driving school safety

["Andrew D.Mendez" <AMENDEZ@xxxxxxx>]

Greeting enthusiasts and metallurgists (for humor
impaired: there have been lots of posts arguing
about metal corrosion lately):

Could we stop talking about how anyone who goes to
a driving school without a $3,000 Arai F1 Kevlar
helmet, depleted uranium roll cage, 14-point
harness, Nomex jock strap, and automatic Halon
fire extinguisher system (preferably surplus from
an M1 tank) is a suicidal idiot doomed to die a
horrible death in a roof-crushing, hot
oil-spewing, rolling, multiple-impact, flaming,
explosive wreck at turn 4 at [local track]? My
$99.99 G-force closeout special M-rated helmet and
I are getting a little nervous. Thank you. 

P.S. My understanding of the motorcycle helmet
"one impact" thing is that the styrofoam
protecting your noggin just deforms upon impact,
absorbing the blow, and does not rebound to its
original shape. The helmet doesn't self-destruct
and become absolutely useless after one impact as
some posts seem to be suggesting; it's just that
there may not be much foam between your skull and
the outside of the helmet in that one place (not
good if you take more than one very similar blow).
I have seen lots of motorcyle racers take horrible
spills, rolling along the track at very high speed
and the drivers' heads are fine (rest of body
sometimes not so fine) despite hitting the track
literally dozens of times. I'm not saying M
helmets are better than SA, but M helmets aren't
deathtraps either, especially given that your head
is likely to take only one huge impact in a car
wreck (against roof/a-pillar/steering
wheel/passenger's head) anyway. 

P.P.S. Also, could whoever posted about cutting
the rotor backing plates & then bending them back
to direct airflow to the rotors please email me
with that info again? TIA

Andy '95 M3 no safety/performance mods