Head and neck restraints for motorbikes

[The Tot]

Hello people,

For my A2 level technology project, i am trying to develop and head/neck restraint system for motorcyclists and have an intention to develop a device similar to the HANS device but for use in the racing crouch position. I would like to know if:

Firstly, any product has been developed for use. I would like to know as it may be a critical factor in my research

Secondly, i would like to know the laws regarding motorcycle safety and restraining systems, where would i need to check; DVLA etc...

Thirdly, any information or relevant contacts for organisations which deal with spinal/neurological injuries. I know that Aspire is one of them as a MET biker told me at the ACE CAFE.

My visor project was binned as it was considered a "product development"

I would like to thank you for your help in this project and you will be credited for it!

Thanks a lot

Titot
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[map]

System would need to be flexible to allow neck movement for observation. This is more movement than the F1 HANS in a car.

Sounds a bit dangerous to try and restrict too much movement as when you come off a bike you'd be advised to slide/roll.

What are the statistics on this. Do you have figures for neck injuries from bike accidents? If so is it a significant figure?

I know there's the inflatable jackets. Do these come with a inflatable neck brace part?

- all of the above IMHO by the way as I have no medical/paramedic background.
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[jay12329]

I would say with my limited medical knowledge that it would be important to try and prevent over extension of the neck. The fast acceleration of the head backwards when the back is stationary is what causes whiplash injuries as well as severe high level spinal chord injuries. The brace will also need to allow movement of the head forwards and side ways.
I would suggest that rather than being a solid structure that prevents the neck extension that a mechanism which dissipates the acceleration forces would be needed. So the head can move back but not as quickly and not as far as normal. It will also be important to give the head enough movement to prevent brain damage in the event of collision. The movement of the head helps prevent the brain bashing against the skull.
Hope this helps
J

[MarJay]

Yes, whiplash and neck jolt type injuries are quite high in motorcycle accidents afaik. However any kind of neck restraint would have to be 'active' in the sense that it should not restrict movement until the moment of impact.

This is obviously because if you restrict head movement then you would also restrict vision and are likely to increase the probability of an accident.

The inflatable jackets that have been marketed have such a system as far as I am aware.
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[Big Pete]

on of the helmet makers ( I think) were experimenting with an airbag around the base of the lid that inflated above a certain g limit. It effectively locked your head into sosition and substantially reduced the whiplash risk. The really good bit was that there was no difference in the lid before it operated.
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[stinkwheel]

As Big Pete says, they were piloting an 'airbag' type neck brace which is built into the base of a helmet and inflates when an accident is approaching. I believe they were going to be trialing them with some speedway riders (high chance of someone falling off). There was a questionmark over how they were going to activate them as the more weight that is included in the head area, the greater the risk of the spinal injuries you are trying to prevent.

I think they opted for the old-faithful of attaching it to the bike by a short boingy coil of plastic which activates the airbag when pulled, in the same way as the ignition cutouts on jetskis.
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[Frost]

Perhaps mount a teather from the back of the helmet to the riders speed hump, then have a system like a car seat belt where by the rider can adjust head position slowly, but fast jolts cause the teather to lock in place stopping the riders head snapping forwards quickly

[Bendy]

[bennyb24]

not sure that's correct bendy. I thought was was pretty much how the "Hans system" *sp worked ? Titot, check it out - was developed in indy cars then came into F1 about 3/4 years ago. Its a type of head restraint that fits down behind the drivers back and mounts to the helmet.

Thanks Ben.

*sorry, just re-read the post. Yes sudden jolting would be bad ! maybe this system had some kind of slowing mech. ?

[Frost]

The hans system stops the head snapping back and forth causeing base of the skull facures.

https://www.indycar-gids.nl/hans%20sam%20hornish%20jr%20hires.jpg

such a thing attached to the speed hump of a rider would stop their head snapping forward so harshly reducing neck load and acceloration forces.

