1 and safety standards
04-25-2018, 09:28 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
1 and safety standards
Please forgive me as I am almost positive I saw a reference for this show somewhere here but cannot find it. The wife and I just watched 1 onAmazon Prime. It was very well put together and one of the threads was the sheer number of drivers that were killed in F1 before safety standards became the norm.
We were near the end of the program and it went over the 1978 death of Ronnie Peterson and it hit me that up to about that point they didn't have near what we have at a typical Texas track day weekend in terms of safety equipment and procedures. To me, that is just stunning given the performance level of those cars.
It is still a dangerous sport, but my educated guess as the biggest reasons for the drop in the death rate, in addition to better emergency personnel is preventing fireballs through fuel cells/less fuel, driver compartment structure, and the HANS.
-Mike
We were near the end of the program and it went over the 1978 death of Ronnie Peterson and it hit me that up to about that point they didn't have near what we have at a typical Texas track day weekend in terms of safety equipment and procedures. To me, that is just stunning given the performance level of those cars.
It is still a dangerous sport, but my educated guess as the biggest reasons for the drop in the death rate, in addition to better emergency personnel is preventing fireballs through fuel cells/less fuel, driver compartment structure, and the HANS.
-Mike
04-25-2018, 09:55 PM
#2
The 70s were a disaster re safety in all ways; track design, trackside personnel et al, punctuated by the 1973 Cevert fatality at the Glen and the (in)famous same-year Roger Williamson crash at Zandvoort where his car turned over and caught fire, trapping him inside. A fellow driver, David Purley, abandoned his race and jumped out of his car to try to get Williamson out BEFORE any trackside help arrived. And then in 1976 there was Lauda, and on and on. This period of the sport has been documented with films like The Quick and The Dead and others.
Gary
Gary
04-26-2018, 01:42 AM
#4
Anjin San
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I first started to follow F1in the late 60s and the 70s was a siht show on safety. Bernie did act like a Dick over a termendous list of things. But he did make safety priority 1 starting with Prof Sid Watkins, Britain’s best brain surgeon into becoming the man who helped keep the driver’s alive. Bernie also helped by bringing real money into F1 and letting the owners of the cars and tracks that constant death hurts their bottom line.
The Jules Bianchi death is the reason for the HALO. Things F1 has done to keep people safe has filtered down to racing that we do.
The Jules Bianchi death is the reason for the HALO. Things F1 has done to keep people safe has filtered down to racing that we do.
04-28-2018, 10:38 AM
#5
Three Wheelin'
Safety in F1 was abysmal until at least the 1980s. Drivers died pretty much every year due to poor car safety, poor safety equipment, and poor track safety standards. Fires, decapitations, and some really bizarre accidents - many were really grisly. Videos and pics of many of them aren't hard to find if you search. We can thank the guys who lost their lives for the safety standards we enjoy today.
