Aftermarket Firm Tries To Capitalize on Vegas Fatality (2 Viewers)

[jm]

I agree that the timing is probably an issue. I also feel that it would have been much less offensive if all the manufactures of these devices put out
a statement at some point togather. Put out a release, list your individual website and let the drivers investigate the pros and cons of each particular device... As an aside, does anyone remember if Danny Townsend was wearing any type of Head/ Neck restraint @ Columbus when he was injured very traumatically? I just can't remember if the devices were mandated back then... although, I don't think they were...

Thanks,
John

 

[FEDowner]

Alot of the safety rules started at the pros and trickle down, the head and neck restraint is one of them. I know plenty of drivers that would not get in ANY car without one.
I think you will porbably see this rule applied to anything 9.99 and quicker in the not too distant future.

 

[powerplay]

I have worn a HANS since 2000 when I was driving in NTF. After seeing the results of a number of my friends crashing without them, I wouldn't consider driving a stocker without one. I am not saying that wearing a HANS is a cure all and will protect you from any injury, but to me it is as important as a proper helmet, firesuit, gloves, belts, etc. If there is a safety device that MIGHT save your life it is common sense to use it. There are a number of products out there and some are more comfortable in certain cars than others. If you drive any race vehicle you should have a head and neck restraint of some sort.

 

[None]

Jon, sorry but I saw it as a positive article.

 

[DE3]

I look at the press release and I see a company that compared two similar accidents and their results. Pointing out how the outcomes for the drivers differed and the difference in their safety equipment. They also pointed out the injury that created the bad results and that their product was designed to prevent that injury. To me that is informational to all drivers and with those facts any good journalist should have been touting the use of this type product to help save drivers that have future accidents. And I don't think there should be a speed limit for their use and their use should be mandated by the DRIVERS themselves today.

The facts show that this type product helps in the protection of drivers during mishaps. Don't wait for someone else to make it mandatory, do it yourself and if you are unfortunate enough to be in an accident you will be thanking yourself that you had one on.

And they weren't comparing their product to another brand, they were comparing using their product over the use of no product. Just like Bill Simpson catching himself on fire in one of his suits to demonstrate the protective abilities over the use of no suit.

Virgil Hartman
Senior in life only
Wishing all drivers, in all classes, would use all the safety equipment available today all the time, and help develop more before accidents, not after.

I agree 100%. If this saves just one more life, it is worth it. I've been wearing one since 2009, after a minor, but eye opening incident in 2008. They will only become mandatory in my and a few other individual classes next year, not the eliminator as a whole.

 

[Silly Savage]

I don't think there was anything wrong with it. I personally didn't need someone else to tell me I needed to where one...it was common sense. Of course it is 20/20 to say that Derek may have survived had he been wearing a head/neck device, regardless of brand...that is a obvious observation.

 

[twostep]

I'm on the not-offensive bandwagon. Disagree? Ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr. if he would have been offended. A HANS device would have, in all probability, saved his Dad from the same injury that took Sanchez' life - a basal skull fracture. As a direct result of Earnhardt's death, NASCAR made the HANS mandatory.

 

[Speedy_Sticks]

I would say that a racer is being selfish by not wearing a HANS device. Just thibk of the effect it will have on the safety teams trying to save your life.

 

[Dave]

I'm on the not-offensive bandwagon. Disagree? Ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr. if he would have been offended. A HANS device would have, in all probability, saved his Dad from the same injury that took Sanchez' life - a basal skull fracture. As a direct result of Earnhardt's death, NASCAR made the HANS mandatory.

To clarify, NASCAR did not make the HANS mandatory, they made a head and neck restraint device mandatory. There were a few options you could choose from, as long as they passed the crash tests. The NHRA can do the same. It doesn't have to specify the HANS brand any more than it has to specify Snell helmets over Bell helmets, etc. I agree that some sort of device should be mandatory after a certain E.T. or speed.

 

[clwill]

To clarify, NASCAR did not make the HANS mandatory, they made a head and neck restraint device mandatory. There were a few options you could choose from, as long as they passed the crash tests. The NHRA can do the same. It doesn't have to specify the HANS brand any more than it has to specify Snell helmets over Bell helmets, etc. I agree that some sort of device should be mandatory after a certain E.T. or speed.

