Mounted search and rescue

["IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN" <ilichten1@verizon.net>]

Neck protectors, whether rolls or straps limit head movement.  On a bull or in a NASCAR car that is acceptable before the crash.  In an aircraft the pretensioners pull you into the proper position for the ejection as part of the sequence.  There are two ways to look at this--- either you have a healthy, average American neck, and wear head protection that extends down the rear of head, possible with a chest protector, and possibly with a heavy turtleneck sweater in the winter or you don’t.  Either way the insurance company will pay off, just one way you are paralyzed or dead and the other way you are only slightly injured.  It is more likely that impact to the head will do you in than neck injury.  To compress the spine you have to hit the head, or the butt.  If you do not have a normal neck due to prior injury or congential defectyou’re your doctor. You may need to wear a supplemental brace while riding, hard or soft, or perhaps a stock (like the Marines did to protect themselves from saber cuts, hence, Leathernecks). 

 

The fire service now requires a very strict occupational entry physical for both career and volunteers and this is then used as a baseline to compare the person to over the years.  When wear and tear get to much you get “retired” (declared unfit).  If we applied these same standards to MSAR riders nobody would pass, and it would cost us about $3000 each to find out how unfit we were.

 

Irv Lichtenstein  

 

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From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Ron & Christine Derksen
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 9:39 PM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Neck protection equipment

 

Bull riders wear a roll style neck pad as well. Seen them being used in the PBR circuit.

 

Ron