HANS Devices Compulsory for QR & Lakeside in 2014

[Red Dragon]

Drive anywhere in Melbourne to see the carnage on the roads, especially at night when the hoons take over the streets

[deviant]

As an aside, can anyone point me to the stats of injuries from 4 wheeled motorsport? The only stats I have seen cover 2 and 4 wheel and our 2 wheel brethren are at greater risk and hence distort the stats for 4 wheelers.

I have not had a really good look but this is a start: http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/re ... jcat79.pdf

I would think the FIA have stats and I would think CAMS could tell you to.

[mazmad]

Thanks Deviant good find. I have only had a quick browse but seems to confirm my suspicions. Most discussions of Motorsport injuries talk totals and absolutes and don't break the info up between disciplines.

In the year of the study (2002/2003) there were 2093 hospitalisations from Motorsport. Motorsport had the highest rate of incidents per 100,000 participants. Sounds gruesome.

BUT. 53 from Motor Car racing, 1,777 from bikes etc etc. We get a bad rap. Unfortunately it doesn't split the rate of incidents by the type of discipline.

(Pls don't anybody use this as reason to minimise your safety precautions, stuff happens and when it does your gear is worth it's weight in gold).

[Magpie]

Injuries in professional motor car racing drivers at a racing circuit between 1996 and 2000.
Minoyama, O.; Tsuchida, H., British Journal of Sports Medicine Oct 2004: Vol. 38 Issue 5. p. 613-616 (English Abstract Available)

Abstract: Background: Research on injuries in racing drivers is limited. Objective: To gain more information about such injuries. Methods: Injuries recorded during and after races between 1996 and 2000 were investigated using the medical charts from the circuit medical centre at Fuji Speedway, which is one of the biggest circuits in Japan. Races were in either single seat/formula cars or saloon cars. Results: Data were obtained from 39 races in single seat cars (1030 participating cars) and 42 races in saloon cars (1577 cars). Fifty injuries were recorded during the single seat car races, and 62 during the saloon car races (injury rate 1.2 per 1000 competitors per race and 0.9 per 1000 competitors per race respectively). Thirteen injuries were recorded after the race, 12 of them in saloon car racing. Bruises were the major injury in single seat car racing (58 %). Lower limb bruising was more common than upper limb bruising. Most of the injuries in saloon car racing (53.2 %) were neck sprains. The incidence of concussion was high in both groups compared with other high-risk sports. Conclusions: There were some differences in injuries between the two types of car. No serious injuries occurred except for one death. However, the driver's body is subjected to large forces in a crash, hence the high incidence of concussion. The injuries recorded after the race emphasizes that motor racing is a demanding sport.

At least QR has given some warning unlike in Britian...

Source: Motor Sport News: The Voice of British Motorsport
Date: August 29, 2012

British competitors on the Historic Tour of Flanders are facing a race against time to buy or borrow Head And Neck Support devices after a ruling from the organisers of the event.
Round seven of the British Historic Rally Championship runs on the September 7/8 Belgian event.

HANSdevices are mandated in Belgian rallying, but British crews have previously been granted a waiver to run without them.

In the middle of last week, crews were told that no waiver would be granted this year. As well as the HANS device, a suitable HANS compatible crash helmet is also needed at a cost of at least £1200 per crew.

“The ruling seems to have slipped under the wire at the last minute,” said Ford Escort Mk1 driver Matt Fowle. “I’m hoping to borrow a HANS and a helmet.” Fellow Escort driver Vince Bristow said: “I have the HANS and I’m hoping to borrow a helmet. It’s expensive for one event.”

Title contenders Rikki Proffitt and Dessie Nutt already use HANS devices, while David Stokes says he will comply. Less than a dozen British crews were entered before the announcement.

BHRC officials have arranged for Belgian crews to lend UK drivers HANS sets at 50 euros (£40). Chairman Dave Lucas said: “It’s really kind of our Belgian friends to arrange this at short notice, as we were only notified the exemption had been revoked a couple of daysago.”

[deviant]

Thanks Deviant good find. I have only had a quick browse but seems to confirm my suspicions. Most discussions of Motorsport injuries talk totals and absolutes and don't break the info up between disciplines.

