Quote:
Kevin,
IIRC, sternum breakers, errr, I mean 'sternum straps' were not legal in SCCA up until only a few years ago. Some of you old-timers chime in. As Jake said, these have been reported to actually contribute to injuries. When I was crewing for my friend's short-track car, one of the drivers was involved in a pretty solid head-on shunt. Waffled the car, and he ended up breaking his sternum and several ribs. He was wearing belts w/ a sternum strap (note: it was a conventional latch buckle rather than velcro). I would never wear one.
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The sternum strap on these belts is velcro and made of the same webbing as the rest of the harness, so I have to believe that it will flex a little. Plus everything that you see in that picture that is red is foam padded. So I think that they wouldn't end up doing any additional damage to my chest than just having standard belts would. But if there is a chance, is it any worse than the chance of your shoulder belts falling off of your shoulders without it?