Originally Posted by safetyworker:
Fortunately or unfortunately, the forces in play in sprint and midget crashes are not unique to open wheel incidents. Force is force whether open or closed cockpit...dirt or asphalt...winged or non-winged...NASCAR or USAC. What really matters is learning how to manage the energy that needs to be dissipated in crashes. The amount of force that causes severe neck injuries, or a basilar skull fracture (what killed Earnhardt and many others) is the same no matter the vehicle involved. How that force is transmitted to the driver does vary.
Get over it folks, head and neck restraining devices save lives and reduce serious and critical injuries! Being angry about being told you need to use HANS-type devices is a waste of time!!! Spend your time learning about state of the art safety devices and concepts. Look at your belts, seat, roll cage, and the distance between the top of your helmet and the bottom of the the halo bar. Let's focus on productive efforts!
You've completely jumped the shark on this one. People are asking if your heads still got forward motion when the hans stops it suddenly thus causing the face to impact the helmet. Certainly not as much as hitting a object inches of feet away but is that a side effect of the device?
Nobody said you shouldn't use them.
Chuck