There is truth in here, but some corrections. 1) NHRA doesn't spec a brand of head/neck device either, several are approved. 2) Snell is not a brand, it doesn't make helmets, it's a specification. And in point of fact NHRA (and SFI) does require helmets with Snell approvals.

Your overall point is still good (meet the specs, not a specific brand) but your details were a little off.

 

[twostep]

Your overall point is still good (meet the specs, not a specific brand) but your details were a little off.

I wasn't even aware HANS was a specific brand....always thought it meant Head And Neck Support....and of course, any brand meeting the specs should be acceptable.

 

[Dave]

There is truth in here, but some corrections. 1) NHRA doesn't spec a brand of head/neck device either, several are approved. 2) Snell is not a brand, it doesn't make helmets, it's a specification. And in point of fact NHRA (and SFI) does require helmets with Snell approvals.

Your overall point is still good (meet the specs, not a specific brand) but your details were a little off.

Ya that's what I meant. Like for instance Tony Stewart and I believe Dale Jr both went with the Hutchens Device.. Which was basically a strap harness around your back, chest, and shoulders and hooked to the helmet vs a big bulky neck collar.

 

[clwill]

It's become kind of like Kleenex. There's a brand and an generic name for it. There are three brands most commonly seen in drag racing these days: HANS (sold by Simpson, Impact and many others), Hybrid (now owned by Simpson), and Nexsgen (FKA "defender"). FWIW, I use a Hybrid Pro, my daughter prefers her HANS, and many people love the Nexsgen.

 

[Bob]

I'm on the not-offensive bandwagon. Disagree? Ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr. if he would have been offended. A HANS device would have, in all probability, saved his Dad from the same injury that took Sanchez' life - a basal skull fracture. As a direct result of Earnhardt's death, NASCAR made the HANS mandatory.

It troubles me to even have to ask this question, but, from what source did you or the device firm receive specific information on Derek's fatal injury?

 

[twostep]

It troubles me to even have to ask this question, but, from what source did you or the device firm receive specific information on Derek's fatal injury?

I got it from the HANS press release in post #1, which appears legit. How they got it - I assume from the family member.

"In a sad contrast, Derek Sanchez hit the wall at the same Las Vegas Motor Speedway track in his ’33 Ford and suffered a head injury. The 47-year-old Yuma, Ariz. driver died in a Las Vegas area hospital several days later after never regaining consciousness. A family member said the Super Gas driver had suffered a basal skull fracture – the kind of injury a SFI Certified Head and Neck Restraint is designed to prevent. Sanchez was not wearing one."

 

[DT]

When are you "Racers" going to get it? A Head and Neck Restraint or Hans Device was created to stop ONE injury, the Basilar Skull Fracture! Enough testing has been done to know this as FACT! This device isn't something that might help in some cases, if used properly it stops this fatal injury!

Some of you who know me, understand Im very passionate about saftey and our sport. Yes Im a Hans Dealer, but I believe everyone that competes should use a Head and Neck Restraint, regardless of brand. I personally wear a Hans Device and would never drive any race car without one.

Hans Performance has been recently purchased by Simpson Race Products
(not Bill Simpson) and now has several styles to choose from. The Sports Series model that start at $645.00 carries an SFI 38.1 cert, provides the same protection as the Pro model. Best part is you only need to buy one once! If you can't afford one, sit out a race or two!

There is a lot going on with Safety Equipment these days, equipment being made in China, Taiwan, Pakistan etc. and being rebranded by American companys, but this one is a no brainer!!!!!!!

Dennis Taylor
Taylor Motorsports Products
Safety Equipment made in the USA

 

[Ice Bucket]

. Without meaning to offend anyone, and only included as a way of demonstrating how off the mark this release is, this is akin to a firesuit manufacturer putting out a release that states “If So-and-So were wearing our firesuit he wouldn’t have been injured,” or a chassis builder putting out one that reads “Our hearts go out to the family of So-and-So, but if he’d’ve been driving one of our chassis this wouldn’t have happened.”

