In the first edition of Tech Talk I spoke about "Restraint Systems". This time I will talk about failure modes and head and neck restraints. The failure mode that I refer to is the number one cause of serious injury and death in a race car, basil skull fracture, sometimes referred to as a "broken neck". In the past 7 years since Dale Earnhardt's death, more studies have been done on head and neck restraints than at any time in the past. With this testing, it has become obvious that moving the threshold of injury from a minor 40 G impact to 70 + G impact will save a lot of racers lives. In fact, Safety Solution's latest models can almost eliminate the issue completely in all angles.

Today's SFI 38.1 certification for head and neck restraints requires that the device show an ability to reduce and control neck tension, which is the cause of basil skull fracture, and neck motion, through the value called Nij. The test is made up of 3 impacts, 2 straight frontal impacts and one 30 degree right frontal impact at 70 G’s. The device must control neck tension and compression to below 3200 N (719 lbs) and hold the Nij bellow 1.0. This was a monumental task in the past, not now.

The Earnhardt investigation led the SFI standard to be written with one type of circle track injury in mind, the 30 degree right frontal impact. As Safety Solution's Restraint Engineer, I was able to work on the investigation. From that point on it became obvious to Safety Solutions that head and neck restraints should not work best in the less common straight frontal impacts, but should work its best in the most common and deadly 30 degree frontal impacts. The leading head and neck restraint in the industry has just the opposite view; they focus on the frontal and claim superiority, omitting 30 degree test results to back their claim.

The latest versions of the Safety Solution's Hybrid and R3 have been designed to work extremely well in the 0 degree frontal impacts while adding even more protection in the 30 degree frontal impacts. The Hybrid and Hybrid X, made for John Force Racing, are the ONLY head and neck restraints that actually score lower (lower being better) in the 30 degree right frontal impacts. These devices lock into the seat belt to provide a secure hold on the driver. They also feature patent pending helmet tether technology that controls driver head movement in all directions in an impact. With all of these features you might believe that the devices would be restrictive and uncomfortable, just the opposite. The new Hybrids come with both the side stabilizer straps and sliding tether options that allow unbeatable side to side motion for optimal driving performance.

Take it from John Force, "Safety Solutions...Saved My Life...Listen to these guys!"