[Fot] Fwd: HANS Device

[Bill Babcock]

Not sure why, but this never came through

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Bill Babcock <Billb at bnj.com>
> Date: January 16, 2009 9:39:08 AM HST
> To: William G Rosenbach <wgrosenbach at juno.com>
> Cc: dos_gusanos at msn.com, fot at autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: [Fot] HANS Device
>
> That's an interesting perspective, and certainly logical. The only  
> thing that doesn't bear up in my experience (which is certainly  
> subjective, and unsupported by statistics available to me) is that  
> the majority of nasty accidents seem to happen in the mid pack at  
> vintage races. And Vintage cars generally don't have anything  
> leading edge in their safety equipment. A mild steel rollcage  
> constructed like those of the late 60's, shoulder belts, fire suit,  
> a good helmet and maybe a HANs device. I'm sure you don't think  
> that's anything like what saves lives in F1, or Indycars, or Nascar,  
> or drag racing, or virtually any modern race car.
>
> Sure, the stuff isn't cheap, but by and large it's a long-term  
> investment. Anyone that thinks this fairly minimal level of  
> protection makes them invulnerable has a few screws loose to begin  
> with. Or has never been in a serious racing accident in a vintage  
> car and come away lucky--because that's really all it is. Nothing in  
> my car or on my body saved me from being killed by that Corvette  
> that T-boned me at Watkins Glen. Just luck. Didn't hit the wall  
> until most of the speed had been scrubbed off. Didn't roll over  
> while he was pushing me sideways. Just luck.
>
> The "keeps new people away from the sport" argument plays equally  
> well with not letting people race a clapped out H prod rabbit in  
> Vintage. I don't think the idea of vintage racing is to have the  
> cheapest entry point available in racing. I think that's karts.
>
>
> On Jan 16, 2009, at 9:07 AM, William G Rosenbach wrote:
>
>>>>> Henry Morrison wrote:
>> I think that when you get a guy in a car with all the safety  
>> equipment
>> on, he
>> thinks he's bulletproof and will probably take chances not taken by  
>> the
>> guy
>> who is perhaps racing with a lap belt as his only safety device.
>>
>> I tend to agree with Henry. It was pointed out in, I believe a PBS
>> program on automotive safety; if you take two identical cars, give  
>> one to
>> a person who is told "anything you do in this car, no matter how  
>> minor,
>> will kill or seriously injure you"; and the other car to a person  
>> that is
>> told that "no matter what you do in this car, the safety systems will
>> protect you from any injury in any situation"; those two cars will  
>> not be