Crash at SOW, be careful racers...

[PDVR6]

http://www.jtuned.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786


:eek: :(

[PDVR6]

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=800116

[quattrogirl]

Wow, a TON of info in the 2nd thread. Glad to hear the driver & passenger are recovering well! AMEN!

It's a shame to see this happen, but it's a wake-up call to everyone about what could happen if (a) something is in your way on the road; and (b) you overcorrect getting back onto pavement from an uneven dirt surface at high speed.

That coupled with some errors that should have been sought out prior to the drive:
* the passengers' full open face helmet was too big= NEVER BORROW A HELMET
* the passengers' lap belts were stretched= ALWAYS WEAR THEM PROPERLY AND FULLY TIGHTENED TO THE POINT OF UNCOMFORTABLE

The events I've taught at first of all NEVER let a passenger ride unless the driver is an instructor. Period, end of story.

Any club that lets students take passengers, or anyone else who's not trained to TEACH take a passenger out should NOT be attended as a "school".

Open track days are totally different, but remember the person in front of you/ behind you/ or driving you may not know how to check his equipment and yours properly before heading out at speed.

What if the girl in the passenger seat was his instructor? I've gotten into that passenger seat many times as an instructor and actually pulled the student in after a lap, sensing that he just didn't "GET IT" in terms of my safety, his safety, learning the track, and knowing what to do if something would mess up like it did here. An instructor will be on the track 2-3 times more than any student that day, and if you don't think fatigue is a factor for us too, well..... but we do call it quits sometimes mid-afternoon, and pull another instructor in, or just tell the student "there's tomorrow".

Always ALWAYS ALWAYSSSSSSSSSs walk AWAY (drive away) from that "last session" in the day if you have even on OUNCE of fagitue, dehydration, exhaustion, etc. I've seen little crunches (walk-aways) and fender-benders and "offs" (go off 4 wheels, recover, come on, get a black flag) and my experience as a novice and very very young instructor (25 events DOES NOT MAKE ME AN EXPERT!) and they happen 75% of the time in the last 2 sessions of the day.

Also, no one has mentioned in that thread, but too often high testosterone levels in a male driver/ female rider cause a euphoria "I can fix this, I'm the guy, let me show the hottie next to me how it's done" reaction. The best thing to do would have to been to ease to a stop WHERE YOU ARE, then resume course after taking stock of everything in the situation and environment around you. I do not say this is the case here, but being one of the very very few female instructors I can say that testosterone levels are exceedingly high at the track (DUH) but show-off-ness also plays a part... I pass on any male student that wants to show me "how fast he can rip down the front straight". I'd rather hear about the story later over a beer rather than fear for my life in his passenger seat. It HAS happened to me, and I'm glad to say we resolved those situations quickly and without any harm or incident.

My next mods are a roll cage (SCCA approved, not some pretty show shiet) and a 5-point harness. Coming soon, yup I'll post up pics, and anyone that wants one should contact Autopower Roll Cages, or Brent LaBree at LaBree Motor Sports. Both companies build SCCA approved cages.

I personally have driver & passenger 4-point Scroths JUST like the ones in that accident, and althought I do tell people to "tighten them all the way" most people won't pull the belts to the point of uncomfortableness, which is where they SHOULD be on a track at full speed. The 4-pointers do NOT have tensioners that will "spool back" in a collision, so the tightness you feel at the start line is the tightness you'll have at 85 mph when you smack a wall. YES there is the "what if you roll over and the roof crushed and you're pinned to the seat" argument. Thankfully my only "offs" have been at Sears Point, in the turns called the Esses, in the pouring rain, I packed the car sideways into the mud, but WALKED away and didn't get any wheels in the air. I am taking my chances with my current configuration, I know that. I tell students that too. Their choice to get in my car.

Wake up call to all of us. Tracking your car is dangerous. Don't let anyone kid you that it's not. Yes it's fun, yes you'll learn a ton about your mental abilities and your car's capability. Still......

[wikedgolf]

no matter how controlled the sistuation is, shit can happen. (as in contolled, i mean track and not on the streets).. thank god they are alive

[PDVR6]

Also, no one has mentioned in that thread, but too often high testosterone levels in a male driver/ female rider cause a euphoria "I can fix this, I'm the guy, let me show the hottie next to me how it's done" reaction. The best thing to do would have to been to ease to a stop WHERE YOU ARE, then resume course after taking stock of everything in the situation and environment around you. I do not say this is the case here, but being one of the very very few female instructors I can say that testosterone levels are exceedingly high at the track (DUH) but show-off-ness also plays a part... I pass on any male student that wants to show me "how fast he can rip down the front straight". I'd rather hear about the story later over a beer rather than fear for my life in his passenger seat. It HAS happened to me, and I'm glad to say we resolved those situations quickly and without any harm or incident.



I highly doubt that was going through his mind at the time. In my opinion, he should have just drove straight over the liner considering the high speed he was at. At least the car would be going in a striaght line and some what controlled. He would have easily just ran that thing over.

[Tom (aka Godzilla)]

I highly doubt that was going through his mind at the time. In my opinion, he should have just drove straight over the liner considering the high speed he was at. At least the car would be going in a striaght line and some what controlled. He would have easily just ran that thing over.
I agree. We've had two accidents at my Guard unit in the past month because people swerved to avoid a squirrel or fox. One hit a building, the other hit a concrete pole and ended up in the hospital. We plan on having a safety class that teaches people to run over animals instead of swerving. We're going to set up a course and have people throw stuffed animals in front of the cars at random.

I'm not trying to make light of the crash of the STi. I'm commenting on how people will sacrifice themselves to avoid hitting something small in their path. Interesting.

[Jewel]

I was out at Streets the weekend after this accident (instructing for Audi Club) and I want to say that everything Christine is talking about is accurate. I have experienced many of the things she talks about and, up until it's sale a month ago, had been tracking my S4 and my old A4 with those same harnesses. The new track car will hopefully get a full cage before the wet weather hits and will have proper race seats with 5-point harnesses. Also, people always have asked me why I wear a full face helmet, after racing off-road with my husband I wouldn't consider anything else.

Let's all just pay attention, LOOK WELL AHEAD and do our best to be safe. Especially when you have another human in your car!

[ncttrnl]

Oh man... that was terrible reading. Very sad. Hopefully both the driver and passenger make a full recovery.

After reading that, I am definately hanging up my open face helmet for a full face before hitting the track.

How is it that the guy hit the steering wheel? He was wearing 4 pt harnesses so shouldn't those have stopped him from moving that far forward? Were his harneses just not as good as others and stretched too much under load? I'm very curious as I'm gutting my car to install the race seats and harnesses into it and I've been reading the SCCA rules and all that but some experienced advice would be helpful. To a new casual racer 4 pt harnesses seem like an extreme safety measure and they make you feel maybe safer than you are.

[SCCAONE]

4 point harnesses should not be allowed in any car used in on track sessions!!! The factory 3 point will do a better job of protecting you. Add the anti-submarine belt/belts to the 4 point harnesses and the lap belt will stay where it should be, around your hips and you will not end up on the floor. Are your shoulder belts at or above the point where they cross you shoulder, and not 3 feet long, the rear package tray is not the place for front seat shoulder harnesses to attach