The little girl in Australia I think was her very first pass and some freak deal. Sad deal for sure and I do not know all of the details of what happened to know what if anything could have avoided it.

We have lost some people bracket racing through the years and I do not ever want to sound cold but I want to know what happened and why?

One guy supposedly pulled his helmet off and took off his seatbelts then hit wall. If that was the case I think was all on him. But there were a few other crashes where the guys ran off the end of the track and passed away.
Did they die of a Heart Attack or was it brake failure, throttle stuck or something like that?
We should talk about these to learn from them and not act like it did not happen.

Some people have said show some respect for them and do not ask what happened. Sorry I want to know so maybe we can prevent someone else from doing it.

And that is why you do not remove helmet or seatbelts until you are on the return road, the other guy could have a stuck throttle or something and get you involved in his crash.
I do flip up my face shield as soon as I cross the finish line to get some air in. I know I probably should not but I do when it is real hot outside.

If you do not find out and learn what happened you are doomed to repeat it. Try to find out what happened and with in reason try to eliminate it from happening again.

When ever I am helping someone new learn to drive I give them a little speech, be prepared for stuck throttle, brake failure, fire or what ever, have a plan and be able to do it late at night, on fire and sliding. Know what to do and do not hesitate, seconds count in an emergency.

We can not eliminate all risk and to be honest if you did it would be boring and we probably would not even race. We do need to try to make it safe and avoid unnecessary risk.

The NHRA two year seat belt certification is nothing more than a money scam and we all know it!

Do this:

Simply calculate the amount of time your car sits outside and tell me that the belts are adversely effected by the sunlight. What does this actually amount to, what 200 hours per year, 300??? It doesn't give me a lot of confidence to know that my expensive five point safety seat belts are that susceptible to failure due to sunlight .

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by Curly1:
The only death I know of that a HANS device would have probably saved him was Dale Earnhardt. But at that time I do not think they were available in fact I think his death is what caused them to design them.
We do not know how many if any lives it has saved since then. Still we need to try to be safe with in reason.

I have said this before some do not have common sense. I think diapers (or pan) under your engine is huge. It could prevent many crashes from ever happening. You race long enough you are going to lose a motor. A diaper there could save your car or even your life.

I am shocked to see many people wearing HIGHLY FLAMMABLE nylon pants to race, they might as well pour gasoline on their legs. That is worse than wearing no pants. Those nylon pants and shirts leave terrible burn scars that will never look right.

Some people just are not thinking right.

See this is why they make these safety rules because of people being ignorant about safety. You are 100% wrong about when the hans was developed. It was built back in the early 80s. I really don't care what you wear.But you should do some research before you make inaccurate opinions.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Hammond:

quote:

Originally posted by Curly1:
The only death I know of that a HANS device would have probably saved him was Dale Earnhardt. But at that time I do not think they were available in fact I think his death is what caused them to design them.

See this is why they make these safety rules because of people being ignorant about safety. You are 100% wrong about when the hans was developed. It was built back in the early 80s. I really don't care what you wear.But you should do some research before you make inaccurate opinions.

I never heard of one until well after Earnhardt got killed. In fact to this day he is the only one I know of that had that specific type injury. I do remember they said he always wore his belts loose and they said that may have attributed to it because it let his head gain momentum before it snapped back. I am not arguing against safety here and do not get upset because I never heard of them before. There was an accident and one of the best died from it and some in hindsight think a HANS type may have saved him so we are all here now. NHRA is taking a proactive step to reduce the risk of happening in our sport.


Regardless of when they were invented until after Earnhardt got killed few if any used them and it increased the demand for that type safety device.

quote:

Originally posted by RPROGAS:
The NHRA two year seat belt certification is nothing more than a money scam and we all know it!

Do this:

Simply calculate the amount of time your car sits outside and tell me that the belts are adversely effected by the sunlight. What does this actually amount to, what 200 hours per year, 300??? It doesn't give me a lot of confidence to know that my expensive five point safety seat belts are that susceptible to failure due to sunlight .

Bob

They need to write the rule for the car that spends the entire year on an open trailer in the Florida sun. Yes, that means the rest of us are throwing away belts that look almost new.

At least belts aren’t terribly expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
We are more prone to glancing blows, which are not what cause the skull detachment that these devices prevent.

You need to re-examine this statement, because you're wrong... Glancing blows can cause a basal skull fracture resulting in death...it does not need to be a head on stop.. Dale Earnhardt. He did not hit the wall head on, it was at an angle, and that caused the fracture which started this whole thing. A basal skull fracture can happen at just about any angle when a sudden deceleration is involved, even at low speeds. It's caused by the head moving with enough force to quite literally separate it from the spine. No, a funny car or dragster cage will not prevent this when going at an angle. While most devices are designed and tested for frontal impacts, the scope of the injury is actually quite wide.

