*** Welcome to piglix ***

HANS device


A HANS device (Head and Neck Support device), also known as a head restraint, is a safety item compulsory in many car racing sports. It reduces the likelihood of head and/or neck injuries, such as a basilar skull fracture, in the event of a crash.

Primarily made of carbon fiber, the HANS device is shaped like a U, but with the back of that U set behind the nape of the neck and the two arms lying flat along the top of the chest over the pectoral muscles. The device, in general, is supported by the shoulders. It is only attached to the helmet, and not to the belts, the driver's body, or the seat; the helmet is attached to the device with the help of two anchors on each side, much like the Hutchens device but placed slightly back. In a properly installed 5 to 6-point racing harness, the belts that cross the driver's upper body directly pass over the HANS device on the driver's shoulders and they buckle at the center of the driver's abdomen. Therefore, the HANS device is secured with the body of the driver, not the seat.

The purpose of the HANS device is to keep the head from whipping forwards and backwards in a crash, (while also preventing excessive rotational movement, as secondary protection) without otherwise restricting movement of the neck. In other words, it allows the wearer to move their head as normal, but prevents/restricts head movements during a crash that would otherwise exceed the normal articulation range of the skeletal/muscular system and cause severe injury. In any kind of crash, the person's body, which isn't protected, is decelerated by the seatbelt with the head maintaining velocity until it is decelerated by the neck. The HANS device maintains the relative position of the head to the body, in addition to transferring energy to the much stronger chest, torso, shoulder, seatbelts, and seat as the head is decelerated.

The device was designed in the early 1980s by Dr. Robert Hubbard, a professor of biomechanical engineering at Michigan State University. After talking to his brother-in-law, road-racer Jim Downing, following the death of one of their mutual friends, Patrick Jacquemart who was killed in an IMSA testing accident at Mid-Ohio, when his Renault Le Car struck a sandbank leaving him dead on arrival with head injuries, it was decided that some sort of protection was required to help prevent injuries from sudden stops, especially during accidents. A major cause of death amongst drivers during races was through violent head movements, where the body remains in place because of the seat belts but the momentum keeps the head moving forwards, causing a basilar skull fracture resulting in serious injury or immediate death.


...
Wikipedia

...