Barney responds to Ray Gibbons:
>>What is the reason for ruling out shoulder harnesses in open cars
>>without roll bars -- that the driver has to be free to duck?
>Good guess. And I reckon that your guess is as good as anyone else's,
>since the rule book does not give any official reason... Whatever
>the reason, I personally do not agree with this rule.
Sorry Barney, but as a Solo Safety Steward and an autocrosser with over 25
years experience I would have to respectfully disagree with you. I feel that
this is a very good rule, for exactly the reason that Ray postulates. While
I fully agree that upper body restraints greatly enhance your car control,
and while the incidence of roll-overs in Solo 2 is very rare, it _does_
happen and I've seen 3 myself, with several other near misses. If you
happen to be in an open car with aftermarket upper body restraints (whether
full harnesses or a "Turner belt") and no roll bar when this happens it
should be obvious to everyone that there is a very high likelihood that you
will not survive. The safety aspects of running without restraints are far
less ominous than the above scenario. In my case, the decision to add a
roll bar and harnesses to my D Street Prepared MGB was accelerated after an
incident when I left a narrow airport runway course into a cornfield while
still doing about 30 mph backwards. I got thinking about what might have
happened if I'd been sideways instead when I transitioned from pavement to
dirt, and since then I've had an Autopower bar and full harness for both
driver and passenger. I do feel the harnesses have greatly improved my
ability to "finesse" the car on course, but there is no way I'd ever
consider using them, or allowing another to, without a roll bar. The
potential consequences are just too dire.
>It is my opinion that the driving skills developed in this type of event
>make for much safer drivers on the public roadways. After some autocross
>driving you start to watch further ahead on the roadway, anticipate
>things more in advance, and develop the ability to make a quick lane
>change without loosing control of your car, thereby being less likely to
>be involved in an accident. I now have more confidence driving in
>traffic, and I feel safer riding with someone who has some autocross
>experience. Both of my daughters have autocross experience, just can't
>get my wife to go for it.
I agree 100% with this. I can't count the number of times that my autocross
experience has helped me avoid an accident by fractions of an inch, and I
often encourage others to try autocross by pointing out that it's the
cheapest form of advanced driver training you can find. The lessons learned
are invaluable and directly applicable to emergency situations on the
street. While my 9 year old son is not quite old enough yet, I am very
pleased to hear that SCCA plans on revising the rules to allow even those
with a "learner's permit" to participate. It will certainly be a part of my
son's driver's education, although I too have been unsuccessful on selling
the wife on the idea that it might help _her_ driving skills. <G> Sure wish
I could though, as I think the extra car control knowledge might have saved
me the $650 it cost to repair the front suspension on her Rabbit convertible
after she understeered into a curb this past December!
Ric Johnson
Rally Events Director
Des Moines Valley Region SCCA
P.S. Given your propensity for travel, you should consider coming over to
Iowa for one of our DMVR events some time. Most of our events are held at
the Oskaloosa Iowa Airport (not the one I went off course at! <G>) which is
far larger than one might suspect as it is a former Naval Air training
facility from WWII. We get to play on a 200' x 1400' slab of smooth
unobstructed concrete (no light poles, no curbs) which allows for a lot of
latitude in course design. We usually run on the third Sunday of each month,
and will also be hosting a McKamey Solo Driving School on the weekend of May
10-11. Let me know if you are interested and I'll forward specific details.
rj
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