There's also this from the BMAA who negotiated the rule change to create SSDR.
I think it's a little out of date now in some details
I can understand Genghis' concerns, and indeed the low mass requirements do nothing to improve the safety for the pilot. From what I'd read, though, I'd understood that under SSDR the pilot's safety was his/her own concern.
As history has shown, I'm told, that airworthiness is less a cause of injury and death than airmanship is, the requirement to be a licensed pilot to fly SSDR
should help prevent most of the worst excesses.
I reckon SSDR should be a good middle way between the almost total freedom from airworthiness and licensing regulation experienced by the 'free flight' people and the regulation experienced by the heavier world of permit-to-fly microlights.
MB