I'm wondering what possibility there would be to an additional netting
across the front of the helmet that is stabilized by attaching it to
the shoulder harness much like the wrist restraints are involved. It
could be designed to release when the harness is released but with
proper attachment and engineering the helmeted head would have very
little forward or side to side motion. The webbing could be the type,
like a woven belt, (we old fatter guys appreciate this) where as stress
hits it there is a limited give. That would allow necessary head
movement but stabilize sudden movements in an incident.
As roll cages become increasingly the subject of discussion perhaps
there is a need for fitted high impact padding inside the cage,
possibly driver specific like the seat shells in IRL and CART, that
changes for different drivers. That would limit side motion to far
less than the up to 4" now allowed. I'm sure that drivers have strong
opinions about what they like but the fact that most of them spend far
more time getting from #3 in line to the start than they do on the
course during a run shouldn't influence safety at the sacrifice of
comfort.
Wes
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