Questions about Euans helmet

[xr2rep]

Euans accident raises some disturbing questions about helmet safety.

Obviously his helmet had the proper approvals and had been checked by the scrutineers but,

1. - Was it ordered mail order without testing for fit?

2. - Was it adjusted properly? A properly sized and fitted helmet should be snug and have minimal movement about the head when you twist it and try to pull it forward. (I will admit to crapping myself in park ferme after a race when I found my helmet strap unfastened. I don't know if it came loose or if I had forgotten to do it up. I now double check in the holding area.)

3. - After an accident like that should the marshalls or scrutineers retain and check helmet integrity before returning it to its owner. Should there be a report about how/why the helmet came loose or what damage was caused to it?

4. - All I have ever seen is the scrutineers checking the helmet and the approval stickers etc. Should they go the whole hog and check for a correct fit? Should the helmet be given a scrutineering stamp? Should the helmet be paired to the driver to prevent badly fitting helmet borrowing?

Just my twopence worth, I'm glad Euans car and cage were so strong that his helmet coming off was just worrying and not disasterous.

[Mike Strong]

Anyone know what type of helmet Euan has?

The metal stud fastener on my Sparco is awful - it's a cheap and bloody fiddly thing which I often have to get help securing.
Even then I'd imagine that it wouldn't take much to make it seperate if my head was flailing about.

Anyone want to buy a Sparco?

[XR2 Baz]

I reckon the scrutineers do all they need to. The onus is always on the driver to make sure they're safe. You wouldn't go out racing knowing you have dodgy brakes, well most of us wouldn't, so the same applies to a helmet, roll cage and so on.

I used to have a "seat belt" type buckle on my old helmet. Very convenient and easy to use, but not necessarily the safest as they can come undone. In my opinion, the d-ring type fastner is the safest, much more fiddly, but I'd rather footer about for 30 seconds fastening my lid than rattle my head off a roll cage.

Cheers
Baz

[craig21]

Hi

Coming from the world of karting helmets for karters are realy important ive seen helmets having to be sent to arai to be x-rayed after accidents because theres been markings on them from impacts with tyres. Shouldnt the scruitineers done this with this guys helmet if its been rolling round a car. Or was it that badly damaged it was obviously for the bin

[commentary]

I agree with xr2rep that this accident raises serious questions. It is a great relief that Euan walked away from this. He was VERY lucky and we must not lose sight of that. To be blunt, a loose helmet in the car could have killed him.

In addition to the valid questions raised by xr2rep, I would add a further question. Is it time for HANS devices to be made compulsory? I believe it is. The helmet tethers on the HANS device would have helped keep the helmet in place (although of course that should be an issue in the first place). Also looking at the number of impacts in this episode and the forces placed on Euan's upper body and neck, it's clear that HANS would have reduced the risk of injury. Every season we have a collection of accidents where either multiple impacts or sudden whiplash events occur. So far we've got away with it, but I cringe every time. For the price of a couple of sets of tyres we have the chance to prevent a tragedy.

Anyone else thinking the same way?

[s3swiss]

'commentary' - nope, can't say I am. As per my comments in the HANS thread - don't feel they offer that much increased protection and given the amount of kit you need to update to fit them properly (helmet, collar, harness, possibly seat), they are prohibitively expensive IMHO. Having had a 'bonnet up' driving incident early this year - also would be worried I couldn't see enough to drive to a safe stopping location.

[emicen]

The crash speeds HANS devices were really designed for are rarely attained in club racing, especially tin top club racing. The only cars on any of the current SMRC grids that I can think of capable of attaining those kind of speeds around Knockhill would all be in the A1 class in Sports & Saloons (specifically Andy Gallacher and Charlie Shaws Foci, Mark Taddei’s Fiesta/Evo, Tony Galloway’s Evo and Ian Donaldson’s Gallardo) and even then, we’d be talking complete brake failure leading to straight in to the tyres at Duffus or the hairpin.
 
The trade off with the HANS device’s ability to reduce the incidences of basilar fractures is the increase in likelihood of concussion due to the head not being able to move forward and decelerate the brain gradually. IMHO, karting type braces would be a better proposition:
-          They allow greater movement of the head allowing a greater field of vision in the car (And as mentioned, should there be a bonnet up situation, the driver will be able to guide the car to a safe stop. As I understand it, some rally drivers are really taking issue with HANS devices for this reason as they can no longer continue if the bonnet pops up mid stage because the HANS device wont let them stoop their head low enough to see out the gap at the bottom of the screen)
-          The head can move forward in impact lessening the chances of a concussion but it is semi restrained reducing the risk of whiplash or basilar fracture
-          They’re a damn sight cheaper (which although safety should never be compromised, it is something you have to keep in mind when specifying equipment compulsory at club level)
 
I started out karting before neck braces became common place but by the time I’d been doing it a few years we were all wearing them. Mine wasn’t one of the pukka Sparco ones, was simply a medical brace my mum had managed to blag from somewhere which was possibly a touch more rigid than the karting specific ones. I had a kart go up and over me at the hairpin at Larkhall and was completely fine despite having ~90kg bounce on my head.

[Dave]

This is all being blown out of proportion. Euan said himself he might have even taken it off after the car stopped. You do very funny things after something like that happens and dont remember any of it.

With the Hans i think it demostrates the level of protection you get from todays equipment without a Hans device. It should be optional not compulsary.

I would never wear gloves when racing, I know the risks and know there are products available to limit those risks. My choice.

[aland]

folks, is this the thread to be debating how and why Euan's lid came off, we will never know either way. all i know is that i was very relieved to see him climb out of the car okay. thank the engineers that built the cage so well and a big thanks to the big fella upstairs for letting him walk away

before i started marshalling i wasnt a religious man, it is making me think now