In the year of the study (2002/2003) there were 2093 hospitalisations from Motorsport. Motorsport had the highest rate of incidents per 100,000 participants. Sounds gruesome.

BUT. 53 from Motor Car racing, 1,777 from bikes etc etc. We get a bad rap. Unfortunately it doesn't split the rate of incidents by the type of discipline.

(Pls don't anybody use this as reason to minimise your safety precautions, stuff happens and when it does your gear is worth it's weight in gold).

I suspect that any injury received in circuit grounds that require a report to be filled in (I.E. a visit to the medical centre) must be reported and recorded somewhere otherwise the FIA would have no data to mandate safety equipment and updates from.

I can't really find any official world view of injuries and deaths. I would think it is substantially lower than snow boarding or field sports or something like that!

[Guran]

Participation data was available in those 15 years and over. When this is used, wheeled motor sports had the highest rate of hospitalisation per 100,000 participants with 942.7, followed by roller sports with 738.6, Australian football with 734.3 and equestrian pursuits with 692.7. However, these rates cannot be used to compare the potential of danger of particular sports as the extent of participation per person is unknown. Also, participation data was not always comparable with the hospitalisation data available.

http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/re ... jcat79.pdf

... but 66% of these Motorsport injuries did not occur on a race track, and 85% were motorcycles. The devil is in the detail.

[KIJIMA]

I've dríven at Lakeside, not sure how they can tout ' in the latest move to further improve the excellent safety record between the two venues. ' because the staff at lakeside are only too happy to tell you that on average there is a crash at Lakeside every week.

For those that haven't dríven at lakeside and have spent time at 'safer' (oxymoron I know) tracks like Winton or Wakefield, it's a totally difference experience. The average vehicle speed there is insane, as are the changes in elevation and there is no run off to speak off. If you push hard and have an off, lakeside will claim your car more times than not. Most people that have an off at Lakeside don't just spin off into grass, they hit something and hit it hard. So if you've ever dríven at Winton/Wakefield and spun off, add another 50kp/h to the spin and factor in a wall, and that would have been your track day at Lakeside. Sobering huh...

Earlier this year I took the drive up from VIC to QLD to run at Lakeside and QR, the format of this particular day was a sprint. One of the cars running had a reclining Recaro seat, Hans device and a harness, no cage. The car left the track at the kink just after the start/finish line (depending on your car and tyres, you hold flat through it at just a shade over 200kp/h I sh*t you not. Last time I ran at Lakeside I was ripping around there in under 1 minute, it's a quick track) and smacked into one wall then through a tyre barrier, from there it managed to spin back over the track and into the other wall, bounce up the wall a bit and finish just shy of turn 1, the car was rooted. The driver equally rooted with damaged vetebrae.

I have a photo of the dead car, but out of respect for the drivers wishes I won't post it up. Let's just say there was nothing worth salvaging from the car. The seat collapsed at the first point of impact into the wall, from there the driver bounced around the cabin doing damage to himself because the harness was no longer able to retain him. The hans device was attributed to doing the damage to his neck. (I'm pro Hans btw)

If they are going to inforce Hans, then it needs to be done in tandem with a fixed seat, 5 point harness at minimum, plus a CAMS approved roll half/full cage.

For what it's worth, our race car did not go through scrutiny when we ran on either day at QR or at Lakeside, neither did anyone else on that particular day. Lakeside can introduce whatever they want, but they need to be scrutinizing cars properly first. I asked about scrutiny on that day and they said they weren't doing any today and that it was self scrutiny. Crazy...

[corners]

If they are going to inforce Hans, then it needs to be done in tandem with a fixed seat, 5 point harness at minimum, plus a CAMS approved roll half/full cage.

Have you read the media release?
It states RACE events only. Not sprints, track days, drift days.

Race days already have the following rules:
http://www.qldraceways.com.au/files/00- ... ements.pdf

1. Minimum Roll Over Protection must meet AS/NZ Standards AS 1636.1-1996
2. Minimum four point harness in Sedans, five or six point for Sports and open wheelers to AS2596 and installed to Australian
Standards.

[KIJIMA]

Yes, I have read the media release. I understand what it means. I guess what I was trying to say was if anyone was to use a Hans device then additional equipment is required at the same time, that's all.

