[Ron Sutton]

Hi Greg,

Originally Posted by garickman

I guess I will throw my hat in the ring when it comes to street cars with a roll bars or a roll cage. Let me first start by saying I have no experience at all with roll bars or roll cages nor have I ever seen a vehicle in any type of accident that was equipped with such a device. I have however been on the scene of somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-250 motor vehicle accidents and about 25 of those being fatal.
Oh my gosh, that has to turn your stomach. I've been on the scene at a few at the race track. Which is part of what makes me passionate about safety.


I have seen injuries in person ranging from cuts and bruises to complete decapitation, and I can assure you of one thing. It is impossible to predict what injuries may or may not occur during an accident. I always see people on these forums with the same argument about roll bars and head injuries. It is possible you could suffer severe head trauma from a roll cage that you may not have suffered if the vehicle did not have said cage. On the flip side of that same coin, it is just as possible you may be involved in a violent roll over accident in which that roll bar may have saved your life. It's a coin toss of how effective or how much damage a roll cage would be in the event of a street collision.

No disrespect at all ... because you do a tough job & see a lot of crashes on the street. I have a LOT of experience with race car crashes. A lot.

A properly designed & installed roll bar or cage is a sure thing for added driver safety ... because if belted in the seat with a 5-point harness ... the driver can not stretch far enough for their head to come close ... let alone hit it. In the car I'm building for myself, with driver & passenger strapped in, the nearest tube is 5" away. (I always allow 2" for seat belt stretch)

If the builder puts the roll bar too close to the seat ... or the seat too close to the roll bar ... that is dangerous. Otherwise, the only danger is if they don't wear their seat belt. (dumba**) Then the injuries can be worse, as I outlined in point J.

When safety features debut or new safety measures are mentioned ... many of us voice concerns as to using them. I remember my Dad saying, "I'm not wearing seat belts. They can trap you in the car." Today seat belts save so many lives.

But if you installed seat belts so they wrapped around your neck they would probably kill you too.
All safety items need to be installed correctly.

When HANS devices came out, a lot racers said, "I won't wear one. I can't turn my head as far & see well. I may cause a crash." Complete BS. They have saved so many lives in head on impacts. Now drivers just wear then & don't give them a second thought.

My brother in law is a Sheriff down in Riverside and some of the stories he tells from vehicle crash scenes are horrible. I'll bet you have seen some simple crashes where people died needlessly because they weren't wearing their seat belts.

I know I enjoy discussing the "how to go faster" part of cars more. I just don't want to see anymore people die needlessly ... so I speak my mind & share my experiences when it comes to "let's be smart about this" part of car building.