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General Safety
All safety rules are the direct result of a mishap that causes loss of life, limb, or property! Not all true, but in most incidences, this is the reason. Someone gets hurt or killed and after investigating the accident, new rules and prevention measures arise to prevent it from happening again. There are the few such rules that are of the "Predicted Type". These are rules that are made up from hazard researchers who ask the question, "What if...?"
Some of us are old enough to remember the days of cars with no seatbelts and of steel dash boards. I remember riding up on the back window ledge of my Dad's Chevy. I also remember standing up in the front seat while flying down the road. And of course, don't forget the "over the seat transfer" that we all did as kids. I remember my Dad having to hit the brakes once, he automatically held up his right arm to catch me, which prevented me from going right through the windshield of his 1967 Chevy Impala. I still have a model of that car on my desk. See, as people started getting hurt from accidents, others went to work to prevent them. That is where seatbelts came from. One day in the test lab a person said, "We need a way to keep passengers in their seats in case of an accident. I'll get the rope and some duct tape and we will...." I'm not sure they even had duct tape back then but you get the picture. There have been some very important safety developments that were discovered and developed on the track in racecars that we now see on our street cars and visa versa. Safety Glass, seatbelts, padded dashes, collapsible steering wheels, reinforced door and roof panels, scatter shields in floorboards, battery boxes, wheel tethers, fuel cells, stainless steel hose braiding, crumple zones, crash bumpers, air bags, and the list goes on and on. As long as someone still gets hurt in an automobile, whether racing it or driving it to the local store, there will always be new innovations to help protect us.
Racing has evolved into a relatively safe sport. Only occasionally do you hear of a death or major injury in racing, no matter how horrific the crash, unless it's some incident that hasn't been seen before or no one has ever asked "What If" about it. Dale Earnhardt Sr. lost his life at Daytona and several safety related rules came out of it. Full face helmets to protect the entire head, Hahn's Devises to restrict neck movement, wider safety belts that do not fit through cuts in metal seats where it can become frayed, and more intense safety inspections prior to any racing event. If there was anything good about Dale losing his life, it was that his death made someone ask "What if...?" on a lot of issues facing the sport and they made significant changes to prevent us from losing another hero like Dale. He made the sport much safer for those who are still doing it. We will miss Dale, but he has taught us many things during his reign as the Spokesman of NASCAR and even after his death.
Pit road reduced speeds limits and punishments are the result of several pit road crashes where drivers coming in to their pits too hot, lost control of their car which has both hurt and killed workers there. Fully encased roll cages and padded racing seats prevent injuries during crashes. Tire, hood, and deck lid tethers prevent parts from becoming missiles and flying up into the grand stands during accidents. This too has killed and injured many spectators. Kill switches that turn off the engine and fuel delivery systems. Fuel Cells and fuel shutoffs prevent fuel from leaking as a result of a crash and causing fires. Relocated Battery boxes designed to prevent spillage and installed with upside down power interrupters to turn off all power when the car is upside down. The Lexan windows, window nets, and the reinforcement braces in the windshield and in the floor boards to prevent loose parts from entering the cockpit of the racecar. Peal away windshield covers that prevent limited vision of the driver. Heat shields in the floorboard prevent fire and heat from getting to the driver. On board fire extinguisher systems, padded roll cages, roof panels designed to open when a car turns about backwards to keep it on the ground, car transponders, radio systems, cool suits, fire proof clothing, noise elimination devices, strengthened bumpers, tire inter-liners, exhaust extensions, environmentally friendly anti-freeze, oil containment systems, removable steering wheels, hood lock pins, fuel overflow ports, aluminum fueling ports and gas cans used to prevent sparks, no passing on the track or racing back to the caution flag! See the list goes on and on.
All of the items listed above are the direct result of someone getting hurt or killed. Think about it! When it happens, we all say the same thing, "We never would have thought that someone could get hurt or killed that way". Of the items listed above, several have found their way into our street cars and more are coming as new options or requirements on the latest cars on the sales lots. "On Star" is a system used by GM to track vehicles and they can tell when one of their cars have been involved in an accident. Even if you can't respond to their cell calls, they can locate you via GPS and get help to you. This is also a handy feature if you ever lock your keys in the car. The roll cage of racecars takes on a little different look in street cars but they are still being incorporated by using more firm and durable door, top and firewall bracing. Systems that constantly monitor tire pressures like the one installed in all Corvettes helps drivers prevent dangerous situations involving under inflated tires. Front and side air bags are pretty much the standard in most street cars and don't be surprised if you start seeing these in racecars in the very near future. They are starting to equip motorcycles with forward air bags now.
There is a whole book of safety related items for almost every racing series around. Each and every entry is the result of something going wrong that race officials are trying to prevent. It is impossible to go through them all here, but some of the most common are covered below.
In most modern racing events, drivers are now prevented from passing other cars or racing back to the caution flag which is initiated when there is a crash or unsafe condition on the track. This is the result of many crashes related to the race continuing when the race course is not clear or safe.
Pit road speeds are now reduced, set, and enforced! Cars used to exit turn 3 onto pit road at almost the same speed they were running on the track. They would come into the pits at a high rate of speed (sometimes at over 100 MPH) where fuel, oil, people and other cars were. In trying to slow to a stop in their pit, many drivers would lose control and spin into other cars. the pit wall, and into the people working there, causing many injuries and a few deaths. Bumping, grinding, pushing, and clipping on the track is now viewed as reckless and is not allowed. Even the Bump-Draft that is commonly used to push a car in the straight-a-ways which makes both the pusher and the pushee go faster in the draft at super speedways is being frowned upon. Tony Stewart has asked NASCAR to make it illegal, although he has both benefited from the practice and been crashed by it.
In order to fully understand why there are so many safety rules in racing, you first have to know the reason a rule or practice is put into place. What are the race officials trying to prevent? Is is justifiable? Will it prevent injury or death? Once you answer all of those questions, you'll know why something new is being done under the name of Safety.
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