Ed
The cuts were from a piece of PVC pipe used as a frame for the mile markers.
When he hit marker it shattered and a piece hit the wind shield and breaking
it and and his face shield, the force of the wind caused his helmet to lift
causing him to lose vision.
The cuts were most likely caused by the wind tearing his scalp where the
plastic hit him. The chin strap may have been loose(not properly tightened)
and the reason the helmet lifted. The next day he looked like he was the
losing end of a bar fight. I was on the accident committee and documated the
incident as well as taking pictures for the study we do on each incident.
Glen
----- Original Message -----
From: "The Weldons" <2weldons@earthlink.net>
To: <land-speed@autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2004 2:23 PM
Subject: Crash helmet hazards
> List--The item on air bags and full face helmets got me to thinking.
> During
> Speedweek this year I was east of the pits taking photos when a roadster
> came
> off the long course with the driver standing up while the car was still
> rolling. Seemed strange and when the safety crews showed up it was
> obvious he
> had been hurt. I later read that he had hit a mile marker and some of the
> debris got to his helmet causing some nasty lacerations from the helmet
> being
> (I assume) forced up and back against his head. Another example of our
> present helmet technology being weak in the area of frontal impacts.
> I'm currently working on the roll cage for my street roadster and thought
> it
> might be a good idea to build in a hoop out of roll bar tube that would
> act
> like a rear support for the back part of a windshield frame and grab bar
> for
> getting in and out. I'd make a separate surrounding frame for the
> windshield
> bolted through the body skin so as to be removable to allow the body to be
> taken off. With a formed polycarbonate windshield in front of it it might
> even add some streamlining. Would make the car look different from the
> current style of street roadster and may even be somewhat controversial.
> We
> have some good reasons to believe that this style of windshield added some
> streamlining to Doug King's modified roadster.
> Dan Warner, JD Tone and others--What do you think of this?
> Ed Weldon
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