I understand that it's not being enforced for sprint, drift or track days and I understand that at RACE days QR/Lakeside management have a set of rules that you must comply with. The addition of a Hans device would only compliment their rules as I read them, makes perfect sense to me. I get all of that, I agree with their move. Lakeside is I believe one of the most dangerous tracks in Australia, the staff there will tell you that themselves. ANYTHING that can reduce injury is going to be a welcomed there.

To be honest, if you are running a 5/6 point harness then you should use a Hans device as belts when fitted correctly will hold you in your seat very well. It's then at the point of impact your head moves forward causing the over-extension of the neck and subsequent neck injuries. Tension and extension injuries are what a Hans device is aimed squarely at. In effect while the belts stop you from physically impacting on something like the screen, wheel, dash etc, they put a huge amount of pressure on the neck.

In motor vehicle accidents at a race track, the highest % of injury is common bruising. I think it runs at around 70% of those that have had an accident at a race track have bruising, the next highest % of injury is neck damage, it's a little over a third of all injuries and unlike bruising it's serious stuff that can hang on to you for the rest of your life. Hans devices go a long way into reducing neck injury. Schroth harnesses have done alot of research into this and have published a few papers about it if anyone is interested.

For QR and Lakeside management to bring in HANS as mandatory in race meets is forward thinking (I'm sure their insurance company is happy too ;) )and I'm equally sure it'll be something that other tracks quickly adopt too.

As far as Lakeside's 'self scrutiny' at a sprint day goes, that's a completely different story. They need a big smack for that.

[deviant]

If they are going to inforce Hans, then it needs to be done in tandem with a fixed seat, 5 point harness at minimum, plus a CAMS approved roll half/full cage.

Have you read the media release?
It states RACE events only. Not sprints, track days, drift days.

Race days already have the following rules:
http://www.qldraceways.com.au/files/00- ... ements.pdf

1. Minimum Roll Over Protection must meet AS/NZ Standards AS 1636.1-1996
2. Minimum four point harness in Sedans, five or six point for Sports and open wheelers to AS2596 and installed to Australian
Standards.

AS 1636.1-1996 relates to tractor roll over protection.

This is an AS2596 harness: http://www.revolutionracegear.com.au/in ... imary&CDO=

It is a shame that CAMS do not mandate FIA seats to compliment the 2 inch wide, click buckle harness and tractor ROPS.

[mazmad]

AS 1636.1-1996 relates to tractor roll over protection

? Please explain....

[Guran]

AS 1636.1-1996 relates to tractor roll over protection

? Please explain....

The full title of Australian Standard 1636.1-1996 is "Tractors - Roll-over protective structures - Criteria and tests - Conventional tractors". Unless you're driving a tractor around the track, I'm not sure why they'd be quoting this standard. There is no Australian Standard for roll-over protective structures in cars.

2. Minimum four point harness in Sedans, five or six point for Sports and open wheelers to AS2596 and installed to Australian Standards.

Similarly, AS 2596-2003 is "Seat belt assemblies for motor vehicles" which is all about standard seatbelts rather than four/five/six point harnesses.

[mazmad]

Tractor racing coming to a track near you soon.......?

They just had Super Trucks at WP so why not......

[toppertee]

Just to reply to KIJIMA's coment on lakeside,
I had a off at lakeside at one of the mx5 track days.
I out braked myself going into hungreys. I was flat in fourth hit the brakes locked up, straight into the old grandstand footings.
No hans, it's now 10 months on, my neek is still not right. I tore the retina in my eye. I'm still getting laser to seal the retina down. (not fun and big money)
Had I had a Hans on I may have walked away with no damage to myself.
Two things have happen sence then, I always wear a Hans and I don't run at lakeside.

I.M.O. I'm pleased that qld racing has done this, as the cars are only getting quicker.
I'm not pro oh&s, but it's motor sport and things go wrong.

[Tommo]

I don't run at Lakeside for this reason. I've seen too many spills and lives lost to make it worth it. I run at QR only for sprints - infinite run off, proper spec gravel traps and a maximum speed way less than lakeside on the sprint formation. Turn 1 is ~130 km/h, main straight ~160 in my car.

You can push and make mistakes and there's no harm done but pride.