Drag Racing safety
Discussion
Burndown said:
Does anyone know if Fuel cars now have the rear wheels tethered? After Antron Browns wheel flew into the crowd. That must be over a year ago now.
good point as it seems to have gone completely quiet about that.Jim Head and a couple of others were testing ideas but no ones mentioned it since.
Just quickly on the side impact for fuellers.
On the pic above of the jet car it has 'air pods' on the side.
How about filling them with impact foam, like the padding in the cockpit, and sealing off the front.
Theyd look cool, and add extra protection in the event of a wall slap or simular.
also, theyd be relitively cheap to fabricate and light aswell
Must admit sideways into the wall, you wouldnt want just a couple of incheas of solid steel between you and the concrete!
Burndown said:
How about something way out there.
Concrete wall down the centre line. is there any logic in allowing cars to cross lanes and hit each other?
I've wondered that myself but with the number of cars and bikes that get out of shape and cross the centre line it might cause more problems than it solves. As a sport drag racing does seem to have far fewer collisions than circuit racing (obviously there's less room and more vehicles), I've only witnessed one first hand that I can remember but obviously they do happen from time to time.Concrete wall down the centre line. is there any logic in allowing cars to cross lanes and hit each other?
hairyjester said:
I've wondered that myself but with the number of cars and bikes that get out of shape and cross the centre line it might cause more problems than it solves. As a sport drag racing does seem to have far fewer collisions than circuit racing (obviously there's less room and more vehicles), I've only witnessed one first hand that I can remember but obviously they do happen from time to time.
You see far more cars hit the timing blocks or cross up than you see hit the walls. That is not down to random probability.if you sanitise the sport to the point that it affects the look of the sport and takes away amy dangers for participants the sport will die
drag racing is fast its dangerous and thats why the public come and watch and why most drivers do this isntead of fishing
saftey is one thing but im afraid centre walls, cars wrapped in foam, are a step too far,
i also have to say that about the most seious side damage iv ever seen was in a door car
when ingo rolla hit david vegter
if it wasnt for a lucky hit on the kidney bar david would have been disembowled,
My superbird was the first door car in europe to feature a titanium sheild behind the driver to protect me from tire/track debris it was put there at my insistance,
foam or thin ti wont stop another car entering your sear area at speed neither would carbon fiber to stop that and guarentee keeping your internal organs intact it would need to be 1/4 inch steel plate
PS that 1/4 inch steel plate is a tounge in cheek comment so any of you engineering gurus out there dont bother comming back with a scientific reason that it only needs to be .240 thick just to score points off my comments.....you know who you are!
drag racing is fast its dangerous and thats why the public come and watch and why most drivers do this isntead of fishing
saftey is one thing but im afraid centre walls, cars wrapped in foam, are a step too far,
i also have to say that about the most seious side damage iv ever seen was in a door car
when ingo rolla hit david vegter
if it wasnt for a lucky hit on the kidney bar david would have been disembowled,
My superbird was the first door car in europe to feature a titanium sheild behind the driver to protect me from tire/track debris it was put there at my insistance,
foam or thin ti wont stop another car entering your sear area at speed neither would carbon fiber to stop that and guarentee keeping your internal organs intact it would need to be 1/4 inch steel plate
PS that 1/4 inch steel plate is a tounge in cheek comment so any of you engineering gurus out there dont bother comming back with a scientific reason that it only needs to be .240 thick just to score points off my comments.....you know who you are!
