Doug,
A point well made.
When I started racing I had two Raydot mirrors, and found I was really blind
regarding what was happening behind me! Imagine the shock when a faster
(i.e. Lotus 7/S7 {that you can barely see anyway}) passes you moments after
confirming it's clear behind you! Toward resolving this I put out a thread
last April, asking what others do along these lines. Malcom Cox (CSRG #80
MGA, driven by Malcom and Diana Cox) wrote back and offered the gift of a
Wink mirror (A typical example of the spirit of vintage racing)! I installed
it and now couldn't get along without it!
Fewer cars pass me now as my proficiency and velocity increase, which, if
anything, makes passing even more critical.
Whenever another driver signals where he wants me to pass I make every
attempt to 'salute' his courtesy as I go by. Likewise, I make every attempt
to direct the 'passor' where I want him to pass when I see him come up
behind me.
And while I'm on the "passing soapbox", please hear me out on one other
subject that impacts us OFF the track. When you are motoring down the
highway and see a police/sheriff/highway patrol car coming up behind you and
going (or attempting to go) faster than the flow of traffic, please pull
over and let him by! For too many reasons to list here, he/she may be
responding to a call OTHER THAN a donut run(!!), that may be very serious
yet not authorize the use of emergency lights and siren. If your really
curious about this, contact your local law enforcement agency and speak to
them about a "ride along" with one of their officers. While we generally
discourage this, most officers will welcome a passenger who has a real
interest in learning about many of the problems we encounter on a daily
basis; and this is one area that is very important.
While I could feasibly 'write off' my new Crown Vic today, I pride myself on
completing over a half million miles in the damn things accident free! The
cockpit of a police vehicle is a very, very busy place: with multiple
radios, radars, computers, cameras, you name it; on top of operating the
thing and avoiding "being the first person to the scene of the accident!!".
Thanks for listening..... that "Burglary-In-Progress" call he is responding
to just might be at YOUR HOUSE!
Carl McLelland
CSRG #247 series 1 Sunbeam Alpine
Washoe County Sheriff's Office, Patrol Division, Traffic Section,
M.A.I.T.
> I would also suggest that we take the "successful pass" theme a step
> further; Have you ever congratulated yourself for doing a good job as the
> passee? You should. Doing a good job of being the passee can be very
> important in an enduro. All but the fastest cars will be passed many
times
> by faster cars. It won't always happen on the straight. If you do a good
> job as the passee, you not only help the passer, but you also minimize the
> disruption to your corner/lap time. At the end of the enduro, it might
make
> the difference for your finishing position in your class. It will
definitely
> make a difference for the safety of everyone. It's all about watching
your
> mirrors and planning ahead.
> You should also practice being the successful passee with cars that
are
> not faster than you are. The sessions of track time where I have had the
> most fun were sessions where I was able to hook up with one or two other
cars
> and take turns passing and repassing each other. Instead of driving "hell
> bent for leather" to stay in front of the other guy, wave him through and
> follow him for a lap. Hopefully he will return the favor. Afterwards,
> you'll both be grinning like idiots.
>
> Doug Meis.
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