The HANS Device is designed to prevent injury or death. So, unfortunately you have to speak about both when talking about this type of product. I think the press release will or would be a wakeup call to many racers who think some of this safety stuff is just for the pros. I don’t think HANS was trying to take advantage of a horrible situation, nor did they give any false information, just pointed out the facts.
You are way off by comparing your statements about firesuits or chassis builders to the actual press release. HANS indicated Sanchez was NOT wearing any type of head restraint and their product addresses the type of injury he suffered. It would be way different if HANS said Sanchez was wearing Brand X and the Brand X product did not perform as well as HANS.

 

[Bob]

I got it from the HANS press release in post #1, which appears legit. How they got it - I assume from the family member.

"In a sad contrast, Derek Sanchez hit the wall at the same Las Vegas Motor Speedway track in his ’33 Ford and suffered a head injury. The 47-year-old Yuma, Ariz. driver died in a Las Vegas area hospital several days later after never regaining consciousness. A family member said the Super Gas driver had suffered a basal skull fracture – the kind of injury a SFI Certified Head and Neck Restraint is designed to prevent. Sanchez was not wearing one."

I should have been more specific and addressed a few other concerns. The release attempts to compare Hedlund's crash with Sanchez's crash as being the same type of incident with the only significant difference being Hedlund was wearing a head and neck restraint and Sanchez wasn't. It doesn't address the differences between the two cars, nor does it address the damage done to the cars.

Derek was driving a roadster while Scott was driving a full bodied car. The angle of the initial impact with the wall might be a basis for comparing the two accidents if that angle is the same, but I don't know if the device firm had that information, or any other information pertaining to the actual damage done to both race cars. A Super Gas roadster can hit a retaining wall at an angle that will prove to be fatal to the driver no matter what safety devices they are using or not using.

 

[force fan]

I understand what you are saying however...

Around the time when Eric Medlen died, Jeff Burk at DRO was pleading with racers to get their Hans Device at a time when they were not required. Being a very low buck racer I had to be convinced to buy one as a grand is a lot of money to me. The combination of Jeff's editorials and Eric's tragic event convinced me to buy one from Dennis Taylor and stop procrastinating. On just the second pass after receiving it and wearing it I hit the wall almost directly at over 140 MPH in Seattle. The car was a total loss and all i had from the accident was a sore tailbone.

The point is I don't think this press release was done for financial gain. The guys at Hans are concerned for every racer's well being. Had it not been for Hans I may have been in a wheelchair as I write this or possibly worse!

But, didn't JFR already use the Hans before Eric's accident? Would it have made a difference in that tragedy? Even though I was at the testing session when that happened to Eric, as a spectator you really couldn't tell that it was such a serious accident. I have seen racers walk away from far worse. Of course, after the facts were released about what happened, I now understand it a little more. That's why I asked if it really would of helped in Eric's situation.

 

[Raconteur]

Oh that evil company send out a press release on the usage of the HANS Device, how dare they mention again that a perfectly accessible and inexpensive product could have prevented a basil skull fracture, cause of this racer's DEATH?

The timing was horrible, another drag racer DIED from a Basilar Skull Fracture - they should have waited until at least one more drag racer died from a preventable incident to even mention their product. And page after page here denies the 800 pound gorilla in the room...

The greatest surgeons in the world cannot fix a Basilar Skull Fracture, nor replace a valuable and loving family member who could still be alive and vital, had he or she worn a simple device that would have prevented death. Every drag racer should be wearing a head and neck restraint (SFI Spec 38.1), but stupidly many will attack a company and safety industry that has clearly saved lives over and over.

Many Racers will go buy that new set of racing heads or trick speed parts when a HANS Device or any other head and neck restraint costs so little from an incredible racer like Dennis Taylor - at a price of $645.

Do the right thing, protect your family from the bedside decision on when it is time to "pull the plug". Chances are that a Basilar Skull Fracture will never happen or be an issue for your family will deal with... many of you would rather air all the reasons why a press release did not fit within your personal Politically Correct calendar when death is the issue.

Racers do you really need NHRA to tell you what to do?

A little video for clarity.