Some Series are now saying that GoPros' on helmets are un-safe. Has anyone heard of any helmet integrity issues because of wearing a GOPRO on it? I have already spent the money to have video's made of our family racing to enjoy in the years to come with a GOPRO. Have used one for two seasons now with the provided glue pads with no problems. Would like for drivers to bring this up at driver meetings to get a real time opinions/facts from other drivers before this gets way out of hand. The series is saying the GOPRO can be mounted on the kart body which is too low to see anything and no where on the person?? Just think this should be an individual decision as it has been. I race to have fun and have family time. If the insurance people have an issue they need to get the real statistics from GOPRO. This to me is like saying you can't wear blue jeans because their made of cotton and are flammable??????????Just another decision made for the drivers and not by the drivers.
Gopro's on helmets
- Thread starter BARF
- Start date
ABR #69
Member
There are major sporting events like Motorcross where they are mounted to their helmets and are at as much or more risk of injury as we are. Mounting them on the kart body creates too much vibration for a half decent video. Mounting them anywhere on the body rarely provides a vantage point to get any perspective on a young drivers habits, or clearly see what is happening in front of any kart.
The mounts are made to break away incase of emergency, so they aren't creating a security risk if you land on your head. I have, I can personally vouch they break away! When my #430lbs UAS kart landed on top of me the camera was the least of the safety factors to consider.
The mounts are made to break away incase of emergency, so they aren't creating a security risk if you land on your head. I have, I can personally vouch they break away! When my #430lbs UAS kart landed on top of me the camera was the least of the safety factors to consider.
Ted Hamilton
Helmet Painter / Racer
Depending on the type of impact, the mount can be driven into the helmet, causing permanent and irreparable brain injury. That's exactly what happened to Michael Schumacher. WKA, and other series, have already banned their use on helmets. I personally don't have an issue with it, but I can see why they did it. The shell of a helmet is designed to distribute an impact while the mount of the camera concentrates all the force in one area and can lead to failure. Especially if hit "head on" on the top of the camera. There are other places on the kart where it can be mounted without probems, and vibration can be corrected through different mounting or through software correction (and some cameras do this automatically, as well.) YMMV.
Michael Schumacher crashed while skiing. His ski helmet actually split in two when it hit a rock. Ski helmets are no where near as tough as Snell Approved MC or automobile race helmets.
I bet they aren't even as tough as some bike helmets...
That said, I would not mount one on my helmet, the video would be too much like watching "The Blair Witch Project." (horrible movie, terrible "action" video)
We just mounted a GoPro on the front of a kart Sunday and the video was fine.
Ted Hamilton
Helmet Painter / Racer
I read all of those, too. Still apples and oranges...it was a ski helmet, not an approved racing helmet.
"But now investigators believe that they may have found a reason for the seriousness of the crash. They think that his helmet camera could have actually worsened the blown, and caused the helmet to shatter into pieces. Experts from ENSA, the world-renowned ski and climbing academy in the French ski resort of Chamonix, have conducted tests to determine whether the presence of a solid object between a helmet colliding with a rock would weaken the structure. The helmet smashed – but the camera he had attached to it, in order to record him and his son skiing, was undamaged. The footage, audio and visual, has provided police with crucial information about the crash."
So he crashed hard enough that his helmet was smashed to pieces, but the camera was completely undamaged.
Maybe the fix here is that GoPro should start making ski helmets??
"But now investigators believe that they may have found a reason for the seriousness of the crash. They think that his helmet camera could have actually worsened the blown, and caused the helmet to shatter into pieces. Experts from ENSA, the world-renowned ski and climbing academy in the French ski resort of Chamonix, have conducted tests to determine whether the presence of a solid object between a helmet colliding with a rock would weaken the structure. The helmet smashed – but the camera he had attached to it, in order to record him and his son skiing, was undamaged. The footage, audio and visual, has provided police with crucial information about the crash."
So he crashed hard enough that his helmet was smashed to pieces, but the camera was completely undamaged.
Maybe the fix here is that GoPro should start making ski helmets??