Brian:
THANKS MUCH for passing this info along. The more we know and better
informed we are, the better we can help protect ourselves and each other.
This forum is an EXCELLENT arena for such discussions.
I was at the SAE Show in February and stopped at the Univ of Mich booth as
they had a HANS on display, and were promoting their in-house test
capabilities, showing some crash sled video footage. Several things stood
out in these. That the HANS did provide the best frontal crash protection
for head protection thus far.
But more surprising to me was the footage of crashes with dummies using
"horsecollars". I have been using them ever since seeing the Palm Springs
crash on Speedvision (during my race there) of the Alfa rear ending the Lotus
7. I was very surprise to see that even with a horsecollar, there was severe
head movement (whipping)...almost as much as without it. I'm sure they help
some, but how much??
I also have some experience with the airbag business (really total occupant
restraints). Most often, severe injurires are caused by "secondary
collisions" of your internal organs with your skeletal structures. That's
why the primary job of a seatbelt/airbag/occupant restraint system is not
holding you in place, but rather MANAGING the energy of the impact to
minimize trauma on the body. Think of it like falling off a bicycle while
holding an egg, while trying to keep the egg from breaking.
While we now know quite a lot about body dynamics during a crash, there's
still a lot to learn, and even more to learn about how to provide maximum
protection. I'd urge everyone to study their own situations and think about
how your can be better protected in your own vehicles. The crotch strap
change is most interesting, and I will certainly consider it. I'm also
thinking a HANS device is a good idea (still damn expensive, though....but I
guess I'm worth it!!).
Regards,
Myles H. Kitchen
1965 Lotus Cortina Mk1 #128
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