Robert Pressley tried the safety feature for the first time Tuesday in a test session at Atlanta Motor Speedway and planned to use it this weekend at North Carolina Speedway. Ward Burton and Bill Elliott both said Tuesday they were looking into the safety equipment. The HANS device is a collar that slips over a driver's uniform and rests on his shoulders. The shoulder harness overlaps the system, holding it in place. Two straps connect the helmet to the collar.
Drivers can move their head for normal racing conditions.
The straps prevent the head from jolting forward so far that the base of the skull fractures, killing the driver. If the stop is sudden enough, the base of the neck can literally tear away internally from the torso. That is a basal skull fracture. Earnhardt suffered that type of injury, according to Dr. Steve Bohannon, Daytona International Speedway's EMS medical director and a medic who attended to Earnhardt. Bohannon said he doubted if the HANS device would have saved Earnhardt.