Responsibile driving - on or off track

[instructormike]

Not something many think about but prompted to think about this, this mornig, following receipt of an email received last night. As below. Only name removed, otherwise verbatim email plus response.

"On 02/11/2013 22:04, ########### wrote:
>
> Oh great you have people drive fast on your stupid track. Then they go. Out and get a ticket (s) for speeding like me. and loose thier liscense , like me--- Wonderful! @!!!!!

Hi #########,

Thank you for your slightly vitriolic email. Shame about your loss of licence but I don't think you can pass the blame across from the US to the UK guys - you have never had any training with us! Anyway, I believe that personal responsibility has to come into play somewhere along the line.

One of our stringent messages when coaching advanced, performance or track driving is, if you are breaking any mandatory speed limit or instructions, then there should be three considerations:-

1. Know when/that you are breaking the instruction. ie you have chosen to break the limit rather than just wandered over if due to lack of attention.
2. Have a good reason for breaking it. There aren't that many but they do occur.
3. Then apply the necessary observations, risk management, attention and skill that is paramount once exceeding court-enforciable parameters. A police driver would be in exactly the same situation when exceeding posted limits.

Simple thought: If you are in a 30 limit, a child runs out in front of you that you fail too be able to stop for when driving at 28 mph and you hit the child then; providing everything else about your drive was legal, it is a very unfortunate thing. If you are in a 30 limit, a child runs out in front of you that you fail too be able to stop for when driving at 35 mph and you hit the child then, if it is then proven that you were exceeding statutory limits, you are in jail.

Responsibility for behaviour. Even track driving requires the same considerations. Only a couple of weeks ago I was at one of the UK circuits (Snetterton Racetrack) where the Police scene-of-crime investigative body were present, looking at the scene of a fatality the day before on a race day. Just because you are in an environment where speed- per se- is seemingly allowed without responsibility, that is absolutely not the case (New track drivers please consider this). Whether you are on the road or track, hooligan-like behaviour is not acceptable and the law is still most certainly applicable. Road, track, Nurburgring, wherever. When things go wrong, which at some stage they will do, responsibility will always come to rest somewhere.

Suggest learning from situation outcomes rather than looking to lay blame elsewhere.

MC
drivertuition.com"

Just my thought for the day - I don't really do posts :-)

Mike

[jeff666]

So this is a yank blaming you/us for losing his licence ??? Nowt as strange as folk eh ?

[GreigM]

Don't really understand this - it seems this guy has never had tuition, but still feels that the fact you offer tuition means that you are responsible for his speeding tickets on another continent? I think idiocy like this deserves to be named.

[Olivera]

I'm surprised you bothered replying to a barely coherent, illiterate email from a random person on the internet.

[agtlaw]

Complete nonsense to suggest hitting a child means jail time.

[instructormike]

Personal responsibility was the issue of the post. Behave irresponsibly but then don't look for blame to lie elsewhere. And, as instructors, we often see very irresponsbile behaviour that we have a professional requirement to manage, but without "spoiling people's fun".
You may argue with the legal stance, but the point remains valid.