[82SC]

I was just at the recent international council of motorsports medicine meeting and there were some really good talks about racing belts

Bill simpson was there and showed his new 9...yes 9 point belt system.

what struck me the most was that there are very common mistakes in installation that can render the belt pretty much ineffective.

it is true that the belt needs to be on very tight...and from a sitting position it is really hard to do it yourself. there are pics of pit crew members actually stepping on the driver and cranking down on the belt as much as possible...

obviously the belts shouldn't be painful or they can cause problems too

also the installation of the anchors was important. the shoulder belts are most effective when they are anchored at a point paralell to the height of the driver's shoulder and the belt's anchor points are better if they are NOT exactly horizontal

both inner points of the belts should be a litlle higher then the outer points...so that is follows the contours of the shoulder as well as contribute to the "V" shape of the shoulder harnesses

in a crash the shoulder belts are not doing their job until they the belts themselves are stretched to the horizontal position...so if your belts, shoulder and anchor points are already horizontal there is less forward movement of your body...but for example alot of dirvers have the shoulder harness holes way above their shoulder so in a crash the body will move UP and FORWARD till all 3 elements are horizontal...the forward motion puts your face closer to the steering wheel and windsheild....

another problem was the lap belts. if they are installed and the belt rides on the side bolsters of the seat, or the belt holes, it may not hold the pelvis really well. hard to explain without a drawing...but if the installation is wrong...all the clamping force is doing is holding the seat and not your body...

and right now the 6 points are the ones recommended. The 9 point simpson is up for debate...

I know this is kind of hard to envision without diagrams...

Also all of this should be read with knowledge that we were discussing open wheel, and nascar crashes. crashes up to 75G's and beyond. so things like the anchor points strapped to your roll cage is ok for club racing, but for CART and F1 the belts are custom mounted for each driver...

if you are an amateur racer...maintaining your safety equipment is your respobsibiltiy...check your anchor points and the metal around them...check your belts for fraying,...make sure your buckles work well...have a friend help you get strapped in...etc...

checking before and after each event would be a good habit to get into

hope this was helpful

MJ