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
Also climate change: greenies want us all driving ev’s. But there is no data to support that this helps the environment overall nor that environmental change is even caused by humans

Now this I agree on, and there is now data supporting the fact that ev's are actually more polluting. CO2 is also not a greenhouse gas. If we reduce it, we die, FACT. As co2 goes down, so does oxygen, because plants die off for lack of food.....

quote:

Originally posted by Curly1:

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Hammond:

quote:

Originally posted by Curly1:
The only death I know of that a HANS device would have probably saved him was Dale Earnhardt. But at that time I do not think they were available in fact I think his death is what caused them to design them.

See this is why they make these safety rules because of people being ignorant about safety. You are 100% wrong about when the hans was developed. It was built back in the early 80s. I really don't care what you wear.But you should do some research before you make inaccurate opinions.

I never heard of one until well after Earnhardt got killed. In fact to this day he is the only one I know of that had that specific type injury. I do remember they said he always wore his belts loose and they said that may have attributed to it because it let his head gain momentum before it snapped back. I am not arguing against safety here and do not get upset because I never heard of them before. There was an accident and one of the best died from it and some in hindsight think a HANS type may have saved him so we are all here now. NHRA is taking a proactive step to reduce the risk of happening in our sport.


Regardless of when they were invented until after Earnhardt got killed few if any used them and it increased the demand for that type safety device.

Basilar skull fractures are a common cause of death in many motor racing accidents. Drivers who have died as a result of basilar skull fractures include Formula One drivers Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger; IndyCar drivers Bill Vukovich Sr., Tony Bettenhausen Sr., Floyd Roberts, and Scott Brayton; NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Sr., Adam Petty, Tony Roper, Kenny Irwin Jr., Neil Bonnett, John Nemechek, J. D. McDuffie, and Richie Evans; CART drivers Jovy Marcelo, Greg Moore, and Gonzalo Rodriguez; and ARCA drivers Blaise Alexander and Slick Johnson. Ernie Irvan is a survivor of a basilar skull fracture sustained at an accident during practice at the Michigan International Speedway in 1994.[10] Other race car drivers like Stanley Smith and Rick Carelli also survived a basilar skull fracture.[11][12]

To prevent basilar skull fractures, many motorsports sanctioning bodies mandate the use of head and neck restraints, such as the HANS device.[13][14][15][16] The HANS device has demonstrated its life-saving abilities multiple times, including Jeff Gordon at the 2006 Pocono 500, Michael McDowell at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2008,[17] Robert Kubica at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, and Elliott Sadler at the 2003 EA Sports 500/2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.[18] Ever since the mandatory implementation of the HANS device, there has not been a single driver crash-related fatality in NASCAR's national divisions.

Interesting
How many drag racing? Bracket racing n particular?
And how many Indy car races happen every very weekend compared to bracket passes?

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
Interesting
How many drag racing? Bracket racing n particular?
And how many Indy car races happen every very weekend compared to bracket passes?

What difference does it make? Why do some of you guys have such a big problem with this rule? Other forms of motorsports have had fatalities from not wearing a head and neck restraint. NHRA is just being proactive. It shouldn't be a big issue with the speeds the majority of cars are running these days. I'll wear one every time I make a pass. You all can do what ever you like I don't care.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Hammond:

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
Interesting
How many drag racing? Bracket racing n particular?
And how many Indy car races happen every very weekend compared to bracket passes?

What difference does it make? Why do some of you guys have such a big problem with this rule? Other forms of motorsports have had fatalities from not wearing a head and neck restraint. NHRA is just being proactive. It shouldn't be a big issue with the speeds the majority of cars are running these days. I'll wear one every time I make a pass. You all can do what ever you like I don't care.

I think we all need to embrace that last sentence

Do not know why some are getting upset and defensive about it.
Most everyone here arguing about it already wears one every pass. So what is the problem?

Even the one who does not and said he will not go over 150 MPH because of it who cares? That is the NHRA rule and he is abiding by the rule and staying under that limit. He is not breaking any rules. So who cares? I sure do not. Now if he was to ever go over 150 that would be breaking the rules, very bad and extremely dangerous.
Pull his license, ban him for life, impound the car and give him life in prison. At 149 he good Bro.

I do question how many lives if any NHRA will save because of the rule but I completely understand taking a proactive approach to it.
I have been wearing one even before it was mandated. I was proactive with them even before the NHRA rule.

What's really surprising about some people whining about this rule are probably the same people complaining about the lack of tech and enforcement of rules like divers with loose belts and pajama pants. A head and neck restraint has been proven to save many lives. Just because you don't know the cause of death of a fellow drag racer doesn't mean it didn't happen. I never had a problem wearing one,putting it on in the car and hooking it by myself.

