02-02-2005, 02:38 PM
ok, guess I'll clarify my thinking.
I would think that race seats/harnesses are safer for track use even without the cage because they do a much better job of holding you in place, keeping your body from flopping around in a wreck. In any wreck that did NOT involve a rollover, I think the race seats would be better. Agreed?
Now if the car DOES rollover, I would think the race seats still usually win. Only in the specific case of rollover plus roof crushed in are they questionable. From what I've seen, in most rollovers, the roof usually holds up pretty well. It was designed to.
So my "silly reasoning" comment is that race seats alone seem much better for let's say, 95% of accidents that might occur. However, they're probably worse 5% of the time. Overall, I think they makes for a much better chance of surviving an accident.
It kind of reminds me of the people who used to justify not wearing a seatbelt because if the car ended up under water, it would delay their exit. :roll: Yes, in some small % of accidents, I'm sure seatbelts, airbags, all that stuff end up doing more harm than good. But overall, obviously, they help a lot.
So that's my question. Are race seats/harnesses MORE safe overall than regular seats? Obviously adding the cage takes it to the next level, but I see the race seats alone as an intermediate safety step, not a step backwards. Is being scared of the "roof crushed in" incident kind of like being scared of not being able to exit the car in case of water landing?
(Any data? I wish. Please share if you've got some)
I would think that race seats/harnesses are safer for track use even without the cage because they do a much better job of holding you in place, keeping your body from flopping around in a wreck. In any wreck that did NOT involve a rollover, I think the race seats would be better. Agreed?
Now if the car DOES rollover, I would think the race seats still usually win. Only in the specific case of rollover plus roof crushed in are they questionable. From what I've seen, in most rollovers, the roof usually holds up pretty well. It was designed to.
So my "silly reasoning" comment is that race seats alone seem much better for let's say, 95% of accidents that might occur. However, they're probably worse 5% of the time. Overall, I think they makes for a much better chance of surviving an accident.
It kind of reminds me of the people who used to justify not wearing a seatbelt because if the car ended up under water, it would delay their exit. :roll: Yes, in some small % of accidents, I'm sure seatbelts, airbags, all that stuff end up doing more harm than good. But overall, obviously, they help a lot.
So that's my question. Are race seats/harnesses MORE safe overall than regular seats? Obviously adding the cage takes it to the next level, but I see the race seats alone as an intermediate safety step, not a step backwards. Is being scared of the "roof crushed in" incident kind of like being scared of not being able to exit the car in case of water landing?
(Any data? I wish. Please share if you've got some)