-----Original Message-----
From: MHKitchen@aol.com [SMTP:MHKitchen@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, May 19, 1997 3:24 PM
To: wsthompson@thrunet.net; vintage-race@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Pomona Reports??
In a message dated 97-05-19 15:50:20 EDT, you write:
<< I'd say that some organizations must be issuing licenses pretty =
freely. >>
I'd have to say we all know this is true....there's really no =
qualifications
required. As a past event organizer AND a participant, I can see the =
good in
a system that gets participants to police themselves. CSRG has used (at
least in the past) a Driver Observer system that was good at getting =
people
to realize when they screwed up. Instead of one guy ALWAYS being the =
bad guy
who yells at the drivers, volunteer drivers would man the D.O. (i.e. =
Black
Flag) station and talk to those who screwed up during the respective
sessions. Getting volunteers isn't always easy, but it is effective. =
By
having participants work the event, particularly if they must wear a =
headset
for any period of time and listen to the reports and what the corner =
workers
are looking for out there, they can certainly gain an appreciation of =
how
they must appear when they're out there screwing up. In most cases, I'd =
say
it helps to get them in line. =20
I think most of us have had "brain fade" or encountered the "red mist" =
at one
time or another. Sufficient embarassement in front of your peers is =
usually
effective at calming most people down. Those that are habitual =
offenders,
need more serious talking to, and/or disciplinary actions by the Chief
Stewart and/or Board of the appropriate club. Sending people home =
and/or
becoming ineligible to participate for a period of time is effective, in =
my
opinion.
I guess the point is...I think there's too much leniency in many =
incident reviews. I've heard driver's committees prodding drivers to =
indicate some mechanical difficulty that caused their dumbass move that =
got them there.=20
I was involved in an enduro 4 years ago On the 48th lap out of 50, a =
driver (who admitted his brakes were gone for 2 laps), stayed out on the =
track, at speed, lost it, slid through the grass, pulled the handbrake =
(now he has no handbrake and no steering) slid back across the track and =
T-boned me at over 70mph. Every day my neck reminds me of this incident.
Equally as dangerous are the guys that drive really fast cars poorly, =
brake before the turn... realize they've braked too early... get on the =
gas again... then brake IN the turn.=20
So the meek are as dangerous as the over-zealous.
WST
Myles H. Kitchen=20
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