Safety Harness and Rollcage Questions.

[lmcgrew79]

One of our track buddies recently gave me a set of harnesses. Ive been debating on where to install them or not yet. Not to scare anyone but from what i understand, the basilar skull fracture, which is possibly the worst racing injury to worry about other than fire, is the reason the hans device was created and now mandatory in most all racing. The front air bag is another helpful item to prevent basilar skull fracture with a 3 point belt. I guess my ultimate question is in a car with an airbag is it safe you use harnesses, or should i wait till i get a hans?

Rollover protection is another concern again with harneses your body is straped and your head isnt. Anyone know the how well the 08 viper coupes factory roof holds up in a rollover?


Ultimatly i know installing both a cage and a harness are the way to go, but my car isnt a full blown race car, it is still doubled as a street car. After watching daves car roll, it got me thinking about this.

 

[DrumrBoy]

I think overall you're safer with the harness vs the DOT seat belt.

That said, a HANS or R3 or Hybrid (they all restrict head movement...just in different ways) can be had for less than $1000. It attaches to the helmet so there's no modding the car to accommodate.

Yes its $1000, but if you're concerned about hitting something hard while going fast, its pretty cheap insurance. The HANS is the popular favorite; not only was it first with a catchy acronym but its much easier to take on and off than the R3. The HANS limits forward and back motion (to reduce BSF forces) where the R3 limits front to back and twisting forces....which makes it a PITA to see where you're going in the pits.

Think of the peace of mind the $1000 would buy you. (Think of it as a couple of really nice tires....but its your life instead.....)

 

[345s-bspinnin]

Make sure your belts are compatible with a HANS device. Some belt manufacturers like TeamTech offer both versions of belts.

My $.02

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Luke,

ANY cage on the street is asking for trouble, likewise for harness use on the street. Be careful, I think you would be safe with harness on the track and the stock roll over protection the coupe has. Dave's crash was bad and I know the cage did it's job, but on the street it is dangerous. Using a harness with an airbag is a good thing in my opinion also, especially if you don't use a Hans device at the track.

 

[lmcgrew79]

Thanks mark that is pretty much the answer i was looking for.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Here is a re-post of mine from a few years ago from the following thread:

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/620829-Air-Bag-Safety-Belts?highlight=steve+olvey

MY POST: Air Bag/Safety Belts

"First, one might ask: what year is your
Viper?

Next...is this Viper strictly for off road/track usage??

If NOT, then you need to realize that you and your passenger are more at risk riding in a car whose belts are NOT DOT compliant, and if you are using said six-point system, you are more likely to suffer a cervical spine injury as your new system does not have pre-tensioners that fire in a collision AND because your torso is too "bound down" while your head is too free which can actually cause a cranio-cervical dislocation (casually known as "an internal decapitation" in certain circles)...UNLESS, of course you are driving on the street in a HANS device!!!

Finally you MAY negate or jeopardize your own medical coverage when the above situation is indeed discovered (as it WILL be by the forensic engineer hired by YOUR insurance company to help them duck or minimize their payment should you survive) and, expose yourself (or your estate) even further to the attorney(s) hired by your passenger or his/her estate AND their insurance company.

FURTHER food for thought comes from a related post that I made a few months ago:

"REMEMBER: A 5-6 point harness
system..."induces strong rebounds on the head, owing to the fact that the
shoulder straps stop the forward motion of the torso too fast"...as reported
from a biomechanical lab study in Sweeden by Ottoson et al in the
'80's.

As Panin et al published in Aviation Space Envir. Medicine in
2001..."Futhermore, the frequent necessity of supporting added mass above the
shoulders(e.g., crash helmet...) can magnify the moment of inertia of the
head"..."the population is at risk for injury due to such forces". Noting that
"various methods of fixation of the head to prevent cervical injury are
described in the literature."...hence my HANS
recommendation !!

Steve Olvey published on this subject in "Neurosurgery" a
couple of years back. Many here in Indy may recall that Steve graduated from the IU Med School in 1969, went to
Methodist hospital and co-founded the Lifeline System and "matured" the whole
area of trauma management for the Speedway...and later CART. One of Steve's recent concerns is gathering GOOD data on
helmeted sports injuries to better understand (and thus prevent and/or minimize)
not only the acute massive injuries, but also the long term effects of the
lesser injuries such as repetitive concussions.

With these things in
mind, I HOPE more will look carefully at the equipment that they choose...and be
willing to make the necessary investment in their own future.

Have
fun...BUT, be SAFE !!!!"

 

[Paul Hawker]

In addition to the crash safety aspect to the use of a harness on the track, the ability to strap yourself firmly into the seat gives additional control to the driver as he is not constantly being throw around in the car, needing to brace himself with knees, and arms.

For street driving an internal roll cage can be very dangerous, as you will not be wearing a helmet, and impact with a roll cage component can result in serious injury or worse.

 

[lmcgrew79]

Steve the viper is a 2008 it is not strictly for track, probably 80%. i do not intend on putting a cage in it. I know the hans is a good device, and im going to get one, i just was wondering if it was needed with factory airbags still in place, im aware that without airbags it is most def. needed.

 

[Steve-Indy]

In my opinion, "harness" demands HANS or similar device.

 

[Magnus_]

harness+hans at the very minimum.

If you want to push it at tracks like Road America, Road Atlanta, VIR and other high speed tracks, then cage for sure.

Even if you're just going at it at 7/10'ths.. ANYTHING can happen out there. You could hit fluid, you could have a mechanical, etc.. and the speeds on those tracks.. yikes!

The viper is just too fast.