Neck Collar

Rich Anderson · **Posted:** Tue Jul 26, 2005 1:00 pm

I have to order a new neck collar as my current unit is tatty, scratchy and shrunken. Any particular brand recommendations would appreciated, as would any tech on the horseshoe versus circular type.

Bowie Gray Jr · **Joined:** Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:31 am **Posts:** 98

Rich Anderson wrote:

I have to order a new neck collar as my current unit is tatty, scratchy and shrunken. Any particular brand recommendations would appreciated, as would any tech on the horseshoe versus circular type.

From what I have learned over the past couple of years, neck collars are not all they are cracked up to be. Tests have shown they do not provide any real protection in an incident. They do, however, seem to help slightly with neck fatigue, so they are not completely worthless.

I will pass along some advice from Gregg Baker of Isaac, LLC http://www.isaacdirect.com

If you are using a neck collar to reduce fatigue, get the stiffest one you can find. If you are using a neck collar for protection, get a neck restraint.

My old neck collar was a Simpson. It was extremely stiff. Almost every other neck collar I have seen, Simpson ones included, are very soft.

Hope this helps,

Bowie, Jr.

Rich Anderson · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:05 pm

Thanks. I had an incident early on in my driving 'career' (and by career I mean time in which it has consumed my money and free time) in which I came to a sudden stop in a ditch on Pocono Raceway infield. My helmet chin bar hit my chest and my neck was sore for almost a week . Would a collar not help limit the distance the helmet can travel?

David Teague · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:10 pm

Rich Anderson wrote:

Thanks. I had an incident early on in my driving 'career' (and by career I mean time in which it has consumed my money and free time) in which I came to a sudden stop in a ditch on Pocono Raceway infield. My helmet chin bar hit my chest and my neck was sore for almost a week . Would a collar not help limit the distance the helmet can travel?

From what Greg Baker has said in his test is no it would not help at all.

Rich Anderson · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:15 pm

David Teague wrote:

Rich Anderson wrote:

Thanks. I had an incident early on in my driving 'career' (and by career I mean time in which it has consumed my money and free time) in which I came to a sudden stop in a ditch on Pocono Raceway infield. My helmet chin bar hit my chest and my neck was sore for almost a week . Would a collar not help limit the distance the helmet can travel?

From what Greg Baker has said in his test is no it would not help at all.

So where does the collar go? I mean, it would be between my helmet and my chest, does it just compress that much?

David Teague · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:26 pm

Rich Anderson wrote:

So where does the collar go? I mean, it would be between my helmet and my chest, does it just compress that much?

From what I remeber him posting on honda-tech, he said it just compress's so much in a hard frontal accident that it is of no benfit.

Rich Anderson · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:27 pm

David Teague wrote:

Rich Anderson wrote:

So where does the collar go? I mean, it would be between my helmet and my chest, does it just compress that much?

From what I remeber him posting on honda-tech, he said it just compress's so much in a hard frontal accident that it is of no benfit.

Wow. Well, I still want one for fatigue, but I guess the safety value is pretty small.

Diane Hall · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:45 pm

If you want an inexpensive H&N restraint, might check this out: http://www.isaacdirect.com/html/product.html

The ISAAC Link product.

I ran my first race with the Intermediate ISAAC a few weekends ago. Once I was racing, I never knew it was there. I don't plan to go out on track without it ever again.

The general opinion is that it doesn't matter what brand you choose, but choose *something* and wear it if you're out on track.

Diane

Rich Anderson · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:48 pm

I do not have harnesses that would accept an true head and neck restraint.

Diane Hall · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:01 pm

I'm out of ideas then. Good luck finding a stiff collar. It's probably worth calling around a bit and asking. (no sarcasm intended)

Diane

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:33 am

I bought a REALLY STIFF collar from a guy selling stuff at Roebling last month.
Brand: SafeQuip Racing Safety Prods.
Removable cover made from Nomex.
Price: $15
Quality: Not bad

Guy had a bunch of them in Red, Black and Blue, I think.

Don't remember the outfit's name, but he also had Head Socks (cotton, not Nomex, but great for sweat absorbtion) for $3 each. Great for Autocross. I bought 3 of 'em.

However, stick with a Nomex or Carbonex (better still) head sock for the track.

jimpastorius · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:56 am

Diane Hall wrote:

If you want an inexpensive H&N restraint, might check this out: http://www.isaacdirect.com/html/product.html

The ISAAC Link product.

I ran my first race with the Intermediate ISAAC a few weekends ago. Once I was racing, I never knew it was there. I don't plan to go out on track without it ever again.

The general opinion is that it doesn't matter what brand you choose, but choose *something* and wear it if you're out on track.

Diane

Serious question...are you recommending a H&N restraint for driver schools? At what level of "track" events would you recommend adding the H&N restraint?

David Teague · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:16 am

jimpastorius wrote:

Serious question...are you recommending a H&N restraint for driver schools? At what level of "track" events would you recommend adding the H&N restraint?

Jim,
If I had a way to put harness in my car I would run H&N restraint. I have been driving for about 3 years on track. While I think that a novice does not need one, I think that once you get out on track solo, you have reached a level that you probably should be thinking about better safety equipment, which should include a H&N device. I would recommend the Issac, because Greg Baker who makes the product is a stand up guy, and his newest product is a great product for people who do driving schools as it is relatively in-expensive ~250 I believe.

Rich Anderson · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:19 am

jimpastorius wrote:

Serious question...are you recommending a H&N restraint for driver schools? At what level of "track" events would you recommend adding the H&N restraint?

While Diane might have a different answer, seems to me that the obvious response is that it is best to have every available safety device that you feel works on whenever on track.

Diane Hall · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:23 am

Jim... that's the quandry isn't it. When does a person "need" a H&N restraint? I ran on track from June 1999 to June 2005 (w-2-w from 2002 on) without one and lived to tell about it. Then again, I never hit anything really hard either.

My personal opinion... If you are out wheel-to-wheel racing without some kind of H&N restraint, then that's pretty dumb.

If you have a bar and harnesses, and can afford it in an HPDE car. No reason not to have one. It's that extra bit of protection, kind of like a roll-bar/cage. You probably won't use it, but if you need it you'll be glad it's there. I think you have to look at the speed potential of your car and how close to the limit you want to drive it. It's all a cost/risk analysis for the individual.

When I come down to Rockingham to instruct, I'll wear mine when I drive, but I probably won't bother moving it to a student's car when I instruct. (Unless they truly scare me. *grin* But then I'd probably just get out of the car.)

Does that help?

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