Can you do your harness up with you crash helmet and/or HANS device on?

[dtype38]

The reason I ask about this is that next weekend I'm doing a driver change race but I'll be all on my todd and doing both stints. The rules will be that at the pitstop drivers doing the race by themselves must get out the driver door, run round the car, and get back in the driver door. Seems simple enough.... but that means I won't have another driver to help me back in. I also don't have anyone with me for this meeting, so I'm going to have to get strapped back in by myself.

Now in an emergency getting out of my car is easy. Pop the harness, pull the steering wheel off and jump out the top. In normal situations, though, I ususally have to take my gloves off to undo my HANS device teathers, remove my helmet, carefully wedge all the loose ends of my harness where I can reach them again, then carefully squeeze out so as not to dislodge the belts. If that wasn't enough potential for problem getting back in is even worse. So far I've never yet been able to find my shoulder straps and get them properly on my HANS device with my helmet on. In addition, I can't fit my HANS teathers with my gloves on.

So..... at the moment it looks like to do the pit stop I'm going to have to take my gloves and helmet off before I get out the car. That is going to be a serious amount of extra time, and could well lose me the race. If it was you, would you accept the extra time as the price of safety.... or leave the HANS device at home?