testing. The impact energy used is 45J vs 50 for the motorccylist pieces, slightly less, but the real issue is that the motorcyclist pieces, unless they are passing closer to 4kN aren't doing much of anything to protect against the most minor of injuries anyhow. The key is to getting the levels of transmitted forces fown to injury levels before looking for increased range of use. Here's an example of those horse rider's pieces, which are relatively inexpensive, the same price as a single-piece T-pro Forcefield:
http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=X1-40068&Tipperary+Air-Esprit+Vest=&bhcd2=1145597918
And here's a pic of another one being worn, the Charles Owen torso vest, This one actually looks really thin:
http://www.charlesowen.com/en/products/images/kim.jpg
Here's the expectations for the injruies they are trying to minimize, for even that 4kN level, it's nothing close to those fears of paralysis, which of course, iisn't an issue with the lumbar spine anyhow, and hapen only at much higher levels of impact energy and combinations of angles, compression and motion at other parts of the body, reather than direct impact to the spine:
Protectors to this level should(4kN of force):
* Prevent minor bruising that would have produced stiffness and pain.
* Reduce significant soft tissue injuries to the level of bruising.
* Prevent a limited number of rib fractures.