Edited by wicked fish on Thursday 2nd February 08:15
wicked fish said:
if you sanitise the sport to the point that it affects the look of the sport and takes away amy dangers for participants the sport will die
drag racing is fast its dangerous and thats why the public come and watch and why most drivers do this isntead of fishing
saftey is one thing but im afraid centre walls, cars wrapped in foam, are a step too far,
The centre line comment was, to a certain extent tongue in cheek. There is not really a need for it if there was less hitting of the blocks or crossing the centre line. There is obviously more risks taken by drivers when their vehicle is moving to the centre rather than the wall. I don't think that is a good thing. drag racing is fast its dangerous and thats why the public come and watch and why most drivers do this isntead of fishing
saftey is one thing but im afraid centre walls, cars wrapped in foam, are a step too far,
Two vehicle accidents are the most dangerous.
yes i realized your comment was there to provoke thought and i just thought id give my thoughts on it befour there was a petttion to santa pod to build one,
as a driver i can say that your right im more scared of the wall than i am the cones and will drive harder toward the centre but not if there is any danger of contact, IE if i cant see the other guy,
and i think thats the case for everyone,
because as you say crossing the line /taking out cones is common, colisions on the race track are not,
i cant recall many if any exepting the one i just mentioned,
there have doubtlessly been some, and 1 very near miss when a totaly out of controll blown nugget came very close to taking out ian bishop a few years back,
as a driver i can say that your right im more scared of the wall than i am the cones and will drive harder toward the centre but not if there is any danger of contact, IE if i cant see the other guy,
and i think thats the case for everyone,
because as you say crossing the line /taking out cones is common, colisions on the race track are not,
i cant recall many if any exepting the one i just mentioned,
there have doubtlessly been some, and 1 very near miss when a totaly out of controll blown nugget came very close to taking out ian bishop a few years back,
wicked fish said:
My superbird was the first door car in europe to feature a titanium sheild behind the driver to protect me from tire/track debris it was put there at my insistance,
Think I remember reading this on the Eurodragster feature while back? Bloody good thing. Like you have said I didn't start this topic to make things difficult or to be a pain, purely to make our sport safer. Yes its dangerous but to reduce risk of injury or worse by 1% is better. Edited by wicked fish on Thursday 2nd February 08:15
wicked fish said:
yes i realized your comment was there to provoke thought and i just thought id give my thoughts on it befour there was a petttion to santa pod to build one,
as a driver i can say that your right im more scared of the wall than i am the cones and will drive harder toward the centre but not if there is any danger of contact, IE if i cant see the other guy,
and i think thats the case for everyone,
because as you say crossing the line /taking out cones is common, colisions on the race track are not,
i cant recall many if any exepting the one i just mentioned,
there have doubtlessly been some, and 1 very near miss when a totaly out of controll blown nugget came very close to taking out ian bishop a few years back,
Can you answer a question please?as a driver i can say that your right im more scared of the wall than i am the cones and will drive harder toward the centre but not if there is any danger of contact, IE if i cant see the other guy,
and i think thats the case for everyone,
because as you say crossing the line /taking out cones is common, colisions on the race track are not,
i cant recall many if any exepting the one i just mentioned,
there have doubtlessly been some, and 1 very near miss when a totaly out of controll blown nugget came very close to taking out ian bishop a few years back,
The cars look very cramped inside and with all of the safety gear on is it more difficult now to judge where you are within the lane?
Would a sensor, like a parking sensor, that would light up when you are within say 1 metre of the centre line or outside line be helpful?
as the pilot of one of the if not the lowest pro mod out there
(and that makes for a cramped car as i am 6'2 and 210lbs)
iv never had any problem knowing exactly where i am on the track, as far as side to side goes,
but ill admit to have "overdriven" the car a few times but again not when there was an opponent or if there was i knew exactly where he was
(and that makes for a cramped car as i am 6'2 and 210lbs)
iv never had any problem knowing exactly where i am on the track, as far as side to side goes,
but ill admit to have "overdriven" the car a few times but again not when there was an opponent or if there was i knew exactly where he was
peterwalters said:
Taken from that text."Aerodine built the canopy using a combination of Kevlar and carbon fiber that goes over of an existing chassis to nearly enclose the cockpit and tops it with an attached full canopy that lowers over the driver.
The module is reinforced for further side protection. The canopy can be quickly released inside by the driver or at the rear by crew or safety workers. The canopy will carry a 5-pound fire suppression system similar to those used in Funny Cars."
