10 Driver Protection Safety Tips You Should Know
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1. Driver Suits Buy You Time
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The real value of your suit is to keep out the heat of a fire, and away from your skin.
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The thicker (more layers) of insulation it has, the more seconds of protection you have before your skin burns.
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Don’t sew patches on your suit! The stitching compresses the effective thickness of the insulation layer and creates hot spots.
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2. Don’t Wear These Under Your Driver Suit
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Synthetic nylon T Shirts can melt into your skin, even without direct fire exposure.
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Anything screen-printed on a T Shirt will more quickly transfer heat to your skin and can “brand” you. The US Army learned this and changed their regs.
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Anything metal transfers heat very quickly, presenting a local burn danger. This includes underwires in woman’s bras. Stand 21 makes an all-nomex bra.
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3. Wear Your Underwear
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4. Cover Up EVERYTHING
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Hands, feet, ankles, and long hair need fire retardant material cover too.
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Visors can’t protect your face against fire unless they’re in place, and of good quality (not cheap replacements).
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5. Stay Hydrated
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Not drinking enough water leads to compromised decision making, and later, heat-stress.
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An easy way to judge your hydration level? Look at your urine. Clearer: Good, Darker: Bad.
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6. Heat Stress (a rise in internal body temperature)
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It’s more serious that just getting “over-heated” – It effects judgment and health. May lead to stroke.
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Search for a woven driver suit that breaths, allowing evaporative cooling to keep your body cool.
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7. Keep Your Head On
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HANS, FHR, or other “Frontal Head Restraints” limit the effort of high G forces trying to pull your head off of your neck in a forward crash.
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At their most severe, these forces can cause a “Basilar Skull Fracture”, and instant death.
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Having “strong neck muscles” is not enough!
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8. Think of Your Brain as Being Like Jell-O
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When your head stops on impact, the Jell-O-like brain can still slam into the skull, bruising the brain and causing a “concussion”.
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After a serious head hit, don’t immediately return to action and potential re-injury. See a doctor if you’re concerned.
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To help minimize impact to the brain, wrap roll-bar tubing with SFI 45.1 spec padding, and remember, your head can travel further on impact than you think.
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9. Safe Helmet Removal after Crash
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Pulling the helmet off of a crash victim may aggravate any neck or back injuries.
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Wearing a balaclava with handles, like the Stand 21 “Lid Lifter”, allows helmet removal with minimal stress on the neck.
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10. Think Beyond Just “Meeting the Rules”, and “Getting Through Tech”
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Sanctioning body rules set minimum required protection specs.
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They will not stop you from going beyond their minimums.
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Ultimately, YOU need to do the research on how to best protect yourself and your loved ones who race!
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See videos with more details on driver protection on YouTube.
Search: racinggoessafer
Don Taylor, Director, Stand 21 Safety Foundation
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