Howdy,
On Sat, 24 Feb 2001, Eric Salem wrote:
> Other questions from an arm-chair quarterback:
You make good points on all this stuff. I'm not gonna argue with any of
them, but I do have a question.
> one-time crush rollcage padding isn't an advance over the old-style foam?
? I thought one of the key points of an SA helmet vs. an M helmet was
that it could absorb multiple hits... Wouldn't one-time crush padding be
something you wouldn't want? After all, your head's likely to come back
that way soon, right?
> Dale Ernhardt died because of multipule failures. a) He hit a wall. b) A lap
> belt broke. c) there was nothing to seperate his chin from the solid object
> it hit. d) nothing to slow down his chest before it hit the same solid
> object. e) there was nothing to restrain his head's movement reletive to his
> torso.
>
> NASCAR has finally shown itself to be the WWF of racing once and for all.
> How did that belt fail? why did it take five days to announce it? Was the
> saftey harness ever inspected by the sanctioning body? Why didn't anyone
> notice the failed belt on Sunday?
You don't think that's just a _bit_ extreme? Since when was _any_
sanctioning body directly resposible for safety? Seems to me that most
any rulebook I've ever read said something about how car prep was the
competitor's responsibility. Perhaps a failed belt shoulda been caught in
tech, but it for damn sure should've been caught by the team.
> The only problem with this tragedy for NASCAR is that now sponsors might
> want answers NASCAR can't give. F1 hasn't had a death since Sena (?) in '94.
> Higher top speeds, much smaller cars.
Less cars on the track. Probably less passes in the entire race than
NASCAR has in one lap. No big concrete wall on the edge of track.
Look, I'm not trying to paint NASCAR as some shining white knight. I'm
just saying that to immediately demand their heads is wrong. If Earnhardt
did in fact die due to a failed belt, the responsibilty for that belt
falls squarely on the team, and maybe on the belt manufacturer. It sure
as hell doesn't fall on NASCAR tech until after those two.
Btw, I don't believe that NASCAR has rules _against_ the HANS device,
right? Do they have rules against stuck-throttle kills? One-time crush
foam? Slightly thicker AL seats? Who's really to blame for any lack of
adoption of safety devices?
Mark
(who used to roadrace motorcycles and took responsibilty for his own
safety gear regardless of what tech thought)
|