Great they added 5 pound fire system too.
I know it's a bit late to comment on the original question but ...
I suppose we are all mindful that wheel tethers were used for 10+ years over on the Dark Side in F****** O** but they are not 100% effective. I believe they have upgraded/added tethers since introduction.
A cursory comparison of the relative kinetic energies in the F****** O** wheel, at say 150mph and the heavier TF wheel at say 260-290 mph (mid-track?) suggests that the tethers would need to be pretty strong!! ... but that does not mean it is impossible.
People used to get killed by blower ejections until someone decided enough was enough.
I suppose we are all mindful that wheel tethers were used for 10+ years over on the Dark Side in F****** O** but they are not 100% effective. I believe they have upgraded/added tethers since introduction.
A cursory comparison of the relative kinetic energies in the F****** O** wheel, at say 150mph and the heavier TF wheel at say 260-290 mph (mid-track?) suggests that the tethers would need to be pretty strong!! ... but that does not mean it is impossible.
People used to get killed by blower ejections until someone decided enough was enough.
What made me decide to log back onto this forum, dunno, What posseses me to get involved with this, god only knows. However
What I need to add, just my honest opinion. As a driver / crew chief you are the guys ultimately responsible for your safety, If your worried about side impact or getting speared, fit titanium or molly sheilds in the gaps between the frame rails.
If your worried about your wheel falling off, fit larger studs, bigger nuts and teathers.
At the end of the day the rules in the books are a minimum spec, if your not happy you don't have to wait to be told to do something, Just do it!
What I need to add, just my honest opinion. As a driver / crew chief you are the guys ultimately responsible for your safety, If your worried about side impact or getting speared, fit titanium or molly sheilds in the gaps between the frame rails.
If your worried about your wheel falling off, fit larger studs, bigger nuts and teathers.
At the end of the day the rules in the books are a minimum spec, if your not happy you don't have to wait to be told to do something, Just do it!
Dnac said:
At the end of the day the rules in the books are a minimum spec, if your not happy you don't have to wait to be told to do something, Just do it!
Dave - Not once did I say I was 'unhappy' with the rules, nor was I knocking the people that make the rules. Purely a topic to discuss safety in drag racing. I think I am right in saying that's what a forum is for? I am not waiting to be told either - or trying to cost others any £££ just trying to highlight areas which I feel could be safer.
BennettRacing said:
Dave - Not once did I say I was 'unhappy' with the rules, nor was I knocking the people that make the rules. Purely a topic to discuss safety in drag racing. I think I am right in saying that's what a forum is for?
I am not waiting to be told either - or trying to cost others any £££ just trying to highlight areas which I feel could be safer.
I worded that wrong, see thats why I stayed off here for so long, easy to write one thing and mean another. I am not waiting to be told either - or trying to cost others any £££ just trying to highlight areas which I feel could be safer.
What I meant was, if you (as in the collective) don't feel that whats in the rules keeps you safe, then you are free to add to the minimum
Dnac said:
What made me decide to log back onto this forum, dunno, What posseses me to get involved with this, god only knows. However
What I need to add, just my honest opinion. As a driver / crew chief you are the guys ultimately responsible for your safety, If your worried about side impact or getting speared, fit titanium or molly sheilds in the gaps between the frame rails.
If your worried about your wheel falling off, fit larger studs, bigger nuts and teathers.
At the end of the day the rules in the books are a minimum spec, if your not happy you don't have to wait to be told to do something, Just do it!
That's a good point, a bit like blaming "The Nanny State" for everything but then expecting the "State" to do everything for you!! What I need to add, just my honest opinion. As a driver / crew chief you are the guys ultimately responsible for your safety, If your worried about side impact or getting speared, fit titanium or molly sheilds in the gaps between the frame rails.
If your worried about your wheel falling off, fit larger studs, bigger nuts and teathers.
At the end of the day the rules in the books are a minimum spec, if your not happy you don't have to wait to be told to do something, Just do it!
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