A note about Derek Israel's death.
I could be accused of being morbid, but I really like to know the details,
so I can upgrade my own safety practices/hardware.
>From what I have gathered, Derek had REAL bad luck.
The race group was reasonably speed and mass matched. There were no
pre-crash mechanical failures. His car had up to spec roll bar (or cage).
His datsun came together with a SCCA sports Racer. The back end of the
sports racer hit the driver door window opening of the Datsun.
Derek died because a loose piece of body trim from an indeterminate car came
loose and lashed him across the neck, cutting his jugular vein.
Now that we have all stopped shuddering:
1) we can look out for loose or minimally attached bits of metal on our car.
2) Always wear full face helmet.
3) Always wear the horse collar ( I don't know if Derek was wearing one, I
would like to know).
4) Don't "come together" with another car.
5) Have lots of luck.
Safe Racing
Malcolm Cox
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