Safety

[BonzoHansen]

I started thinking about this when I was at the Optima Challenge race at SEMA. Although they were racing 'street' cars, I noticed (nearly) all drivers wearing fire suits. Then I just saw a link on another site to this thread.

http://forums.nasaaz.com/showthread.php?t=4774

This guy seems to have been wearing most of his equipment, except his head sock if I read it right. And had a proper helmet, not a motorcycle helmet, which is not fire rated. He engaged the fire suppression system. It seems to have taken him 8 seconds to from 1st sign of flames at >100mph to out of the car, and he still had IMO significant injuries.

Now I know we have a lot of fast cars here. How many of you with fast cars, let's say 12.50 and less, or you fast auto-x/time attack/road course guys wear a fire suit or other safety clothing other than the required helmet? How about fire suppression?

[LTb1ow]

Only fire suppression my car has is a small amount of gas in the tank, otherwise, its gon git toasty.

[Blackbirdws6]

Helmet, fire jacket, and fire extinguisher in the car. Prob not safe enough by any standards unless we are getting into serious racing. Everyone has their own level of risk assessment. Hindsight is a beautiful thing though.

Saw a guy at etown in a full fire suit running a 2002 Acura TSX. Car was running low 15s and the only mod was a cai.

[sweetbmxrider]

Very intense story.

What exactly happened? It appears there is no bulk head or glass between the fire and driver? I may be mistaking though.

[Tru2Chevy]

Biggest reason for his burns was the lack of a rear window....most of the fire came in as a "backdraft" through the rear window while he was trying to slow the car down.

Bellhousing bolts were not tight...the puff of white smoke was the trans and engine separating, and it ripped a 10an oil line which dumped directly onto the header.

- Justin

[BonzoHansen]

I wasn't really interested in that accident as it were, definitely things wrong there. amateur mistakes sure. but for the most part we are all amateurs and mistakes could happen. really just using it as a starting point for a more generalized discussion.

Brian, I agree on the personal level of risk. I guess I'm just wondering what everyone's risk tolerance is.

[sweetbmxrider]

I don't want to go up in flames but my car has full glass and the unibody is untouched. Only small grommet holes could be entry points of any fire along with the hvac system, just like stock.

[SRGN]

I run an SA05 helmet and fire jacket even if I'm running a stock vehicle. M05 is a lot cheaper, but one thing I won't cheap out on is a brain bucket.

[mc73nova]

Im not sure what the rules are in that type of racing but like bmx said (sorry I dont know your real name) in a door car at the track they make sure the cockpit/interior is completely sealed off with the exception of grommets that have wires, throttle/trans cables going through them.

I wear a 3-2A/5 Fire Jacket and a Snell M2000 helmet which is useless now.
I never wore anymore than that but always thought that the requirements would be more. I just never got more protective clothing because I dont drive it that much, which is a sad excuse because it only takes one mishap. If I was ever in an accident that required fire equipment, Im not sure what use my midsection would be if the rest of me was burnt. I did go over kill for my cars e.t. with the amount of cage and chassis construction in the event of an accident but it makes me feel a lot safer when I get in it.

[jam01]

i think there is a big difference between street car and strip car. both have requirements already, which is checked by local tracks or should be. if it comes down to requiring more safety equipment, more for the lack of inspecting ones personal vehicle for any kind of mishap or something not being tight ( loose fuel lines or such ) . the sport or tracks will lose business and there will be more street racing just on the fact some people cant afford fire suits and cages, which is why there is already a timed limit for cages being required in drag racing. i am not saying there should not be safety or lack of because of financial hardships, i think the rules and regulations have been studied for years along with being updated when necessary. i have seen people do stupid crap in the pits ( warming a nitrous bottle with a torch ) run total junk on street nights that were unsafe. this also requires one to get out of car and inspect other cars in your field and report what appears to be a problem. while i have never raced a road course or timed event i am sure there are safety requirements also which also falls on tracks to inspect. for the most part our tracks are safer than our highways and local streets.