HANS device
auto racing safety apparel
A HANS device (head and neck support device) is a type of head restraint and a safety device in motorsports. Head restraints are mandatory when competing with most major motorsports sanctioning bodies. They reduce the likelihood of head or neck injuries, including basilar skull fracture, in the event of a crash. There are many such devices on the market today, like the Hutchens device now known as the Simpson Hybrid Device, but the HANS is the original and most commonly used name.
Description
Primarily made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer, the HANS device is shaped like a "U", with the back of the "U" set behind the nape of the neck and the two arms lying flat along the top of the chest over the pectoral muscles. The device, in general, is supported by the shoulders. It is attached only to the helmet, not to the belts, the driver's body, or the seat.
The helmet is attached to the device with the help of an anchor on each side, much like the Hutchens device, but placed slightly back. In a properly installed 5- or 6-point racing harness, the belts that cross the driver's upper body pass directly over the HANS device on the driver's shoulders and buckle at the center of the driver's abdomen. Therefore, the HANS device is secured by the body of the driver, not the seat.
“HANS device” enters the record as auto racing safety apparel. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what HANS, device and auto can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “HANS device” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.