Hans Device

[Vincent Fox]

I like the cork screw as it is a different challenge but the circuit flows better using the GP loop.

[andrewcliffe]

Whilst I'm not a racer myself, I've stood next to an awful lot of tracks.

Cadwell is the one that I've always thought of as being too narrow, which apart from lack of pits and paddock is why top car series don't go there anymore. Lovely track to take photos from. Notice that the outright lap record has just been smashed by a second by a Jedi.

Mallory has been expanding its run off, certainly around the Esses and up to the hairpin, but they can't do much about Devil's Elbow. Would a gravel trap at Gerards help? Flat bottomed cars can easily skim over gravel, but may help if its damp?

[TFR]

Someone has got their head in the sand.We will be racing on much the same circuits for the forseable future due to availability and cost, these are the facts and we are stuck with them. It is also a fact that a Hans device will almost certainly save you from serious injury in the event of a head on impct at high speed into a solid object.To quote Professor Sid Watkins "The Hans Deviceis the most important safety feature introduced in the last 30 years" and as Dr Steve Griffin says" it is a no brainer",Do not believe for one minute that you can defy the laws of physics,It does not matter what car you drive(Dallara,Van Dieman,Jedi) the foces of nature are the same it is so easy to snap your neck,( ask Frank Williams),If you can afford to race you can afford to buy a Hans,please do it.
Of course I did not drive my Dallara into a wall at Silverstone,and even if I had I would not have been saved by the nosecone etc,of course it would be a good car to have a crash in but not without seatbelts and a Hans Device.GO OUT AND BUY ONE FOR YOU PARTNER SON OR DAUGHTER, they will be compulsory in 2014 anyway!
GF

[AndyY]

When I started racing a few years ago, in Mono as it happens, I convinced my wife it was all as safe as possible. However, she is a very bright woman (despite working for the Health & Safety Laboratory) & asked me to ensure that if I did ever have a bad accident to ensure that it killed me because that would be easier to deal with than living with me as a quadraplegic for the rest of my life.

I bought a HANS.

[Vincent Fox]

I imagine the Hans device is very good for saving your neck in frontal impacts but it is not a guarantee you wont get hurt. I'd also question why they are so expensive when you look at them there isn't much to one. A bit of carbon fibre and some straps, you would think they should be no more than £200 and that is leaving plenty of profit for the manufacturer and retailer.

I wouldn't argue against any safety aide and thank Geoff for his comments. I would however urge people to look at safety on the wider scale and that means not driving cars that are ill prepared or downright dangerous. Roll hoops that come off are an area Id rather see the FIA/MSA focus on before they make me buy new socks or a Hans device.

[Vincent Fox]

Shuold hand brakes become compulsory in single seaters Samier?

[tristancliffe]

If I'd had a cup of coffee right now, I'd have sprayed it over the keyboard!!!

[lee]

I agree with the sentiment that Hans play a large part in safety but:

1) Why are they so expensive?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2) Is the ‘Hans’ study the only one carried out on this type of accident by the FIA? If so isn’t there a conflict of interests?
3) Why do the MSA keep bringing in silly rules about changing belts every 5 minutes. A 5 year old set can be just as good as a set used once. The scruteneers can only take your word that an in date set has never been in an accident.
4) Stop making us buy stupid white elephants like transponders at £200 a pop. They don’t even use them for timing! Only car recognition where 50p number decals used to be adequate. (This is another rant of mine. I was unlucky to have a Chronit transponder when they first came out only for it to become obsolete at the end of the season. It was a lottery at the time which one you were issued with). Money wasted in the two above areas could be put towards a Hans.

I don’t believe it should be made compulsory along with cameras. It should be about choice. Clean up the driving and remember this is dangerous.

I must be alone in listing Mallory as a must enter meeting when I competed. Although 2 out of the 3 accidents in 8 seasons racing where there I still think it’s a great venue. The compact paddock may be shabby but it does create its own unique atmosphere. The track itself is no more dangerous than Oulton for proximity of barriers.

If Hans pricing was inline with an acceptable level, yes I would buy one.

[RedRedWine]

With regard to pricing, both Schroth and Willans/Stand21 seem to do a "sport" model at a bargain [price of £400 rather than £800, but it's only a 20degree model in both cases (as discussed above).

If there's a demand for 30/40 degree at the higher price point why not at £400?

[samier]

Shuold hand brakes become compulsory in single seaters Samier?

Stop worrying about me Phil and concentrate on designing a new jaw brake to stop yourself munching too many pies as you will soon be too big to fit in your dallara!

[Vincent Fox]

I do not think the Mono Forum tollerates jokes about size Samier

[Paperman]

I have deleted posts from this thread

Simon Davey

Monoposto Racing Club
Administrator