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I'm not a fan - through first hand experience and testimony
1. there are other people here who have had close encounters of the debris kind, be it rubber or stones, hitting them on the visor or the chin bar of a full face helmet. This was in normal racing and quite separate from an accident of any kind. For myself, I was out cycling recently and I hit a bee which stung me. I was doing about 40nph and it blooming' hurt, imagine if I had been doing 80mph?
2. My own experience a few years back when someone went into a gravel trap in front of me, threw up atones and broke the windscreen. Now I know I was in a closed car, but the impact point was in line with my chin which was quite sobering. It was a ruddy great stone and would really have hurt, it was a big impact. If it had hit the visor, that's bad enough but that is several inches away from my eye. I'm not sure how I'd react to it hitting a goggle that is basically ON my eye
3. There are many films on YouTube of how the driver's head moves forwards in a crash as the belts stretch and neck extends. It is not unknown for a driver's face to hit the steering wheel. The best video is one promoting the HANS device, which from that POV makes a great deal of sense
4. I don't really like open faced helmets in a closed car either. In an accident there can be an awful amount of debris flying around which could cut or damage your face. This was first bought to my attention many years ago by "Doc" Enderby (remember him?) who crashed his Karmann Ghia special saloon and his subsequent article about motor sport safety had a formative effect on me
Disclaimer
These are my personal views and prejudices, and not those of racewear.co.uk. Open faced helmets are perfectly legal and can be used in MSA and international racing at our level, it's just that I wouldn't.
Does that help?
Max
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