LuigiVampa

That is just reckless. 150+ mph?!! I'm doing that at Daytona on the banking and my hand movements are tiny. Anything more and you zip out of control. To let someone with zero experience drive that fast shows a stunning lack of brains.

I think that everyone at the track should always wear a race suit. It may not be feasible but at the higher run groups it should be mandatory just like at race events.

Very true and scary.

bpu699

REALLY!!! I thought that was why they had fire extinguishers, so they could save lives...

ExMB

I respect your personal/professional believe.

Keep in mind that the HPDE program is there to help people learn about and experience their cars in a controlled, safe?, environment. Too much regulation, like a government, will limit the intent and foster elitism. I realize that there are regions in your neck of the woods that enhance the requirements per run group. Is that due to their size, their personal believes, their tracks, etc? Too much big brother, especially when it extends outside of their sphere of influence, is detrimental to the intent of the program IMHO.

m3bs

Exactly why I gave up instructing. After three weekends in a row in 600+ HP cars, I decided things can happen much too quickly. All it takes is a twitch of the right foot. I can't control that from the passenger seat.

Gofishracing

This- "right seat instructors CANNOT have and WILL NEVER have complete control and responsibility for what goes on in the car in DE or track day environment. To suggest otherwise is to mislead the instructor corps." Each group has their challenges. We all know the risks vs rewards.

ProCoach

We also know culture and preparation of both the students and instructors counts for a lot.

Manifold

Yes, all the factors need to work together as a system - organizational culture, management team, instructor training, structure of run groups, event format, morning meetings, checkout procedures, tech requirements, safety equipment, track design and runoffs, pit operations, corner workers, emergency response, etc.

The best organizations have honed their system through experience and a continuing commitment to managing risk well. Chin is at the top of my list in this regard, and of course there are other good ones as well.

A minority of organizations lack experience and/or their system is compromised by factors such as profit motive, so they expose people to excessive risk and also contribute to giving DE a bad name. I've tried a few of these and will never go back.

mglobe

IMHO, a safety culture is the single most powerful safety "device" we have at our disposal.

alexaqui

You would think the corner workers would help, eh? Something broke on my suspension at WGI and caused my rear left tire to catch fire and then ignite my inner plastic wheel well. As soon as I saw the smoke I pulled out after the bust stop onto the nascar straight and stopped at the corner worker booth (we were running the classic boot so no cars in that section). The corner worker didn't help me at all! I managed to limp the car to the pits only to find the rear end on fire!! Grrrr...

ExMB

+1

I just got done exploring the possibility of being a guest instructor with another organization. I turned them down and in response received what I call a very unprofessional, not respectful response.
I agree that we are all proud of where and how we learned; thats why I became an instructor - to give back.

This whole interchange to me just confirmed the oft spoken adage: its the people, not the cars.

LuigiVampa

Foster elitism? C'mon!

If a driver keeps at it long enough, and progresses to a higher run group, they should buy a race suit or go play golf.

I ain't in charge so its only my opinion.

By the way, I'm a stone cold libertarian and don't like anyone telling me what to do. But this comes down to dollars and sense.

Some idiot with more money than skill is going to wrap his car around a guard rail on cold tires in the first session one morning and french fry himself. Insurance will get cancelled and that ends DE.

Manifold

I could be wrong, and maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning, but I don't think one horrific incident like that can sink the DE ship. This is a decentralized and self-regulating sport with thousands of drivers collectively doing about a hundred million miles a year at many dozens of tracks across the US.

ProCoach

Yep.

LuigiVampa

One incident is not going to sink the sport. However, if there is a spate of bad luck, its not as far fetched as you think.

My industry had some large losses in 2008 and our bonding went way up and several insurance underwriters exited the business. The additional insurance premiums drove some of my competitors out of business. This is an industry which is bigger than DE.

Lockton, a brand well known in DE circles, is one of those companies that I work with. They raised their rates, lowered their policy limits, and defined their risk more narrowly. All that happened from one year of bad claims.

I'm not trying to say the sky is falling. I'm not trying to say that anyone who doesn't own a race suit is going to kill the sport. But what I am saying is that we have to keep a close eye on safety because, at the very least, it will affect the overall cost of these events if insurance premiums rise due to large payouts.

the_vetman

That's your opinion not based on facts.