Tuosta Hansista on ristiriitaisia mielipiteitä. Toisaalta sitä sanotaan epämukavaksi ja joidenkin uutisten mukaan jopa vaaralliseksi, toisaalta jotkut pitävät sitä eniten turvallisuuta parantavana keksintönä sitten kypärän.
USA:ssa, esimerkiksi CART:ssa, tuota on tosiaan käytetty jo useamman vuoden menestyksekkäästi. Kulku meni muistaakseni jotakuinkin näin: vapaaehtoinen -> pakollinen ovaaleilla -> pakollinen kaikkialla.
Huomattavasti enemmän olen törmännyt uutisiin, joissa Hansin on kehuttu olleen ratkaisevassa pelastavassa asemassa onnettomuustilanteessa, kuin sellaisiin, joissa Hansista sanotaan olleen haittaa. Asia on kuitenkin niin, että hyvä turvalaite ei missään tilanteessa saisi aiheuttaa vaaraa.
En oikein tiedä, miten tuo voi yht'äkkiä F1:ssä tuntua niin epämukavalta ja vaikealta kun se CART:ssa on toiminut hyvin. Laitteesta on valmistumisen jälkeen tullut uusittuja versioita, eikä siitä viime aikoina ole enää valitettu. Kehitys on myös ollut nopeaa, sillä vielä 2001 alussa kuskit olivat skeptisiä sitä kohtaan, mutta nyt sitä käytetään jatkuvasti. Monien kuskien mukaan se vaatii aluksi totuttelua, ja sen jälkeen voi ajaa hyvin sen kanssa.
Toki sarjat ovat luonteeltaan jokseenkin erilaisia ja mm. G-voimat kerääntyvät erilailla. Kuitenkin esim. eräillä ovaaleilla CART-kuskeihin vaikuttava G-voimat ovat todella suuret. Oleellista onkin varmaan pään liike, jota moottori- ja katuradoilla tarvitaan huomattavasti enemmän - ja tätähän HANS rajoittaa.
Pengoin CART.comin arkistoista muutamia Hansiin liittyviä kommentteja:
Mauricio Gugelmin pahan kolarinsa jälkeen Texasissa 01:
Gugelmin escaped a frightening accident during practice for CART's first oval-track race of 2001, which was postponed due to risky G-forces being placed on the men of the FedEx Championship Series.
The 38-year-old veteran suffered some bad bruises and race car rheumatism after pounding the walls in Turn 2 and Turn 3 and destroying his Nextel Toyota/Reynard. His initial impact was measured at 66 Gs and his second hit registered 113 Gs.
But Gugelmin was saved from serious injury by the Head And Neck Support (HANS) Device of Dr. Robert Hubbard, which was made mandatory this season--on ovals--by CART. And, even though Big Mo would have been wearing one anyway, it's a common sense rule that cannot be disputed.
“The HANS Device saved my butt, plain and simply,” said Gugelmin on Saturday while getting some physical therapy in the CART medical unit. “All I got from a major crash like that was a few bruises and, along with the car, they both really did their jobs.
“My headrest was destroyed by the impact and I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't been wearing the HANS.”
Christian Fittipaldin mielipiteitä vuosi sitten:
"When I first wore the HANS on a racetrack, it was here at Sebring in 1999 and I could only manage 10 or 11 laps. It took a little work for me to get it where it was comfortable on an oval, but I wasn't comfortable with it on a road or street course because you move your head much more and it limited my movement too much but I kept working with Dr. Hubbard. I used the HANS at my test here earlier this month as well as today and haven't had a problem with it. I have to be able to wear it at all races this season--not just because CART mandated it but because it is the right thing to do."
Andretti kauden 2001 alussa:
Q: Will you be wearing the HANS Device on road courses?
MICHAEL ANDRETTI: At the moment I am not been able to make it work for me on the road courses still restricts my breathing a lot. So we are still working to try to get it that way. It is going to be a difficult thing I think for all the drivers to be able to wear it.
Lääkärin arvio Adrian Fernandezista 2002 Surfer's Paradisen jälkeen:
Considering Tora Takagi's car landed in Fernandez's cockpit and smashed his steering wheel, Trammell considers him a lucky man.
"The HANS Device probably saved Adrian from getting a broken neck. His helmet was fractured in such a way it made contact with the HANS and jammed his helmet against the HANS yoke. That protected his neck and transferred the injury to his back.
"He fractured the T2 and T3 vertebrae and those are the first two behind your neck so he got a broken back instead of a broken neck."