new rules for helmets and HANS?

mikeblaszczak

mikeblaszczak

Well-known member
I've been trying to figure out if the rules for helmets and HANS devices have changed. It looks like both rules were voted down -- SA2000 helmets are still legal, and HANS devices are not required. Is this still true, or did one of the boards overrule the vote and change the rules?
 
Mike - you're correct. SA2000 helmets are legal for one more season. Head & neck restraint devices are not required, as the drivers voted. The E-Board did put in a new section that highly recommends H&N restraints, but nothing is required.

Tom - 2011 Race Steward
 
This is one case where the vote of the drivers (in favor of personal choice and freedom) over ruled common sense with the H&R devices. There are SO many options now, everybody should be able to find a comfey one. But what are youi gonna do, Charlotte.
 
Last edited:
Richard Broadhead said:
This is one case where the vote of the drivers (in favor of personal choice and feedom) over ruled common sense with the H&R devices. There are SO many options now, everybody should be able to find a comfey one. But what are youi gonna do, Charlotte.
Click to expand...

One of the reasons the HANS rule was voted down this year (in my opinion obviously) was that is specifically called out a HANS devices (not a general H&N restraint per SFI spec).
 
When are the prices going to come down somewhere reasonable? I realize that we should not skimp on safety, but to add another $800 to $1000 to a racer's budget is a bit steep.

And like helmets, once a head and neck restraint device is required, will we need to replace them periodically like we do with helmets and belts?
 
Back when HANS were $1200, Bob Spreen explained the logic thusly: "Only 5% as expensive as one of those nifty breath-operated wheelchairs".
 
racerx69 said:
When are the prices going to come down somewhere reasonable? but to add another $800 to $1000 to a racer's budget is a bit steep.
Click to expand...

SAFE RACER HANS = $595

APEX PERFORMANCE DEFENDER = $549

That's just about the price of 2 tires for a Formula Continental.

Don't know what Andy is charging these days but he does a really good job on fitting you properly sitting in your car.. at the track.. so simple

And if you get serious and watch Apexspeed, you can find used ones for less.

If you had seen Steves crash a few years ago you'd understand why even in club racing at Pacific I think a H&N device is a VERY good idea. There's NO DOUBT in my mind that the HANS was a major contributor to his survival.
 
Last edited:
HANS devices do not expire.

This is from the HANSdevice website:
http://hansdevice.com/What-if-my-HANS-Device-is-in-an-impact
"What if my HANS Device is in an impact?
•HANS Devices are one of the strongest parts of your safety gear but should be inspected periodically or after major impacts. Tethers should be replaced after any major impact.
•Examine your HANS Device visually and run your finger around the edges. Any sign of de-lamination or surface cracking and exposed composite material means the device has served its purpose and should be replaced.
•Even the most thorough inspection can fail to detect damage. This is one of the reasons that we do not resell used devices, and we do not recommend that anyone buy a used device. If in doubt about the integrity of a HANS Device it should be replaced."


Get one with the sliding tethers. You won't even know it's there.
 
Last edited:
Richard Broadhead said:
SAFE RACER HANS = $595

APEX PERFORMANCE DEFENDER = $549
Click to expand...

I believe you mean Defnder : http://www.defnderneckbrace.com/

For your $549 you get a complete system with a DefNder.
It can handle all seat back angles, is width adjustable, has the quick release built in, sliding tethers
as well as side impact tethers.

For your $549 HANS you get only a HANS to which you must add everything. Usually the low price is for the very small HANS, with another price for a standard size. To this you must add tethers, with sliding tethers extra cost.
Everything is extra cost and your total buy in to equal a Defnder is $650-$700 (depending on vendor).

I bought my DefNder at PitstopUSA for $545, with free shipping and got a $25 rebate card to use on other stuff.
For $520 I can't even buy a used HANS.

It took me exactly one practice session to get used to having it on. Yes, it does limit side-to-side a little.
But if your head is moving this much to see traffic then you need to re-evaluate your mirrors.
I did some forward test lunges and the security of having my head restrained that positively was very reassuring.

Personally, the addition of the DefNder has improved my driving as it's one less thing to worry about.
 
