NASCAR now requires six-point belt harnasses

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR is requiring drivers in its three national series to wear six-point belt harnesses beginning this season.
Most drivers already used a six-point device but some still used five-point seat belts. The six-point harness has an extra strap and does not come straight up through the crotch as a five-point. Some of those using the five-point belts have added two straps to make it a seven-point system.

"We have tested restraints pretty heavily the last few years, and as we continue to test and we continue to find better things, it only makes sense to implement them as they come," Nextel Cup Series Director John Darby said.
Drivers went through their annual safety briefing with NASCAR's safety expert Steve Peterson, General Motors biomedical research scientist Dr. John Melvin and General Motors Racing Safety Manager Tom Gideon on Tuesday morning.
Melvin said the change in belt requirements was probably the biggest change for 2007.
"It gives much better chest protection and it actually reduces your head motion," Melvin said. "One of the common injuries that occurred with crashes in five-point belts was broken ribs, broken sternums, broken clavicles.
"That was a common NASCAR injury. The six-point belt just eliminates that by making the shoulder belts work better. We've proven that in the laboratory."

Credit for story:BY BOB POCKRASS - ASSOCIATE EDITOR