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I'm going to steal ANGST's post: Recognizing fatigue is something that needs to be stressed more in DE . I know this forum has many instructors, so would love tohear their advice/comments. I think this is a very real concern.
** Sorry if this is an Enzo............
Last edited by 911Königin; 05-23-2022 at 02:24 PM.
One of the ways to predict fatigue is dehydration. If the driver isn't going to the bathroom about once an hour, they need to up the fluid intake or risk fatigue. Another metric is that if you make a notable mistake during a session, pay attention. If you make a second mistake during that same session, it might be best to park the car for a while and rest
Anecdotally, I have heard many times that a majority of drivers, at every level, can sustain high levels of concentration for an average of 18-22 minutes.
Sessions late in the day often see more errors, at least that is what I have observed, aggravated by heat, humidity and dehydration. Some of those errors can be significant.
I ask drivers to not only keep track of any increase in frequency of simple errors (missing apices, braking points, shifts) but also if they have more frequent "No-Go's" to the next control input, part of Ron Zitza's excellent self-check "Go/No-Go" system. In a good place? On the right line? At the right speed? GO! (to the next control input). Out of position? Going too fast for turn-in? NO-GO! Get the car back underneath you, get back on the line, or make the decision to bail in a controlled way.
This is a simple check to prevent a further cascade of errors past the initial error, be it out-of-position, missed braking or anything that could cause further divergence from the planned path and order of control inputs. It's needed when fatigue takes it's toll, especially with the long "happy hour" (or more) sessions at the end of the day(s).
You don't HAVE to drive the whole session. Any session...
__________________ -Peter Krause www.peterkrause.net www.gofasternow.com
"Combining the Art and Science of Driving Fast!"
Specializing in Professional, Private Driver Performance Evaluation and Optimization
Consultation Available Remotely and at VIRginia International Raceway
One of the ways to predict fatigue is dehydration. If the driver isn't going to the bathroom about once an hour, they need to up the fluid intake or risk fatigue. Another metric is that if you make a notable mistake during a session, pay attention. If you make a second mistake during that same session, it might be best to park the car for a while and rest
+1000 on mistakes I learned the hard way that when I start making mistakes to park it for the rest of the session. Also I know a lot of people like loud cars, I hate them for many reasons, but loud noise is a BIG cause stress and fatigue!!!!
If you try to start hydrating the day of the event it is already too late.
To get more graphic with VC's point, if I don't pee clear I drink another bottle or two of water. This becomes harder over 50 but I rarely feel like I have to go except when the race is over, or there is a yellow and I have time to think about it.
Drunk, drink, drink, and then drink some more. Water that is. Than its bourbon once the track is cold.
Another thing to remember is that even in cooler weather, when we are not obviously sweating, we still need to hydrate. Our sport is primarily mental, and mental exertion consumes a lot of water in our bodies. So the bathroom rule holds 12 months of the year, regardless of what geography you find yourself driving in
This doesnt relate so much to recognizing fatigue as to preventing it. Ive found that Pediolyte is a great preventative measure. I pound down a full large bottle of it each morning before I head out on track. It invariably leads to multiple walks of shame to the restroom early in the day but works wonders for me. I continue to drink water and some Gatorade during the day just as I always have, but the Pediolyte makes a big difference.
Some reasonable degree of physical fitness, hydration, a good night's sleep, and an absence of decision fatigue from whatever you did the day before. That last part is often hard to manage between the demands of work, family, and underwear choice.
Every student’s afternoon starts with the “Do you ski? What time of the day do all the accidents happen?” talk. Also stress this during classroom, especially when it’s extra hot or cold.
Two unexpected mistakes in the last session of the day, and we pull into the hot pit for an evaluation. Student knows this is the plan before we start the session, and we always agree that it’s not punitive but just good judgement should it happen.
Driver fatigue is a big area of study and something all the top teams track through a few metrics.
While hydration is one of the items, there is a lot more that goes into it. The best, researched and backed up hydration info I have seen is from Dr. Potkanowicz. It's based on actual data.
We usually have 30 minute sessions in Black with CVR(shameless plug) at Lime Rock and quite often I will pull in to the hot pit around the 15/20 minute mark and just give my brain a break for 2-3 mins then head back out, does wonders. Now there are sometimes you're just in the groove and that same 30 mins feels like 10. I drink tons of water all the time and will prob go through a gallon and a half easy even when temps are in the 60/70's. For myself if I get 1 minute less then 6 hours sleep Im useless the next day. Hydrate, sleep, no hangovers and police yourself if you start making simple mistakes
Some reasonable degree of physical fitness, hydration, a good night's sleep, and an absence of decision fatigue from whatever you did the day before. That last part is often hard to manage between the demands of work, family, and underwear choice.
Well, since you drove an amazing Enduro yesterday and totally dominated both of your Sprints (personally, I think you were in the wrong race group ) this advice must truly work
I'm noticing age is starting to be a big factor. At 35 I could do a 24 hour enduro, do the first session, middle of the night and the last session with no sleep, and drove my fastest laps in the middle of night run + faster in the last session than the first session. I found as long as I was time attacking trying to beat my lap times in the enduro I'd be fully awake and aware, and then would head to bed for 16 hours after the race. Adrenaline kept me focused and awake and I never made a mistake with that philosophy.
But in my 40s water and lack of sleep definitely affects my brain now. I feel like I drop 30 IQ points if i'm not fully hydrated or only got 6 hours of sleep, so for me the most important thing before an event is to have as much sleep as I feel I need for the few days before, and to drink as much water as I want. I often would lose about 7lbs in a sprint race, so that's a lot of water weight lost even with chugging water.
As for lapping day students I find their mind wanders and they lose focus after about 3-4 sessions in a day just from overload. We often end it after the 3rd session with partial day events if they were driving full sessions because after that they tend to start going backwards as well as making mistakes. Or the last sessions we just focus on something simple like looking ahead or finding markers. At full day race schools it seems to be a bit less of a problem because things are spaced out nicely and they're usually good for 6 full sessions in the day and the lunch break usually recharges people pretty good for another 3 sessions. The first thing I notice if they're getting tired is they get sloppy with their apexes and even when pointed they still are sloppy.
I also generally do not like doing full sessions as at a certain point they're just grinding laps. I feel somewhere after 15 minutes they're not improving and it's a waste of tires and gas. Sometimes an organizer will have a 40 minute on track block..... but that's definitely going to have a 10 minute debrief in the pits, or we'll swap drivers and I'll show how i'd do something (which is how its usually designed if there is that much track time in one big lump).
05-23-2022, 02:23 PM
Driver Fatigue
) this advice must truly work 