Checking this forum from time to time, I never fail to read discussions on safety. Count me as surprised that anyone remembers anything I've ever said, but thanks to Mr. Posner for recalling my words about a HANS device being "about 5% of the cost of one of those wheelchairs you steer with your teeth." I said that at a driver's meeting nearly 7 years ago, 2 weeks following what would likely have been the first (?) amateur racing fatality at PIR, if it were not for the HANS device. I was wearing a neck brace to support two fractures in the C1 spinal vertebra.

I never saw the crash coming. The last thing I remember about that race was kissing my wife on pre-grid as she strapped me in. My memory tape restarts in Portland's Emanual Hospital the next day. I paid $1000 for my HANS. $500, $800 are all chump change compared to being here, and healthy. There are things we have no control over in racing. Spending a few dollars on something we can control is just common sense.

I wouldn't get in a race car without a HANS any more than I would drive it wearing a leather helmet and a T-shirt. Head and neck restraint systems should be required in amateur racing.

Ask me how I really feel...

Bob Spreen
 
Bob, I remember your talk at a driver's meeting quite well. Comparing the cost of a HANS device versus a wheelchair drove the point home with me, and I put away my leather helmet for good. Armadillo Andy got me set up correctly before the next race, and I certainly feel safer in the car. While I don't like the lack of side to side head movement in the paddock, once underway on track, I forget that it's there. Thanks for the great reminder.
 
Richard,

Jeff used the sliding teathers and had absolutely no problems looking from side to side. They can be installed on older HANS devices too. If ANYBODY was likely to complain about discomfort or difficulty with the HANS it was him and never ever a word about it.
 
I have been in 2 front end impacts. An 80+mph one without a HANS and a 30+mph one with a Hans (sorry Manfred).

Now the 2 impacts aren't really comparable but hitting that wall without the HANS caused me a sore neck, upper back and head for a good week afterward. I received a HANS as a Christmas gift shortly after.

Now, I can't imagine being in a car without it. I find being in the race car much more comfortable with it. However, the point really struck home when the driver who rolled his red Porsche at Spokane last year spoke to the drivers during a race at Pacific Raceways and I believe he ended his segment saying (and I paraphrase): "If you're not racing with some sort of Head and Neck system you have to be out of your FU**ING mind!"

Round of applause ensued. I just figured ever racer in our conference "got it" after that.
 
Thanks Richard for your kind words. It always feels good when you know you've been a helpful influence.

The most important point in my post is not the essentially low-cost protection that a HANS device provides. It is that we we must make every effort to control the risks we can influence. Every driver thinks he has the skill and the experience to control his risk to a personally acceptable degree. Otherwise, we'd never got in the car. My experience suggests the truth is otherwise. I was on the pole for that race. I was in control. I was going to win that race, yet the threat came from behind and I never saw it coming. I was told it was quite a spectacular crash, but I recall nothing. I really had nothing to say about how it played out, but my extended rollbar height, my properly mounted Schroth belts, my Arai helmet and my HANS did all the important talking in those critical moments. The following moments were expertly handled by our angels in white, our beloved Conference workers and the ER team at Emanual.

Each time we get in the car we tell ourselves a little fib about being in control. The HANS is just one piece in a pile of things we can do to keep ourselves from finding out about the fib.

I do recall that in addition to the pre-grid kiss from my wife, she patted me on the helmet and said, "Bring me a checkered flag." After the crash, she pointed out that my neck-braced style, "doesn't look anything like a checkered flag." Blessed with her constant trackside presence during my Conference racing, I could not have had a better racing partner. And she's a pretty fine nurse, too.

While you can't have her, you can have a HANS. Get one.

Bob Spreen
 
I support everyones opinions and it is clear that the majority of drivers will obtain some sort of restraint device, ON THEIR OWN ACCORD.

Do not regulate something that does not need regulated.

With that said, I will obtain one as soon as I am able, even if it means not racing 2 or 3 races this year.
 
+1 for Andy over at Armadillo. He installed a Hans for me last fall. Seems to me around $700 with the sliding tethers, and retro-fitting my helmet. I know there are several head and neck restraint systems out there, but for the life of me, I don't think I have ever seen a pro driver exit a car (Nascar, F1, Grand Am, ALMS) wearing anything but a HANS.....maybe they all get them for free, but seemed pretty clear to me which one to get. Delay that new tire purchase if you have too or forgo one event in 2011!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top