Coroner questions speedway headgear

Speedway administrators should consider whether a head restraint, developed for Formula One racing and widespread in circuit competition, is appropriate in stockcar racing, says coroner Tim Scott.
He made the suggestion at an inquest held in Palmerston North yesterday to consider the fatal head injury of Hawke's Bay stockcar driver Peter Barry at a major event in the city a year ago.
Mr Barry, 44, a farmer, was fatally injured at Palmerston North Speedway on February 6, last year, the first night of the New Zealand teams' stockcar championships.
He died in Wellington Hospital six days later, without regaining consciousness.
A post-mortem found he had suffered a significant brain injury.
Mr Scott said he could not determine exactly how the injury happened or at what time. Nor was it possible to determine the exact circumstances; while Mr Barry had a head injury, there were no marks on his helmet to suggest his head had struck anything.
Mr Barry was driving a block car for the Kihikihi Kings against the Hawke's Bay Hawkeyes.
It is thought he was knocked unconscious when the car struck a concrete wall with some force, though that became apparent only after video was scrutinised.
The race was stopped because of another crash and Barry's car kept moving slowly along the track before a flag marshall jumped in and shut it down.
Mr Scott accepted fatalities were relatively rare in stockcar racing, although the likelihood of injury was not. It was inherently high risk and violent, especially in teams' racing, where drivers crashed into each other on purpose.
The court was told that New Zealand was the only country where such high-contact motorsport was run. "Drivers are aware of the risk ... they [competitors] take that on board when they embark on it," Mr Scott said.
"It's well known that even relatively minor impact injuries can cause a brain bleed."
While he was satisfied stockcar racing was tightly-controlled and well-run, perhaps it was time for Speedway New Zealand, the controlling authority, to consider some safety equipment.
Mr Scott raised concern about the HANS (head and neck restraint system) device, a safety item compulsory in many car-racing sports.
Primarily made of carbon fibre, it attaches to a driver's helmet by tethers and covers the neck and shoulders. It is not compulsory in stockcar racing but has become increasingly used.
After hearing expert reports, Mr Scott asked if the device was entirely suitable for stockcars, noting it was designed primarily to protect in head-on crashes, not the side and rear impacts more common in speedway.
He also questioned the integrity of drivers' racing harnesses made from nylon, having been advised belts made from polypropolene were less likely to stretch.
Mr Barry had contested two races that night and, though his injury became apparent in the second, Mr Scott concluded there was a strong possibility it might have happened during the first heat, in which Mr Barry's car was heavily damaged.
Mr Scott said he could not draw any particular conclusion as to whether or not the safety equipment used by Mr Barry had contributed to his injury.
He noted that the HANS device manufacturers recommended its use in conjunction with certain helmet designs. Mr Barry was wearing a motorcycle helmet that was not certified by the HANS-maker, but had been professionally modified to accept the device.
Andrea Barry, the racer's wife, said her husband had started racing three years ago and had never had any serious accidents or injuries, save for a broken rib and occasional black eyes.
 Mr Barry farmed in Central Hawke's Bay and won the Young Farmer of the Year competition in 1993.
The coroner reserved his finding.NZPA