HANS device

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2005 and 2006 WTCC Champion Andy Priaulx with a HANS device

NASCAR driver Ken Schrader's HANS device

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

1 Description
2 History
3 Results
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Description

Primarily made of carbon-fiber, the device is something of a U-shape, the back of the U set behind the back of the neck and the two arms laying flat along the top of the chest over the pectoral muscles; the device in general supported by the shoulders. It is attached only to the helmet -- and not to the belts, driver's body, or seat -— by two anchors on either side, much like the Hutchens device but placed slightly back. The seat belts that cross the driver's upper-body are properly installed so that the belts go right over the HANS device, on the driver's shoulder, and buckle into the center of the driver's stomach. Therefore, the HANS device is secured with the body of the driver, not the seat.

The purpose of the device is to stop the head from "whipping forward" in a crash, without otherwise restricting movement of the neck. In a crash, an unprotected body 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, with the device transferring energy to the much stronger chest, torso, shoulder, seatbelts and seat as the head is decelerated.

In layman terms, keeping your head close to your body is what it's all about with HANS [1]

[edit] History

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, after the death of one of their mutual friends, Patrick Jacquemart who was killed in IMSA testing accident at Mid-Ohio, when his Renault Le Car struck a sandbank and was dead on arrival with head injuries^[1]^[2], 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.

Notable race car drivers who died from Basilar skull fractures include:

Formula 1 driver Roland Ratzenberger^[3] in the 1994 San Marino Formula One Grand Prix
Indy 500 drivers Bill Vukovich and Tony Bettenhausen
NASCAR drivers Adam Petty, Tony Roper, Kenny Irwin, Neil Bonnett, John Nemechek, Blaise Alexander, Dale Earnhardt, J. D. McDuffie and Clifford Allison
CART drivers Jovy Marcelo and Gonzalo Rodriguez

While death from such injuries is usually immediate, some drivers have survived Basilar skull fractures, including NASCAR's Ernie Irvan.

Dr. Hubbard has had extensive experience as a biomechanical crash engineer, including in General Motors' auto safety program. His first prototype was developed in 1985, and in crash tests in 1989 -- the first to use crash sleds and crash dummies using race car seat belt harnesses -- the energy exerted on the head and neck was lowered by some 80%.^[4]

After major racing safety companies declined to produce the product, Hubbard and Downing formed Hubbard Downing Inc, to develop, manufacture, sell and promote the HANS in 1991. However, the product languished until 1994, when Formula 1 showed interest in the wake of deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna. In 1999, CART driver Gonzalo Rodriguez was killed after suffering a basilar skull fracture in a crash. At the same time, Mercedes was completing research of the HANS for their Formula 1 program, finally deciding that it out-performed their airbag project.^[5]

On February 18, 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed in the Daytona 500, the 4th death in NASCAR in a 14-month span due to basilar skull fractures. While it is still debated whether his death was the result of a broken seat belt, or inadequate head and neck restraint, the fact remained that he died of a Basilar skull fracture, which is prevented by the proper use of belts and a head / neck restraint. Dr. Hubbard is quoted:

"...(I was) shocked by that. I recorded about 80 entries in my telephone log the first day. And I didn't even write them all down. I was on National television 10 times that Monday. I had been down in Florida and came home on Friday and went cross country skiing in Michigan. So, I didn't know he died until I got home and there was voice mail on my answering machine at 10 o'clock at night. I actually had 2 interviews that night before I went to bed."

^[6]

Before this point, many drivers resisted the HANS (and similar) devices, claiming them to be uncomfortable, more restrictive and fearing that it would cause more injuries and problems than it prevented. Some stated that the positioning of the device made the seat belts feel less secure or rubbed on the shoulders or collar bone. However, drivers were now willing to participate in the process of perfecting the fit, and endure the limitations imposed by such devices.

Formula One mandated HANS devices in 2001 after extensive testing, sharing the results with other FIA affiliates. Using that information, CART made the device compulsory for oval tracks in 2001, later requiring the HANS devices for all circuits. Starting in October, 2001, NASCAR mandated either the HANS or Hutchens device head and neck restraint be used, going with the HANS device exclusively starting in 2005. ARCA followed suit in the wake of a basal skull fracture crash fatality in an ARCA race at Lowe's in October 2001 which claimed the life of Blaise Alexander. The World Rally Championship and Australian V8 Supercar Series made the device compulsory for drivers in the 2005 season.

Today, most major auto racing sanctioning bodies mandate the use of head and neck restraints. Even monster truck drivers use the HANS device in many events.

Starting in July 2007, many sanctioning bodies have approved any head-and-neck restraint which passes the SFI Foundation Specification 38.1 standard. They are the HANS, Moto-R Sport, R3, Hutch-II, Hutchens Hybrid, or Hybrid X.

[edit] Results

One of the first people to benefit from the implementation of the HANS device was Governor Mike Easley D-NC. On May 2nd 2003 the Governor was running laps for charity at Lowe's Motor Speedway when he lost control of Jimmie Johnson's #48 stock car, slamming into the wall at approximately 120 MPH. The Governor was unhurt, and actually returned to the track in about one hour, this time driving Terry Labonte's car.^[7]

During the 2007 F1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Robert Kubica survived a 230 km/h (143 mph) crash into a concrete barrier.^[8] Kubica escaped relatively unscathed, suffering only a mild concussion and sprained ankle^[9]. The accident was very similar to the one that claimed the life of Roland Ratzenberger in 1994.

A few weeks later in the GP2 sprint race at Magny-Cours, Venezuelan driver Ernesto Viso's car somersaulted over the barriers at tremendous speed, smashing through an advertising hoarding and narrowly missing a bridge, leaving the Venezuelan only a severe concussion and painful arm. Viso later revealed in an interview that after seeing Kubica's crash, he had decided to tighten up the straps on his own HANS device, and admitted it probably saved his life.