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Head And Neck Support

Only recently has the racing industry acknowledged that the number one cause of racing fatalities is basilar skull fractures from excessive head motions and neck loading. The death of seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt proved to the racing world and the general public that what appears to be a low impact crash can be fatal.

Basic Concept

In a crash, the shoulder harness and seat restrain the driver's torso, but only the neck restrains the head and helmet. The HANS device keeps the driver's head from being pulled away from his upper body. With HANS, forces stretching the neck in a frontal collision are reduced by more than 80 percent by tethers from the driver's helmet to the HANS collar, behind the driver's helmet. By restraining the head to move with the torso in a crash, the head motions and forces in the neck are dramatically reduced.

HANS Device

A HANS tether is attached from the HANS collar to both sides of the driver’s helmet. B HANS collar. C Shoulder harness is secured on top of the HANS Device.

The Physics

The diagrams below show the typical results from a crash test dummy, with a velocity change of 40 mph and a chassis acceleration of 40 Gs. The arrows indicate the scale of forces between the head and neck with and without the HANS Device.

Without the HANS Device
	A 1,220 lb. neck tension (740 lb. injury threshhold) B 1,350 lb. total neck load (700 lb. injury threshhold) C 750 lb. neck shear (700 lb. injury threshhold) D 1.5 inch chest compression 54 G chest acceleration 40 G chassis acceleration
With the HANS Device
	A 210 lb. neck tension (740 lb. injury threshhold) B 295 lb. total neck load (700 lb. injury threshhold) C 210 lb. neck shear (700 lb. injury threshhold) D 0.8 inch chest compression 64 G chest acceleration 40 G chassis acceleration

Introduction to Formula One

For 2003, the FIA aim to make the HANS device compulsory for F1 competition. Extensive tests have been carried out on the yoke and tethers for strength and fire resistance.

The device has been worn by a number of drivers in testing sessions, and both Sauber drivers were due to debut HANS in the 2002 Italian Grand Prix, but only used it in practice.

The HANS device marks a major step forward in safety for many forms of motor sport, and won the Louis Schwitzer Award, as voted by a committee of seven members of the Society of Automotive Engineers, and two representatives from the Indy Racing League technical department.

For further information, see www.hansdevice.com.