Dear VARA Members,
This week I had a sad call from Craig Sanford regarding a serious tragedy during the NASA race at Button Willow this past Saturday. Without going into great detail, the driver fatality resulted from a basal skull fracture. The driver was wearing full safety gear, full face helmet, good belts, good seat, BUT NO HEAD AND NECK RESTRAINT SYSTEM. This fatality was the same type of injury that took the lives of Dale Earnhardt, Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty, numerous amateur drivers and my own family member in a Sprint Car.
Running the risk of being on a soapbox, Over the years I have seen far too many drivers in numerous organizations race, both professional and amateur, each weekend without even a neck collar! Yet, these same drivers will go out spend big bucks on engine improvements, new tires, new $30,000 car haulers, however, they lack the ability to wear the proper safety equipment.
Take my word for it, you would NEVER, NEVER, NEVER want to witness up close and in person, a driver that had a basal skull fracture. If the NASA driver would have had at a minimum, been wearing a neck collar, his injuries "may have" been reduced.
The only part of a driver’s body not strapped in tight is the head. Extensive testing by all the major professional racing organizations have proven, that any impact with a minimum of a 20 degree frontal impact above 30mph will most likely result in a Basal Skull Fracture. Basal Skull Fractures result in immediate death.
As a result of their testing, F1, IRL, CART, NASCAR, ALMS, Grand-AM, and others MANDATE head and neck restraint systems. As a side note, if you witnessed the Kenny Brack accident during the IRL race, Kenny was wearing the MANDATED HANS DEVICE, and Kenny survived.
VARA will now join that list of organizations requiring drivers to wear a heck and neck restraint system. Even though our cars maybe from another century, we will use and support 21st century safety equipement.
Regardless of the type of car you drive, all drivers must invest in some level of a head and neck restraint system. As an FYI, I have purchased the Simpson Head and Neck Restraint product for our upcoming race next weekend.
Driver safety will always be our number one priority.
VARA is VERY FORTUNATE to have Craig Sanford and his team at our events. The level of preparation and support provided by Craig and his staff is equal to that of NASCAR, CART, F1, IRL. Craig has made it a personal mission to stay deeply involved with NASCAR and their on-going technical training for driver safety. VARA benefits from all of Craig's safety efforts.
During the Button Willow incident, Craig and his crew worked at the same level of any PROFESSIONAL organization. In the process of the driver extraction, his crew was forced used all their tools and extensive training, including the Jaws of Life and the Air Ambulance. However, if the driver fails to wear the proper safety equipment, Craig and his efforts are useless.
VARA is long overdue in mandating any type of head/neck restraint system. We can no longer just "recommend a neck collar", as an organization we must MANDATE head and neck safety equipment.
Just like when we finally mandated arm-restraints, FIA certified driving suits and SNELL helmets. It took a while but it is now commonplace. The level of safety with in VARA has been excellent over these past 30 years. I intend to see that our track record continues well into the years ahead.
We all drive cars that age between 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old, this doesn't mean we have to ignore the huge advancements in driver safety equipment. I’m confident that there is enough research going on in the area of Driver Safety and Basal Skull Fractures, that we will continue to see major advancements in the years ahead. However, all drivers must start now and begin to use additional safety equipment.
Effective immediately, the following head and neck restraint requirements will be in place for 2004 and beyond:
- Beginning with the 2004 season -- ALL DRIVERS MUST WEAR AT A "MINIMUM" A PROPERLY FITTED NECK COLLAR and a CLOSED FACE HELMET. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND A HEAD AND NECK RESTRAINT SYSTEM. No driver will be allowed on the track at any of our events without at a minimum of a neck collar and a closed face helmet. Regardless of the type of racing vehicle.
Also, at the beginning of our 2004 season, we will issue a statement regarding our plans for the 2005 season and beyond, that all DRIVERS MUST WEAR A FULL HEAD/NECK SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEM -- SUCH AS HANS, HUTCHINS, SIMPSON, ISSAC or G-Force etc...
As part of our driver awareness pratice and educating our driver community, Craig Sanford will have at our upcoming Las Vegas race a sample of the Hans Device for our drivers to check out and "maybe" try a test fit for their car. In some cases, a Hans Device will not fit in properly, so I strongly recommend ALL DRIVERS begin to investigate which device is best for the type of car.
VARA will not waiver on head and neck systems and full-face helmets.
I'm sorry that I became long winded regarding this subject. However, in the long run, the next life we save may just be the life of one of our very own VARA drivers.
I welcome your comments, etc...
Best Regards,
Craig L. Hibbard
President, VARA Board of Directors
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