UK Karting - Notice Board (General Karting) : Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt)

Notice Board (General Karting)

Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt)
Posted by 'nichop' on 28 Jan 2013 @ 16:42

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nichopJoined: November 2012
Total Posts: 5
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I know, this one has been done to death however, following calls I have had with both the MSA and Leatt, I thought people might be interested in what they had to say. NB I also posted this in response to another thread but its buried so deep its unlikely many people will ever get to it !

First of all I thought I'd give the MSA a call to see what they have to say about neck braces. I got through to their technical dept and had a good chat with someone there. In summary :-
They have not done any testing on neck braces and won't be doing so.
They follow the advise and guidance of the CIK and FIA when it comes to implementing safety regulations and do not do any assessments/testing of their own. Any assessment of karting neck braces would be done by these two bodies however they are not aware that any have been done.

I also thought I'd ring Leatt in South Africa and ask them about their new shortly to become available neck brace as advertised on their web site.
After a short while I managed to get through to a very helpful chap in their testing labs. The first thing he said was that the new brace will not be suitable for karting. It requires the body to be strapped into the seat.
We then went on to talk about testing by a standard body, foam neck braces, the testing they do, the dangers of the head rotating and putting an extending motion on the spine etc. I have to say that I finished the call with the view that they are serious about making the safest brace they can and that they have done a lot of testing, not only of their own brace but also others. He came across as someone technical and genuine.
He said they would like to see the Kart brace tested independently and they have been in conversations with both the FIA and CIK but that currently neither have plans for karting neck brace tests.
My conclusions from my call with the MSA and Leatt are :-
1. The MSA takes the lead from the FIA and CIK and it seems neither org has plans to test neck braces....although I do intend to speak to both of them to confirm.
2. Given there are no standard tests available, Leatt at the very least seem to be pursuing as safe a neck brace as possible (why wouldnt they be ?). They wouldnt invest it the testing rigs etc unless they were serious about this.

Based on this I have gone with a Leatt. I recognise that I am not a professional when it comes to medical stuff and actually would welcome someone who is (iTPro?) picking up the phone and having a more in depth conversation with their lab people. We aren't going to get any standard tests in the immediate future so at the very least it would be good to examine just what Leatt are doing of their own volition.

Message Thread:

Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'nichop' << You are here!

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'Graham S' (28 Jan 2013 @ 16:55)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'brinjono' (28 Jan 2013 @ 18:43)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'nichop' (28 Jan 2013 @ 21:02)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'PennilessFather' (29 Jan 2013 @ 1:21)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'orton1966' (29 Jan 2013 @ 19:12)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'brierleys' (30 Jan 2013 @ 13:53)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'itpro' (30 Jan 2013 @ 14:41)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'nichop' (30 Jan 2013 @ 16:54)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'itpro' (30 Jan 2013 @ 17:37)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'nichop' (30 Jan 2013 @ 17:40)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'RoadRat' (30 Jan 2013 @ 19:18)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'itpro' (30 Jan 2013 @ 19:38)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'TiredDad' (30 Jan 2013 @ 20:27)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'orton1966' (30 Jan 2013 @ 21:06)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'itpro' (30 Jan 2013 @ 21:36)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'brierleys' (31 Jan 2013 @ 12:56)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'RoadRat' (31 Jan 2013 @ 18:58)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'jamydonut' (04 Mar 2013 @ 19:14)

Re: Neck Braces (MSA and Leatt) by 'nichop' (04 Mar 2013 @ 23:50)

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