Track Safety

[Duane <drcollie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Fri, 09 Oct 1998 08:44:52 -0500
>From: Brian M Kennedy <kennedy@domain.elided>
>Subject: Re: Track Safety

>Agreed.  But how about the convertibles that come with hardtop options.
Is the
>hardtop for a convertible as strong as a standard coupe hardtop?  I would
guess
>no; but how much weaker is it?

I've no hard evidence to back this up, but I imagine that most detachable
hardtops will do exactly that when the car is upsidedown......DETACH!
There's not much infrastructure to keep them in place.....couple of pins
and a latch into the windshield is about all.

>My guess is that competitive adrenaline is a major culprit.  If you're doing
>okay, you want to get back to the race ASAP.  My suggestion is for all track
>events to _require_ you to come to a full stop before re-entering the track
>anytime you leave it.  Anything else, and you're DSQ.  Then, when someone
>leaves the track, their competitive juices will be saying "Get to full stop
>ASAP so that I can get back to racing.!"  And of course, that's just the 
>behavior you want from them when they go off track.  Thoughts?

Ummm...I disagree here. It's not a race so there is no urgency to get right
back on. I think some panic sets in when the car is going out of control
and the blacktop is seen as a pathway back to "safety".  When a car goes
off the track, it makes LOTS of bizarre noises and the handling goes in the
toilet, which makes the driver confused and anxious.  Natural instinct is
to go for the safe haven - the blacktop.

Problem is the blacktop ain't your friend when you come back on it if your
car is not fully under control.  It's the last place you want to head for
if you are out of shape.  Once you've gathered up the car 100% then its not
an issue to get back on the track even if you still have some forward
momentum.

Remember this phrase (Skip Barber taught):   "In a Spin?  Two Feet In".
Hit the brake and the clutch. STOP THE CAR.  

>It can be done fairly easy based on an existing simulator such as Gran
Tourismo.
>Somehow, I suspect they'll not consider it to have a lot of market appeal.
 But
>perhaps we could appeal to their moral side -- that they'd be saving lives.

I'd like to see something like this at every Track to accompany skidpads
and classroom sessions.  Ideally, a map of that particular track would be
used and you could practice various off road scenarios for every corner on
the track.

Duane Collie

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