TraqGear

Okay rennlist. We have some brilliant minds here and a lot of good people willing to help. I've had this idea for some time now. But, in light of that recent fire, I want to get more proactive. Here's the outline:

Make decals to go on the interior of the car to practice exit
Get a good acronym that can be easily memorized
TG will make decals and make available at no cost to everyone

Something like this pic. Basically, you just follow that routine every time you exit the car. (don't actually pull your suppression )

Anyway, it seems simple, but in a panic situation, it could save a life or lessen injury. My acronym stinks, so I need help with it. I like the order though.
Suppression - obvious
Belts - obvious
Radio - I could see this being an issue if not unhooked
Net - Obvious
Cooling or comforts - Most likely could skip this especially with coolshirt fittings we use..they will self disconnect if pulled hard enough

Should steering wheel be in there?

Anyway, please add your comments and let's come up with something that would help us practice egress naturally.

It may be a dumb idea altogether. If so, just say so. I've got thick skin.

Frank 993 C4S

If your car is on fire, I would keep it simple and only worry about Fire Suppression, Belts and Window Net and (if you are able) the Steering Wheel. The rest will come off by itself.

Veloce Raptor

Practice A LOT, with your eyes closed and holding your breath:

Visor
Fire system if needed
Main power (to kill fuel pumps)
Window net
wheel
Harnesses
Cool shirt if possible
Radio if possible

Practice practice practice

TraqGear

True, basics.
Yeah Dave..didn't think about the "Kill Switch". Good stuff.

Why not radio earlier? I think that's one of the easier items to get tangled up with and it's attached to your head which is not as strong as your body.

Also, with practice, how long to go through it in a real scenario?

Astroman

For me and my car, I have to slide the seat back and remove the steering wheel to get out quickly.

TraqGear

I'm in same boat. But I can do it without moving the seat. Really tough with the steering wheel attached.

StoogeMoe

I agree with this approach. Make this a routine as part of the start of a race weekend. Practice 2 or 3 times.

You're not going to be able to read a decal in "the moment". You'll either be in a panic, or like most times, you can't see anyway.

Veloce Raptor

Yup. This is why practice with eyes closed (blinded by smoke) and holding breath (we involuntarily suck in a breath when scared, and flames and fumes can collapse a lung) and flipping visor down.

Radio will pull free eventually and a coiled cord will expand a lot, allowing you to get off the X first.

How long? 10-15 seconds tops. Put a comforter or air mattress on the floor of your garage so you can tumble out and not mess up your Nomex and helmet.

TraqGear

That's not the intention of the decal. The purpose is to remind everyone to exit the same way every time. So, every time you get out of the car, it's the same way. That way when you do have "the moment", it's second nature.

And it won't take the place doing drills like VR has here. I would still do the drills. My apologies if I did a crappy job of explaining the idea.

TraqGear

Totally agree Dave...good system. But I'm not sold on the radio. Have you tried this without unhooking the radio? The jack seems pretty well stuck in the helmet. And the length of the cord will vary.

jscott82

Love the idea... Unfortunately I don't have much else to add...

Jas0nn

I vote for keeping the visor down from the start. And if you get a tinted visor, its a real benefit in the sunny summer months. And its really not that much hotter, IMHO.

disasterman

I have had two incidents where I used my fire extinguisher and had to bail.

My routine changed after incident #1.

A. I get in and out of the car with my helmet/Hans on.
B. I reach out and touch my fire extinguishing switch and main off switch.
C. I confirm that my harness belt release is facing outward.
D. Visor goes down before the green flag.

Every exit is a practice emergency egress. Also be ready/able (if you are small enough) to go out the window. I did that in my first fire, out in about 5 seconds.

I am all for the sticker as an aid.

TraqGear

A big thank you guys! And YES always get in and out with helmet and Hans on..GREAT point as well as others.

Sterling Doc

Great topic!

If your cage has room, put pedal & steering wheel extensions in and move the seat back. Being only 5'8", it used to be hard to get out of the car with a halo seat and Hans- I failed a drill at NASA tech. More practice helped, but when I built the new car, I took the opportunity to use a Tilton Triple pedal setup, and move myself back over 6" in the car. I had to put a dog leg in the shifter, but it is much easier to get out now. I also went to a dished wheel, so when I take it off, the is lots of room.