On the subject of racecar driver harness systems...

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I went looking for more pictures because I was curious after another post, and I came across an article:
Seat Belt Installation: What You Need to Know
Follow The Instructions, Maintain Your Equipment, And You’ll Be Ahead Of The Game

By Mark Whitney
photographer: Mark Whitney

This article is interesting for a few reasons, but I found the specific talk of angle of the shoulder straps in relation to the shoulders, as well as what the actual purpose of the crotch strap in a racing harness is, to be quite interesting. And the replacement of the belts every 2yrs due to degradation is also a very interesting factor... Obviously racecar harnesses undergo much more stress on a regular basis, and it sounds like they use a different type of webbing, but it does add even more reason to not use a carseat past it's expiry, and to replace seatbelts after a collision.

I had read another post awhile back talking about how racecar drivers have the harness below their shoulders a little bit and that it's not until you reach a certain number of degrees below the shoulders that the risk of spinal compression develops. The topic had been in relation to the radian allowing continued use of it after a child is over the top slots...

Here's an excerpt of the article

The end attachments of the shoulder harness must also be installed at appropriate angles. The ideal position is anywhere between five degrees below and 30 degrees above the driver’s shoulder.

If the upper attachment point falls significantly below the driver’s shoulder, then a spinal compression injury is likely to occur. In an accident, the shoulder belts pull down and back on the torso as they resist the forward motion of the driver. The resultant restraint force compresses the spinal column and will add to the stresses in the spine already caused by the force of the crash impact.

In the opposite situation, if the trailing ends of the harness are too far above the shoulder (greater than 30 degrees), then two problems can occur. First, tension in the shoulder harness is increased and undue stress is applied to the harness and its structural attachments. Second, excessive angle will cause excessive motion. If the harness belts are too far above the shoulder, they will provide little resistance to forward motion of the driver’s upper torso. The result is an impact with the steering wheel and the possibility of neck injury. The shoulder straps should also be three to six inches apart behind the driver’s neck to prevent slippage off the shoulders.

Anyways, thought you guys might find this all interesting.

And this little bit gets a great big thumbsup from me:

The reliability of a restraint system is greatly affected by the way it is installed. It is imperative to follow the installation instructions provided by the seat-belt manufacturer.
 
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snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
One question this article raises, with the 30* above shoulder limit mentioned, is that the carseats that require use of top slot with a ff'ing child, might pose a risk to a small ff'ing child. Makes me think in instances of those seats, techs and advocates need to push even harder to have a smaller child stay rf'ing until the top slots fit better. There's never been evidence of straps being up at the ears a risk from what I've seen discussed here, but we also know the racing industry is often miles ahead when it comes to restraints. :shrug-shoulders:
 

Stretchy Glue

New member
That's good information. I know that the speeds involved in the racing industry are often at least twice what we drive on the freeway and that's a slow race. I'm sure that Lisa (AZgirl) will agree with me here, we want them to be ahead of the game because our dh's are/were restrained by these harnesses. They are also required to replace the harness (at least at the track dh used to race at) after a crash against a wall because that causes the most damage (60+ to dead stop:eek:) That just so happened to be the only crash dh had, and he came out of it with a slight bruise on his chest where the metal adjuster was resting. He had a habit of having the harness so tight on dd that I thought her legs might fall off, but I figured he's the expert on these harnesses so I'll let him. On himself, he'd exhail, then pull the harness one more time to get it really tight. I'll try to dig up the picture of me in the car (the one and only time) because his harness was a bit different that the NASCAR harness we saw in the other thread. It didn't have room for "baggage".
 

azgirl71

CPST Instructor
I do agree with Joni! DH has replace his harness every 2 years unless he hit the wall (2 times) then it was relaced after that. My DH does the same thing when putting on the harness with the whole exhale thing.
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
My dh is a dragracer and has a 4pt harness (doesn't have the straps between the legs) and under NHRA rules he has to replace his belts plus helmet every few years (don't remember the exact number). There is a sticker/tag on both that show the date/numbers that he must show during tech in to pass. Plus he has to show is 8pt roll cage has been inspected every 2yrs also and I think their fire suits have a time line on them too. Or that could have just been dh wanting a new one too. LOL! Trust me I am okay with all of that if it means that him going 140+mph down the 1/4mile gives him better odds of walking away from a crash I am all for it.

He also road races and the rules aren't as picky as drag races but we go above and beyond.
 

Stretchy Glue

New member
Locally, firesuits are okay for a while unless they are washed incorrectly. Helmets have to be replaced after a crash too, and dh's cage was totally inspected every season and after any impact. Fortunately, my dad is a welder and helped him out because you had to have a special tool to weld on the sprint cars (at least ours). Maybe if I paid more attention when he rambled, I'd understand better.:eek:
 

azgirl71

CPST Instructor
I think for helmets it is 3 or 4 yrs and for firesuits it is 4 or 5 years. Dh had relpaced his helmet after each major crash. He got a new one last year to use when he raced at Irwindale and a new suit from NASCAR for winning the state Championship, so he is good to go for a little while.

Here is a link to pics of our racecar http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=387653#post387653
 

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