Head-And-Neck Restraints - Are We Safer Yet?

It is hard to believe that we just recently passed the five-year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death. It has often been said since then that if there was a single positive that came from the passing of one of racing's greatest heroes, it's the renewed emphasis racers and sanctioning bodies at all levels placed on improving driver safety. Drivers are notorious for believing they are invincible behind the wheel, but many faced the sobering reality that if tragedy could strike a man who was quite possibly the best driver since God invented dirt, nobody was exempt.

The official cause of Earnhardt's death was a basilar skull fracture. The force of his car's collision with the wall forced his head to snap forward with such force that his body could not withstand the shock. Before his death, Indy Car racing was the only major racing organization requiring any type of head-and-neck restraint designed to protect a driver from such a situation. But afterward, NASCAR quickly mandated some type of approved restraint system, and many other sanctioning bodies soon followed suit. At the time, the HANS Device (HANS stands for Head And Neck Restraint System) was the established player, having already been in existence for roughly 10 years and mandated in Indy Cars. It was followed by the Hutchens Device, invented by Trevor Ashline, who soon founded a company, Safety Solutions, dedicated to providing restraint systems for drivers in every type of racing.

"In the '90s, we sold maybe 250 devices the whole decade," says Mark Stiles, CEO of HANS Performance Products, of the sudden popularity of his product. "After Earnhardt Sr. died, we sold 250 devices that year. We're upset that the motorsport world had to lose a great leader before realizing how critical basilar skull fractures can be, but to look on the positive side, with 20,000 devices sold, we've had the opportunity to save 20,000 lives."

And there is no doubt that the safety advancements-including head-and-neck restraint systems-work and save lives. The Charlotte Observer reports that between 1996 and 2001, there were five deaths in NASCAR's top three divisions, the Nextel Cup Series, Busch, and Trucks. In the five years afterward, there have been no deaths on the track for those three series. Better safety technology has resulted in a cocoon around the drivers made up of the seat, belts, nets, head and shoulder supports, the helmet, and a head-and-neck restraint system.

Mike Skinner was one of the drivers most resistant to using a head-and-neck restraint system and only relented when NASCAR made it mandatory. Now riving in the Craftsman Truck Series, he is a believer in the technology. "Yeah, I had some wrecks before the HANS that really hurt me," he says. "This past year I had a right-front tire blow out at Michigan, and I probably hit harder than I did at Atlanta. And I went and practiced my Cup car 15 minutes later."

The trouble with this is that while head-and-neck restraint systems have been shown to work, their use isn't universal. Although they are mandatory in NASCAR's top touring series and other places, not all racetracks or sanctioning bodies require them. Racers are left to decide for themselves whether they need them, and many are still deciding to do without.

That is why both Ashline and Bob Hubbard, the inventor of the HANS Device, say that much of their time is spent educating racers and track owners in all types of racing about what actually happens in a crash and how a reliable head-and-neck restraint system can protect the driver. "Sometimes it's tough," Hubbard admits as he speaks about the reluctance of many drivers to spend money on anything that won't directly help them win races. "We are aware that our product is relatively expensive. I would say, however, that there are a lot of guys who come to the short tracks with pretty nice trucks and haulers telling me that they cannot afford $865 for a HANS Device. But they are using a truck that costs $50,000 to haul their race cars."

While some drivers may truly be cheap, it is a fact that some would honestly struggle to come up with $800 or more for a single purchase. That is one of the reasons why Ashline and Safety Solutions have currently developed and tested six different head-and-neck restraint systems.

Ashline's first invention was the Hutchens Device, named after Richard Childress Racing's Bobby Hutchens, who helped introduce the device to the Nextel Cup community. Unlike the HANS, which is held against the driver by the seatbelt shoulder straps, the Hutchens uses a network of straps to secure the device to the driver's body. The main straps, which restrain the head's movement in the event of an accident, run down the driver's back, underneath his buttocks, and secure to the lapbelt buckle. When first introduced, the Hutchens was made completely of nylon, but it has since improved with quick-release buckles and main straps made from Kevlar. Unlike nylon, which can stretch as much as 20 percent, Kevlar stretches less than 1 percent of its length and is not affected by moisture-and it can get pretty sweaty between the driver's back and an aluminum racing seat.