The MotoGP riders also use air-bag suits which serve to decrease the loading to the body and reduce the range of motion of the neck in crash scenarios:
I have considered looking into these setups for karting, too.
However, let’s all keep in mind that most motorcycle accidents (among professionals running modern 4-strokes) are low-sides and i’d argue at higher speeds than our karts. I think dirt bikes in some ways are more similar given that speeds are more similar to karting, the chance for bike-to-body contact is higher - if you’re flipping a kart, or getting hit by another, the chances of kart-to-body contact are high. I think large karting risks to the neck are:
- flipping and having the kart’s force exerted into the ground - through your neck.
- being ejected from the kart and landing in a way which exposes your neck to large forces
- being impacted by another kart at head/neck level
- a combination of those three