TECH INSPECTION
Leatt Brace Protects against Paralysis
Author: Kris Skellenger
Preventative Maintenance – for Your Life
Editor’s note: This article reflects author Kris Skellenger’s personal efforts to adapt the Leatt Brace, which was designed for Motocross racers, to work in a sportbike application. Since his work has not been officially approved by Leatt, what you’re reading must be taken merely as one man’s opinions and experiences. Still, we here at TrackdayMag.com think Kris is definitely headed in the right direction with his experiment. We’d like to see Leatt or another manufacturer bring such a product to market that has been specifically approved for sportbike, track day and road racing use.  As racetrack riders, we all own and use the standard track-riding equipment: leathers, boots, gloves, helmet, and back protector. Can we be doing more to protect ourselves? Recent safety trends have included mouth guards and chest protectors. These seemingly minor additions to your track ensemble could prove to be a big benefit in the event of a crash. Add those two things to the above list and you’ve pretty much got every form of protection you need, right? Wrong.
Last August, a close friend of mine had a very serious crash on the street. His head hit the ground face-first, causing his helmet  to be jammed into his chest. The force of this impact was so massive that it shattered the front of his C6 vertebrae and instantly made him a quadriplegic. After a few weeks of seeing firsthand what the consequences of this crash were I knew that something had to be done, and if it came down to it, I was going to be the one to do it. A few emotionally draining months after his crash, I got in contact with Jason McCune at Leatt Brace in Southern California. Some of you dirt riders may recognize the name Leatt, as their neck brace has become a common sight at motocross starting gates around the country. During our conversation, Jason told me that the company had done limited testing with roadracers but had effectively hit a roadblock. I told him about my friend’s injury and my resolve to do whatever I could to prevent the same thing from happening to someone else. A few weeks later I was on a plane to Southern California with my gear in tow to get my very own Leatt Brace. Move your head forward and back or side to side through its full range of motion. Now imagine the ground trying to do the same thing to you at 50-100mph. The only thing limiting your neck’s movement is the elasticity of its tendons and muscles. As much torque and momentum as can be generated in a crash, the limits of that soft tissue can easily be overcome. Your neck is one of the most important, vulnerable, and least protected parts on your body, yet there is currently no device designed to protect it in the arena of sportbike riding or racing.
|