[The Tot]

Cheers for all your help guys It has been much appreciated. I'm aware of the HANS device for a long time and some of your ideas seem plausable, Dale Earnheart died of a basalar skull fracture because he was totally slating the HANS. I have to establish a design that will provide a compromise between mobility + visibility with the effectiveness of the restrained. I can also see that through inertia, you brain gets jolted inside your cranium - also not a good thing. I guess it's down to testing and prototyping (It's only an A level tech project, but i'll just see how it goes)

Thanks loads

Titot
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[stinkwheel]

I think you will find a motorcycle accident is vastly different to a car crash. Car drivers are subjected to a massive (tens of Gs) decceleration when the car impacts because their body is strapped tightly into the car when it stops abruptly. The restraint stops any serious damage to the body but as things were, the head was still moving forewards as it was not restrained. It does not take a genius to imagne what happens at 140mph when your body suddenly comes to a complete halt and the head keeps moving. Hence the HANS device

Motorcycle crashes are different, the decceleration is a lot slower because you are thrown free of the bike and slide to a halt. Impacts with other objects are more likley to cause injuries, not likley to be of the sort seen in cars. There are also significant spinal injuries caused by the increased head mass from the presence of the helmet as the head flops about when rolling. This is why children under 13 are not allowed to wear full face helmets when taking part in motorsport.

Anything that rigidly fixes the rider to a 200kg lump of tumbling, sliding metal in a crash is a bad thing . You would have to have the rider strapped onto the bike if you wanted to make a 'Hans' type device and design the bike to withstand an imact...you have just designed a car. As things stand, the best place in a crash is as far away from the bike as humanly possible, take it from someone who had been sliding down the road on his arse at 70mph with a bike spinning round next to him.

The ideal bike helmet would weigh as little as possible and somehow fix the head in a rigid position with regard to the body in-case of an impact without affecting head mobility. The 'seatbelt' idea would only work if you assume the rider sustained an impact with a stationary object face-on. This is unlikley, you are just as likley to hit side-on or backwards.

From the point of view of the project, you might be better to take the idea of the self-inflating neck brace as-is and work on designing a method of triggering it which is lightweight, extremely rapid and unlikley to malfunction. Also a means of detecting a crash which will not give false positives and inadvertantly activate the device.

Something to look at is the activation system used in fast-jet ejector seats which uses compressed air driven timing mechanisms to accuratley activate different stages of the ejection process in a highly accurate and G-resistant manner without recourse to electrics. Or combining this with electronic sensors, even explosives can be used for a very rapid, accuratley timed activation system.

https://www.carpe-tdm.net/tdm/library/d12_airhelmet.jpg
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Supa4]

as mentioned there are airbag jackets on the market that try to perform a similar function... check out....

https://www.hit-air.com/english/system/index.html

As you realise, motorcyclists require a much greater amount of head movement than F1 drivers. Even if your system is for race use only rememeber there are still many different seating combination on a bike and allowances also need to be made for the lateral movement of the rider as they move about to weight the front and rear.

I agree that there is data that suggest fractures to the small bones in the top of the spine are caused by (full face) helmet design - In the event of the rider's chinbar hitting the road first, the head is jerked backwards and the rear portion of the helmet can cause trauma to the spine). Is this a big factor in racing accidents? Or is this mainly a Street riding problem?

If it is a street riding issue, then the issue of lots of different styles of bikes come into the brief, Many people have more than one bike (I have an NC30 & a CB400 - 2 completely different riding positions)

Perhaps there are other things that could be done such as looking at the design of the helmet and seeing how much it contributes to neck trauma? or as has been suggested an airbag in the helmet with a clever activation system, perhaps some sort of peizo accelerometer (does such a thing exist) could be the trigger.

[stinkwheel]

The Effect of Motorcycle Helmet Use on the Probability of Fatality and the Severity of Head And Neck Injuries; Jonathan P. Goldstein, Ph.D. synopsis
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Annabella]

Send Jimmythe1 a pm.

He is working on his dissertation which is an examination of common injuries occuring in motorcycle accidents.
He'll be able to help with the anatomical and physical aspects of your project.
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[sychosis]

Have a look at the sidi vertebra 2 boot for ideas, it allows the foot and ankle to move freely around forward and sideways, but you move back the interlocking pieces of plastic stop it going to far
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