Harnesses vs seatbelts

[voucht]

Hi,
There is one rule to respect, and it is true for every car, not only the roadster : you can have harnesses only if you have a roll bar, and a good one. With harnesses, you can't lean down on the side or move from your seat in any way. So if the car flips over and you don't have a proper roll-bar, your head will be the first part of your body to the ground. You have more freedom to move and protect yourself with regular seat belts. This is theory : I don't say you will be safer (especially in the roadster !) but at least, you can expect being a bit safer with seat belts if you don't have a roll-bar or if you don't trust the one you have. It is up to everyone's appreciation.
Harnesses are considered safer than seat belts in case of a crash, but it is not their main purpose, and I'm not sure they actually are. The main purpose of a harness in a racing car is to hold you into your seat in case the car rolls over (an then you need a good roll bar), and to hold you stuck into your seat when hard braking, without using your arms and legs to hold yourself in the bottom of your seat.
If I can add a second rule : never buy second hand harnesses. It is the same rule as for motorbike helmets : if it has been in crash, its place is in the trash bin, it should never been used again. Actually, harnesses stretch during a crash, and they can only do that once. I've seen harnesses stretched of more than 10mm after a crash. And as you can never know the history of a second hand harness, better to buy brand new ones.
Harnesses look good and sports-like, but they also have down sides, and it is good to know them.
Hope these details will help to make your choice.
Cheers.
Sylvain