Make Head and Neck Restraints Mandatory?

[spdmonkey]

Vaughn,
I am surprised to hear of your discomfort with the HANS. My experiences are the exact opposite. As some people know I've had nearly a dozen shoulder surgeries and for the past few years its been very painful during and after the races from the shoulder harness. The pressure exerted on my shoulder has led to numerous neck aches and on bad bumps (like turns 2-3 @IRP) horrible pain. This past year I bought a HANS and the difference was amazing. For me the belt pressure is now equally distributed and at IRP I had no pain whatsoever despite running at the front of the pack. After races my neck and shoulder felt normal. It was an excellent added bonus. Maybe the issac works for some, but for me the yoke devices are going to be perfect. YMMV.
db

[lateapex911]

Vaughn,
I am surprised to hear of your discomfort with the HANS. My experiences are the exact opposite. As some people know I've had nearly a dozen shoulder surgeries and for the past few years its been very painful during and after the races from the shoulder harness. The pressure exerted on my shoulder has led to numerous neck aches and on bad bumps (like turns 2-3 @IRP) horrible pain. This past year I bought a HANS and the difference was amazing. For me the belt pressure is now equally distributed and at IRP I had no pain whatsoever despite running at the front of the pack. After races my neck and shoulder felt normal. It was an excellent added bonus. Maybe the issac works for some, but for me the yoke devices are going to be perfect. YMMV.
db

That's great, but, let's be clear, the safety aspects of the device are not causing you this new found comfort. You could achieve the exact same result merely by inserting a similar form under the belts to distribute the load.

Others are saying that the safety aspects of the HANS, DO cause discomfort...they have no other option if they are forced to wear the HANS. The architecture of the devise is the cause.

It's great that you've been able to kill two birds with one stone though! I hope you have a proper seat to go with the HANS.

[JimLill]

What I observe is that are three distinct areas to evaluate in HNR selection

1) level of protection while in seat, the sled numbers basically

2) egress in the case of an incident

3) comfort

I didn't include price although some people may consider that.

Constructive comments welcome........