I'd say there was more than a lot of luck involved in no one getting hurt. The
grass certainly didn't help matters but the car was clearly out of control at
least a couple of gates before it left the course. I expect if it'd gotten this
far out in the hands of a more experienced driver s/he'd had ditched it in the
infield away from the spectators.
But, at the risk of drawing flames and recognizing that the designers were
limited by the asphalt at their disposal, I do have to say that this is what you
get when you design a course as a pair of high-speed slaloms separated by a
single hairpin. Novices -- and some others -- will think they can get through
by mashing the accelerator, even after the run is lost.
Stuart
Randy Chase schrieb:
> Hey, saw this posted elsewhere. It's already out on the net for those who
> think we should never mention autocross and accidents.
>
> http://www.thehourly.com/autox/
>
> My intention is not to start another flame fest, but to raise some concerns
> and perhaps move forward positively regards to course safety.
>
> In looking at the video of this autocross, a few things stand out.
>
> 1. The speed of the car was relatively slow. This is a novice driver.
>
> 2. There is something of a straight, with a quick transition towards the
> edge of the course. The transition has the car pointed towards the
> edge/spectators/paddock. They paddock seems far enough away, if the area
> between them and the course was not grass.
>
> 3. The "edge of the course" is not defined by cones. The area between the
> gates defined by pointer cones is open, so the edge of the course is open to
> the driver's interpretation. I always find this a little odd to determine if
> the course falls within the rules, when the edge is not defined.
>
> 4. The run off area is a grass field. It appears that the Celica driver
> could not get the car stopped quickly before having to take evasive
> manuevers among people and cars. Hard to say, but if he had just locked it
> up, it may have been worse.
>
> 5. The driver did very well to not hit anyone or a car. I do understand he
> ran over the one person's (shown in the video) foot, but it was not very
> bad. In watching this, I think luck also played a big role in nobody getting
> seriously hurt.
>
> Yours in Safety,
> Randy Chase
> http://www.conecam.com/
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