Apparently, people missed my post saying.."The one blessing in disguise with this is my new home track only runs SuperPro at 1/8th mile...I run 4.50 in the 1/8th......No neck brace nonsense needed.....I'll still buy one and get used to it in case I ever go to a track that runs 1/4 mile..."

So 4 more pages aren't really necessary.....I've never used one, I don't like them, But it may not be the pia I think it's going to be and I'll fall in love with it...

I mostly just asked if anyone knew the exact wording of the rule...I got that answer ....If I need any more info I'll ask....thanks

I guess what I am surprised about is the amount of people gung ho on new requirements that answer a problem that doesn't exist in our form of motorsports in the name of prevention. Perhaps all houses should be built with sprinkler systems in them in case they could save a life? Should all dragsters be required to have onboad fire systems automatic? And canopies? In the name of prevention of course. When there is no need for justification, the sky is the limit. What's next? I'm not saying anyone shouldn't use this stuff if they are convinced it is the right thing. But to require everyone else to use it without justification.....well it's the way of the world today.

Unless I'm off the mark here, I think most people complaining about this are because it's just another part that needs to be re-certed. Like the seat belt thing and other pieces that have no moving parts.

We are all interested in going home at the end of the night. What we're tired of is the feeling the sanctioning organization seemingly getting a kick back on parts sales or re-certs. The manufacturers have to buy those SFI stickers.

Example: I sent an ATI Powerglide case and bell in to be re-certed this year. Not a thing wrong with it but, it required dis-assembling a functioning transmission for two stickers out of date. The cost of the two stickers was $75. The cost to ship and insure there and back was $225.

My feeling is while an inspector can look at the neck device and see it's damaged or not. I want that da*n thing inspected by some one in the know. And while he's at it get his a$$ under my car to check that trans, bell, and flexplate sticker.

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
I guess what I am surprised about is the amount of people gung ho on new requirements that answer a problem that doesn't exist in our form of motorsports in the name of prevention. Perhaps all houses should be built with sprinkler systems in them in case they could save a life? Should all dragsters be required to have onboad fire systems automatic? And canopies? In the name of prevention of course. When there is no need for justification, the sky is the limit. What's next? I'm not saying anyone shouldn't use this stuff if they are convinced it is the right thing. But to require everyone else to use it without justification.....well it's the way of the world today.

In addition to that several bracket racers have crashed at end of track and passed away. Maybe they died of a heart attack or stroke etc but who knows? They will not talk about that. So by that way of thinking all cars should be mandated parachutes automatically deploy at finish line, automatic engine and fuel shut off at finish line. I mean if we are going to get proactive on what COULD possibly happen. In fact if you are going to take the extra step to prevent any possibility of injury or danger put a speed limit on all of the cars say 60 MPH.

Bucky is making a good point- How much is too much for a limited risk. How many people if any has it or will it save in our sport? Along the same lines if you allow Government to take your rights because of an Emergency there will always be another "Emergency" to take more.

Nomad is also right about the recert bull. We are all interested in going home at the end of the night.

IMAKEHP is right if he does not run 150 he does not have to wear one.

Most of the rest of us are already wearing them and have for years so no problem there.

So after this debate I did some looking around on how many lives could have been saved if they were wearing a HANS device even though they were not invented or available at that time. Some were listed as massive brain damage, some were broken bones and fire, one had metal bar through the helmet. Some of those may or may not have been saved by a HANS device.

There are a few like Dale Earnhardt that in my opinion had they been wearing a HANS properly they would not have got killed. We do know Earnhardt liked his belts loose and a more laid back seat style which in itself is a bad combination in a sudden stop. That allowed his body to go forward and gain momentum before the sudden stop to detach his skull from spine.

That was a tragedy and we have learned from it and taking steps to prevent it even though it may be very rare in our class.

quote:

Originally posted by imakehp:
Is it reasonably easy to put this shyt on by yourself? With a firesuit on, then getting into a dragster? Old guy in a kinda tight dragster

Used a Hans for years, no issues, I do it in the car also.

quote:

Originally posted by TOP38:

quote:

Originally posted by imakehp:
Is it reasonably easy to put this shyt on by yourself? With a firesuit on, then getting into a dragster? Old guy in a kinda tight dragster

Used a Hans for years, no issues, I do it in the car also.

Now that would be great if I could put it on in the car...Climbing into my car full dress is (almost) impossible....if I rigged up a hook for the steering wheel where I could hang it up out of the way somehow it would be MUCH easier I'm sure. Maybe I can attach a helmet hook on the outside of the windshield to hang it on.....

I leave my HANS attached to helmet and strap helmet to cage on top. I get in the car and put on my lap belts then put on headsock and helmet with HANS. Tighten helmet strap and pull belts over should pads on HANS. (The Pro 1 Safety belts with magnets helps.) Then I do my shoulder belts and arm restraints and last my gloves.

My HANS is a Necksgen brand as I think it was easier to put on in the car.