Has this ever happened before?

[Rhett Turner - Black Country AO]

My son fell asleep on way back from Blyton the first time we did the track day. I had got half hood and doors on though and it had been a long long day. It would have been nice to have had the company. He is not normally a car sleeper though when we’d drive to France on holiday when he was young we’d set of at 4am and he be away all the way.

[Andy Dawson]

Thanks for all the comments about the 4 point. I’ve never really liked them that much, especially if you are small and slim like the daughter is, but I’ll have a look at getting a better fit. Sits ok for me, but I am a bit bigger!

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

They are tricky Andy, although they may seem to have a great range of adjustment, in a tight cockpit like a Westfields, the “real world” adjustment range is considerably less. You can find yourself having to play around with the actual hard mounting points if you have to accommodate someone at the extreme end of the scale. Be it teenager slim, or mid-life crisis/business lunch, ahem, “bulky”!

 

I admit, I’ve always put harnesses in, but I do wonder every so often, given that even when adjusted to the correct position, we don’t usually have them really tight enough to be working at their optimum, (except on track), whether for many of us, inertia reals would actually work better in an accident?

 

 

[nice_guy]

11 minutes ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

I admit, I’ve always put harnesses in, but I do wonder every so often, given that even when adjusted to the correct position, we don’t usually have them really tight enough to be working at their optimum, (except on track), whether for many of us, inertia reals would actually work better in an accident?

 

That's exactly the idea I've followed. Wasn't the only factor, but weithing the hassle of fitting properly an adjustable restraint of any kind, and the inertia belt that will be in close to optimum tension/position all the time, I've chosen inertia. It's less effective in the case of rolls for the passenger, though. It depends on the accident...

[BigSkyBrad]

4 hours ago, nice_guy said:

It's less effective in the case of rolls for the passenger, though.

 

Just carry passengers who have eaten less rolls!

[BigSkyBrad]

7 hours ago, Andy Dawson said:

Sits ok for me, but I am a bit bigger! 

 

Still think yours is too high as well, Andy. In the picture, you can see that your left-hand shoulder adjuster is only a few mm away from the lap adjuster. Not picking holes, just keeping you safe.😉

 

Every time you (generic) get in the car, the shoulder harnesses should be really slack, and do the lap belt first - low and tight. A good habit is, when getting out each time, slacken off the shoulders before opening the buckle. otherwise what tends to happen is each time you get in, you give the shoulder straps a tweek and it raises the lap belt a little more each time.

 

Also, for those with inertia belts, I removed the wire stalk buckles from my car because the springy-ness (or stiffness?) of them held the lap part of the webbing away from my body, leaving a gap that the reel must take up the slack before it becomes effective. I replaced the stalks with these...

 

If there is one thing I have a few clues about it's harnesses, as I was an aircraft safety systems tech in the airforce - part of that was servicing, and fitting to the wearer, parachute and ejection seat harnesses, where the user has to be comfortable but at the same safe to endure long periods and high g's.

 

Incidentally, there have been several motor racing accidents where the driver has experienced more than 100-g in a crash and survived - being securely held in the seat has an awful lot to do with that.

 

 

[SootySport]

She’s a teenager, they all do that.