HANS:
The HANS® device was invented by Robert Hubbard, PhD., Professor, College of Engineering at Michigan State University in collaboration with his brother-in-law, long-time IMSA sports car driver, Jim Downing. The objective was to reduce the chance of serious injury caused by the violent movement of the unrestrained head and helmet combination in an accident. In a high "G" accident, say 80 G's, a 15-pound head and helmet combination effectively weighs 1200 pounds (15 x 80) for a split second. Crash recorders in INDY cars have seen over 100 G's. The driver's neck has to take this load. The generally accepted average threshold for injury is about 740 pounds. Injury level loads such as this can happen at speeds under 60 mph in a head-on crash.