History and development of motor sport safety

Restraints
A study of motor sport accidents and drivers in 1967 (Henderson, 1968), found that virtually none of the drivers involved in accidents in Britain that year, were wearing any form of restraint. In the case of open single seat vehicles those who happened to stay within the cockpit during an accident suffered the least severe injuries, especially in rollover situations. Drivers asked about this at the time responded with the attitude that they would rather be killed instantly, or thrown clear, than be trapped in a burning vehicle and burn to death. According to Peter Brock, this attitude was also very prevalent here in Australia, even in the enclosed vehicles.
The dimensions of the Formula One cockpits at the time actually protected the drivers in some ways, even without seatbelts. The need for the minimum possible frontal area made it very difficult for drivers to squeeze in and out of the cars, which in turn held many drivers into the vehicle. However, it also meant that many drivers were injured while being thrown out due to their bodies snagging on parts of the vehicle. Some were only partially ejected which left them vulnerable to the cars rolling onto the driver. A driver in 1966 died in a gentle roll on a grassy bank due to partial ejection, his throat being cut between the windscreen and the ground, the windscreen did not even crack.(Henderson 1968) A seatbelt would have prevented him lifting out of his seat and would have saved his life.
The cockpit interior was a very dangerous place in the 1960's. Sharp protrusions and solid steering columns killed many drivers during accidents. Head and chest injuries from collision with the steering column were especially prevalent. Many of these injuries could have been entirely prevented by restraining the driver from moving forward at the point of impact. Early racing seatbelts were developed with little knowledge of the forces they would be required to withstand. The seat belts themselves were often strong enough, but the mounting points were very unsafe. The photograph on the right, shows a large tear in the mounting point of the seatbelt. The driver of this car moved so far forward, that he received severe head injuries from the steering wheel and dashboard.
There was no pre-season safety testing of any of the safety aspects of racing cars. This meant that the driver's safety was only tested during an accident. The drivers would surely have felt safe, being tightly strapped in, but in an accident, the engineering would have let them down. It became an FIA requirement of all Formula cars in 1967 to have seat belt mounting points built in at the design stage, but it was still optional for the drivers and teams to wear restraints.
Rollover Protection

The need for rollover protection was becoming clear to race teams and organisers alike (See right) . Often during a rollover, the car suffered minimal damage, yet the driver would be seriously injured or killed. Rollover protection was introduced as mandatory, but what constituted rollover protection was not clear. Sports saloons, or modified road cars were almost twice as likely to invert during an accident, yet the driver was half as likely to be injured in the accident. In sports saloons, the body of the car provided protection for the occupant. Rollover protection and a driver restraint system needed to be developed together for the best results. This would ensure the driver remained within the vehicle and that the vehicle would protect them from rollover injury.
Many of the cars had roll-bars that were enough to pass the inspections but would have been inadequate in a rollover situation, either being made too lightly, not being high enough or both (see photograph on right)
The first roll bars often collapsed during rollovers, an unacceptable situation placing the driver at great risk. It wasn't until the death of Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini during the Monaco Grand Prix in 1967, that roll bars were taken seriously. Had Bandini not suffered the rollover injuries he did, he may have been able to escape the resulting fire, the fire causing the injuries that killed him. From that race on, Ferrari Formula One cars were fitted with strong, high roll bars, a feature quickly copied by the other teams. A major incident also triggered a rethink of roll cages in Australia's touring cars. At Bathurst in 1969, Bill Brown rolled his car along a fence, totally flattening the roof. The fence was crushing the roof in front of the single roll bar. Although he walked away, this incident led to the introduction of bars coming forward to protect the driver's head.
Jackie Stewart was one of the pioneers of motor sport safety in the 1960's. He appeared to have a very strong interest in his own well being. Back when seatbelts were not worn and roll bars were seen as bad for the aerodynamics, Stewart made sure that he was strapped in tightly and had a roll bar above his head. He was one of the first drivers to wear fire resistant clothing and also wore a fire resistant mask under his helmet that protected his face from fire. While these things may seem normal today, in the 1960's he was seen as being over cautious. Whilst he may have been over cautious in his racing equipment, his performances on the track soon proved his worth. Everything Jackie Stewart had in his car to protect him became mandatory by the mid 1970's.
Peter Brock, here in Australia, was one of the new generation of motor racers. He was not one of the drivers being forced to wear restraints after being without them for so long. He had always strapped himself tightly into his cars from a very early age, not so much for safety, but because he felt more in control of the vehicle, being a part of it. The local racing scene he joined was very basic. The cars had standard suspension, engines and good quality road tyres, but nothing else. You were allowed to replace the standard drivers seat with a more supportive racing seat and that was about all. Most of the cars were road registered and actually driven to each race.
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