Originally Posted by Trak Ratt

Glad you're ok boy-o!

Soooo what's next?

Originally Posted by ProCoach

Unfortunately, the longer I do this, the more empirical evidence I have to support the two proper autonomic responses when it becomes clear that you are on a trajectory to hit something hard.

Originally Posted by Professor Helmüt Tester

Lol.

In my case, it's "Given how many times I've hit something...".

Der Professor's Lessons re: "When things go bad" -

Learn when to give up:
Practice saying "I suck, and I'm not going to save this". There is,
inevitably, a moment in every incident where this becomes intuitively
obvious. Revel in this moment. It'll one of the few bright spots in your day.

Learn to "turtle":
Hand off the wheel, feet off the pedals/floor. Let the belts & seat
do their stuff. I've seen steering wheels bent forward 90 deg, and seen
friends break ankles bracing to the floor. Enjoy the ride. You're about
to meet new friends (see next item)

Don't be a dick:
Get in the damn ambulance. Don't argue. If multiple cars involved, be
the FIRST guy, as there is only ONE comfortable seat in the back, and
the EMT's, while maybe trying to claim that seat as their own, won't kick
you out if you get there first (...in my experience). Let the other idiots
ride the bench seat back to the paddock.

YMMV.

Originally Posted by ProCoach

Unfortunately, the longer I do this, the more empirical evidence I have to support the two proper autonomic responses when it becomes clear that you are on a trajectory to hit something hard. Concrete, another car or tire walls.

As we've seen in HANS demonstration videos (and Rob's accident), no matter how tight the belts are, the body is going to continue to move when the car stops. The car is also going to absorb some of that shock, but not most of it, which means it's going to transfer that impact through to the wheels and pedals (?!?!).

It's best practices to bring your hands away from the wheel and consciously release the force off your brake pedal foot (and left foot) before impact. If you're on any sort of angle, make sure to take your hands off the wheel. During normal driving, many people lock their thumbs (as I do) over the cross bar on the wheel. If the wheel were to violently move, that would be a problem. Also, your upper body is going to move forward and you want no tension stress on shoulders, forearms or wrists and hands. By grabbing the shoulder belts, you eliminate that risk.

As far as your feet go, it's easy to try and press the brake pedal through the floor in these instances (), but that's not a good thing when the car stops. In purpose built cars like my sports racers, there are numerous examples of the "Lola limp," where drivers have pushed hard against the pedals at the point of impact and had the pedals come back and break their ankles/feet. I remember a race not terribly long ago at Road Atlanta where someone broke their left ankle/foot when the wheel house came in on their dead pedal. Not cool.



Correct.

Originally Posted by Professor Helmüt Tester

Revel in this moment. It'll one of the few bright spots in your day.