Dr. Archer's Alternatives
DR. ARCHER'S ALTERNATIVES
SAFER RIDING THROUGH AIR BAGS?
COULD WAYNE RAINEY'S CAREER-ending injuries have been pre vented? Shreve "Mac" Archer, M.D., a Cannel, California, pedi atrician, thinks so, and he's come up with a couple of products to back up his claims.
Now, before you start rolling your eyes and dismissing the good doctor as some meddling mamby-pamb, you should know that the 45-year-old Archer raced motorcycles well enough to be the Florida-state Formula Two champ in 1977 and still rides with enough skill to keep his Honda RC3O ahead of all but the most determined riders on California's Pacific Coast
Highway. He also just won Autoweek's six-race VMRC Challenge, piloting a 700-horsepower, 1970s-era Can-Am McLaren. The man knows about highperformance driving and riding.
For the past five years, Archer has been trying to get helmet manufacturers to develop his patented Neck Guard, an otherwise conventional helmet that contains an air bag in its base (see “Dr. Archer’s Air Bag,” CW, February, 1989). In the event of an accident or crash, the bag deploys around the rider’s neck, the goal being to stabilize the head and lessen the twisting/bending forces that can lead to paralyzing injuries. The bag is detachable from the helmet and after deploy-
ment remains inflated, acting as a cervical collar, if needed, while the rider is transported to a medical center.
Archer also has a patent pending for his Back Guard, a back protector that he says is a significant improvement over the back protectors now in use by racers and sport riders.
Archer recently traveled to the Milan Show in Italy to display his Neck Guard, and got enthusiastic response from several major helmet manufacturers. And with production help from seat-maker Mike Corbin, he hopes to have prototype Back Guards under the leathers of several U.S. race teams this year. Sale to the general public could soon follow.
“I realized that there is little or no medical input in the design of safety equipment,” says Archer. “Without a knowledge of human anatomy and the mechanism of injury, the design of safety equipment can’t be effective. As a motorcyclist for nearly 30 years, actively involved in racing, I’ve known too many racers who’ve suffered paralyzing injuries. My goal is to prevent or minimize those injuries.”
David Edwards
