[Land-speed] Fwd: Hans Device and Safety

[Wester Potter]

> If you look at the speeds that are common in the venues that require  
> or strongly suggest the HANS device, they are usually under 230  
> MPH.  They are spec series where the driver protection is reviewed  
> by committee and decided on before each year of racing begins.   
> However, and I should capitalize the word, they are in competitions  
> where the driver is needing to look around at his competition.  In  
> LSR the need for peripheral vision doesn't necessarily exist.  The  
> fastest cars usually have quite narrow sight lines.  Unsuspended  
> cars can cause additional vision problems due to the rough surface  
> of the track in use.  (Is El Mirage rougher than Maxton?)  Head and  
> even body movement has been addressed by the safety rules several  
> times in the last few years and 1/2" between a helmet and roll cage  
> padding barely allows for the vibration on any but an extremely  
> smooth surface.  Building for the fastest speed in the class is  
> really addressing minimums since occasionally some class records get  
> bumped by 20% from year to year.  Perhaps there is a need for a  
> device for LSR that is venue specific rather than the HANS which is  
> designed for a driver to be able to look around more.
>
> Wes