Manifold

" … husband, father, twin brother and son …"

Condolences to all of his family and friends.

Santi

Thanks for the GFM Link - Donation sent -

RIP Peter.

Turbodan

Very sad to hear. RIP.

Space Coast GT3

Very sad, indeed.

Steve113

Tragic loss

95spiderman

horrendous story and so sad to hear. condolences.

ive had lots of students spin w me in right seat but tg never contact. only 1 student ever scared me though. I was instructing novice 18 yo son in an amg truck w over 600hp but he was great. then dad who was 'intermediate' asked me to ride w him for 'some tips' in his modified exotic (I don't remember exact car, was yrs ago). he was horrible driver, completely out of control and would not take any instructions. I tried every instructor trick in book for 'loose cannon student' to no avail. luckily, escaped w no untoward events but wow was that scary.

Manifold

One of the most challenging students I had was a kid around 18 yo who was actually a good driver, but was aggressive out of the gate and really didn't want to listen, and I had to pit him in and give a stern lecture. His dad was a student at the same event, apparently a worse driver and also didn't want to listen to his instructor (who was very frustrated).

DDun911

One of the issues you face with instructing, you are almost always getting into a non-caged car with out any of the safety items that would be a bare minimum in any race car.
There are other options such as lead follow that would be much safer for all involved. It is time to rethink the model.

95spiderman

I would say things like lead-follow, car-pit communicators, and data analysis will replace in car instructing over the next generation or so of hpde

ProCoach

There have been people saying that for half a generation, already.

Skip Barber started in 1974 and has used lead-follow, corner to pit radio feedback since that time.

Video and data analysis has been readily available and easy to use for at least a decade.

But the in-car culture is strong. And there are many positives from that culture.

It's a complex question. When you strap into the passenger seat, you increase your risk. Period.

Manifold

Since instructors voluntarily provide in-car instruction, and the rate of incidents is low, I don't see a need to consider generally discontinuing it as an instructional format. But time will tell whether enough instructors continue to choose to do it (ever faster street cars seem to be a concern for many instructors, despite their generally better safety systems). If instructors no longer want to get in the right seat, the format will go away on its own, and the DE world will be forced to find another way to keep DE going. I'm one of the countless people who greatly enjoyed and appreciated getting in-car instruction, and then started instructing myself mainly to 'give back'.

95spiderman

ive noticed a big uptick in requests from clubs to come instruct due to low turn out. i think people are hesitant to get in cars with strangers due to well publicized tragedies like this one.

ProCoach

I just think there are more events, more clubs and more venues to do this. There are a finite amount of people who want to "give back." Bless them, for sure. I see the same folks at VIR with many different clubs. Most are extremely experienced and dedicated.

But it's still a finite number...

Peter was a pro, too.

sbelles

I'm as concerned about my safety as anyone but in my mind there is a big difference between the DEs that most of us instruct at and exotic car experience type event. I really can't understand how they even manage to insure those. Teenage boys and super cars just isn't a good mix.

dgrobs

^^This^^

My wife got me an exotic car experience 14 years ago for Father’s Day. I drove a Lambo for 29 laps around a coned up autocross course in a lot at Giants stadium. It was fun and safe, but I could not imagine doing it on a full blown race track. I had no idea what I was doing and the instructor in the right seat was guiding me, but this was within the safety of an auto cross within a wide open parking lot. A racetrack is a totally different animal. Well said above: teenage boys with little to no experience and high powered super cars on a racetrack is a recipe for disaster.
So sad regardless.