Driver coaching and the risks of the passenger seat
10-17-2013, 02:13 PM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
Driver coaching and the risks of the passenger seat
Driver coaching and the risks of the passenger seat
Instructors put their lives in danger to help you be a better, faster driver.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/features...ight-side-seat
Around four years ago, I was at the end of an uneventful weekend of trackday driving and instructing. My intermediate student had one session left and a strong desire to get the most out of his mildly tuned C5 Corvette Z06. Everything was going fine until, as the speedometer hovered slightly below the “130” mark, he said in sort of a disbelieving voice,
“My brakes don’t seem to work any more.”
The five or six seconds between that statement and the ensuing tire-wall impact will stick in my memory for a long time. We got lucky: we had a long, albeit bumpy, run-off area and my student was able to follow directions on safe car control all the way to the head-on hit. We walked away with nothing more than sore backs and a story to tell.
Sean Edwards didn’t have that same sort of luck. Or perhaps he’d used it up in all those brilliant drives, all those victories. Maybe there’s really no such thing as luck behind the wheel. When his student’s GT3 Cup car hit the tire wall at Queensland Raceway, it caught fire and there was no way to escape the inferno. Mr. Edwards gained fame as a driver, but he died as an instructor. A coach. A teacher.
Every weekend, hundreds of volunteer and professional driving coaches strap in next to a students on a road course. In some cases, the student is an established racer looking to shave a critical half-second. Those sessions are usually part of an established, ongoing, and trusted relationship between instructor and student. Other times, however, it’s maybe a volunteer with just a few years experience himself sitting next to someone he’s just met—an unknown driver in an unknown and often troublesome vehicle.
Most of my time spent coaching drivers from the passenger seat has been productive and entertaining, but there have been enough bad times to make me occasionally question why I haven’t quit the gig. I’ve seen things I wouldn’t believe if someone else swore to having seen them, like drivers taking their hands off the steering wheel and covering their eyes when things go wrong. I’ve ended sessions in which first-time participants couldn’t find the brake pedal under stress and therefore kept running off the ends of straights.
As word of Edwards’ crash spread across the Internet, I saw several well-respected drivers and coaches say they were reconsidering their participation in on-track instruction. I don't doubt their sincerity, but I believe that most or all of them will keep working with students, despite the risks. For many of us, it’s more than a way to earn a buck or snag some free track time. It’s a commitment—a calling, perhaps.
The next time—or the first time—you show up for a trackday and some guy or girl you’ve never met drops into the freshly Lexoled passenger seat of your car, take a moment to get to know that person.
He’s taking a risk.
He’s betting on you to do the right thing. To listen, to be responsible and responsive. To trust his instruction over your street-honed instincts. To be a safe and considerate student.
He’s willing to put his life in danger to help you be a better, faster driver.
If you think about it for a moment, that isn’t something most people would do for a total stranger. Your instructor, however, is. Which means he’s probably a pretty decent guy, all things considered.
Sean Edwards will be missed for many reasons, not the least of which was that he was willing to get in the passenger seat to help someone become better. Even though he knew the risks, as all of us do.
A pretty decent guy, indeed.
Instructors put their lives in danger to help you be a better, faster driver.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/features...ight-side-seat
Around four years ago, I was at the end of an uneventful weekend of trackday driving and instructing. My intermediate student had one session left and a strong desire to get the most out of his mildly tuned C5 Corvette Z06. Everything was going fine until, as the speedometer hovered slightly below the “130” mark, he said in sort of a disbelieving voice,
“My brakes don’t seem to work any more.”
The five or six seconds between that statement and the ensuing tire-wall impact will stick in my memory for a long time. We got lucky: we had a long, albeit bumpy, run-off area and my student was able to follow directions on safe car control all the way to the head-on hit. We walked away with nothing more than sore backs and a story to tell.
Sean Edwards didn’t have that same sort of luck. Or perhaps he’d used it up in all those brilliant drives, all those victories. Maybe there’s really no such thing as luck behind the wheel. When his student’s GT3 Cup car hit the tire wall at Queensland Raceway, it caught fire and there was no way to escape the inferno. Mr. Edwards gained fame as a driver, but he died as an instructor. A coach. A teacher.
Every weekend, hundreds of volunteer and professional driving coaches strap in next to a students on a road course. In some cases, the student is an established racer looking to shave a critical half-second. Those sessions are usually part of an established, ongoing, and trusted relationship between instructor and student. Other times, however, it’s maybe a volunteer with just a few years experience himself sitting next to someone he’s just met—an unknown driver in an unknown and often troublesome vehicle.
