The HANS device was designed in the early 1980s by American scientist and researcher Dr. Robert Hubbard a professor of biomechanical engineering at Michigan State University. After talking to his brother-in-law, accomplished American road-racer Jim Downing, following the death of Patrick Jacquemart, a mutual friend who was killed in a testing accident at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course when his Renault Le Car Turbo struck a sandbank, leaving him dead on arrival with head injuries. A major cause of death among drivers during races was through violent head movements, where the body remains in place because of the seat belts, but the momentum keeps the head moving forward, causing a basilar skull fracture, resulting in serious injury or immediate death.

Today, most major auto racing sanctioning bodies mandate the use of head and neck restraints; the FIA has made HANS devices use compulsory for all International-level events from the beginning of 2009.

In 2016, Hubbard and Downing, along with FIA’s Hubert Gramling, were awarded the initial “SAE International Award for Motorsport Safety Honoring John Melvin” for their lifesaving work on the HANS Device.