Reply To: CONCUSSION

[robertharrison]

Question for concussion, return to sport.  In other sports I think the athlete returns to light duty, non contact , and should things go well, they move forward to return to action.

For motorsports, there was nothing to test the drivers, and  Impact and other tests were used to see if the driver was back to normal.  With the newer  simulators, you can  have race stimulations. Could a race simulator be used to see  if the driver has gotten back to their pre crash performance.  I have sent many riders and a few drivers to hospital after a crash and short LOC , less than 1min.  When the person returns from the hospital, they are cleared to return to action. I have brought this up with the insurance provider, and have been told that” the doctor says he is fine”. We had the IMPACT test available at the track for two years , no cost to drivers, and had no takers to do their baseline. The race simulators can be combined so you can have a race. this way the drivers will try to win, and have a good baseline. Should they crash at the track, and get a clean bill of health, we could ask the driver to redo the  simulator, and try to match his baseline. Should he have an brain injury, I would think he could not match his baseline.

We are looking for a solution for the weekly track driver, to help protect the other drivers on track and the person in question. Do you think a simulator test could give the green light for a return to the track?

Robert Harrison

Calabogie Safety Team