Most of my time spent coaching drivers from the passenger seat has been productive and entertaining, but there have been enough bad times to make me occasionally question why I haven’t quit the gig. I’ve seen things I wouldn’t believe if someone else swore to having seen them, like drivers taking their hands off the steering wheel and covering their eyes when things go wrong. I’ve ended sessions in which first-time participants couldn’t find the brake pedal under stress and therefore kept running off the ends of straights.
As word of Edwards’ crash spread across the Internet, I saw several well-respected drivers and coaches say they were reconsidering their participation in on-track instruction. I don't doubt their sincerity, but I believe that most or all of them will keep working with students, despite the risks. For many of us, it’s more than a way to earn a buck or snag some free track time. It’s a commitment—a calling, perhaps.
The next time—or the first time—you show up for a trackday and some guy or girl you’ve never met drops into the freshly Lexoled passenger seat of your car, take a moment to get to know that person.
He’s taking a risk.
He’s betting on you to do the right thing. To listen, to be responsible and responsive. To trust his instruction over your street-honed instincts. To be a safe and considerate student.
He’s willing to put his life in danger to help you be a better, faster driver.
If you think about it for a moment, that isn’t something most people would do for a total stranger. Your instructor, however, is. Which means he’s probably a pretty decent guy, all things considered.
Sean Edwards will be missed for many reasons, not the least of which was that he was willing to get in the passenger seat to help someone become better. Even though he knew the risks, as all of us do.
A pretty decent guy, indeed.
10-17-2013, 03:32 PM
#3
Three Wheelin'
Sean Edwards was discussed in our instructor meeting on Tuesday as he was a friend of Spencer *** so it hit home.
None of us want to be in the right seat when a student runs out of talent. As instructors, we also have to set limits on our students and always be in control. I have no issues with having a green student in a 550 HP Turbo S, stay in 4th gear for every session at LRP until he/she learns the line and some basic car control skills or limit them to a max of 100 mph on any straight while I'm in the right seat with a 3 point belt on.
None of us want to be in the right seat when a student runs out of talent. As instructors, we also have to set limits on our students and always be in control. I have no issues with having a green student in a 550 HP Turbo S, stay in 4th gear for every session at LRP until he/she learns the line and some basic car control skills or limit them to a max of 100 mph on any straight while I'm in the right seat with a 3 point belt on.
10-17-2013, 03:40 PM
#4
10-17-2013, 04:21 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Great article. Now what can we do to get action? I drive mostly PCA events and while safety is a priority I am surprised HANS or similar is not required for cars using race seats and harnesses vs stock cars with air bags.
10-17-2013, 04:38 PM
#6
Race Director
Tomorrow I'm headed to my very first big track DE event, at Chuckwalla. I shall certainly keep all of this in mind. I did the 3-day Performance Driving School a couple weeks ago, and was amazed at how calm and professional all of the instructors were. Of course, the worst that could happen there was a few killed cones.
10-17-2013, 05:03 PM
#7
The Penguin King
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
It's just a guess, but I'm suspecting that the Sean Edwards tragedy was due to equipment failure, and not driver error. This is a risk we take in both the right seat an the left. You can argue that you know the condition of your own car better than your student's car, but we shouldn't pretend that we can't have a catastrophic failure in our own car. Based on what I've seen over the years, the chances of equipment failure are about the same for instructor cars and student cars. In fact if anything I would be more inclined on the average to trust student cars since most of them are newer and less modified.
Trending Topics
10-17-2013, 06:26 PM
#8
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
This is really good advice. When I was a student not so long ago in the Green and Yellow ranks, I would always try to tell my instructor a little bit about myself, my background, and my objectives in doing DE. I would mention that my top priority was to get myself and my car home in one piece at the end of the day. That doesn't guarantee stuff absolutely won't happen, but if I were in the instructor's shoes, I would at least want to know where the student is coming from. I am grateful to all the instructors that have worked with me and fully appreciate the risks they take.
10-17-2013, 07:28 PM
#9
10-17-2013, 07:41 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
BTW, I am new at instructing, but so far I have had great students and it has been a pleasent experience.....
10-17-2013, 08:41 PM
#12
Rennlist
Basic Site Sponsor
Basic Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Durham, NC and Virginia International Raceway
Posts: 18,649
Received 2,802 Likes
on
1,655 Posts
Jack's a great guy, and not a bad shoe himself.
__________________
-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
-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
10-18-2013, 02:04 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
I've thought for years that the instructors have the biggest ***** in the paddock. It seems like a bit of a crapshoot, especially when novices/folks you don't know are involved.
(also thanks)
He ended up on a friend's LeMons team. Good guy. If they don't have a car ready before mine, shooooot, I'll want him in the 944!
(also thanks)
He ended up on a friend's LeMons team. Good guy. If they don't have a car ready before mine, shooooot, I'll want him in the 944!