We're looking for a few good men or women to conduct a small experiment. We would like to see how long it take to exit a race car. For this we would like to have some volunteers. and, ideally, we should have a mix of open and closed wheeled cars. And a mix of people who use HANS devices and those who do not.

There's no prizes for this and the intent is NOT (repeat NOT) to embarras anyone. We are only interested in how long it takes to exit the cars and that is all.

We would conduct this experiment at lunch time during the driver's meeting.

If you are interested in participating, please e-mail me at my address: michael_currie@telus.net  

Hopefully this will be informative and interesting to all.

Thanks

Mike Currie

Anything to do with that article about the guy whose car caught fire and he had previously practiced his exits and it probably saved his life?

I've been contemplating doing the same.

I have done this myself.  Given my age and obvious bulk, I didn't want to roast in there if things went badly.  I actually did exit the car due to a small engine fire, back in 2007 I believe, (in Pre-Grid).  Every situation /car/driver combination might be different, but my exit strategy has always been based on head first (yes, helmet will hit the ground) and roll away. After a few other attempts in more dignified ways it was the only one that worked quickly enough for me.  6 seconds was my best time.  I used a camping mattress to make my test landings softer. I'd enjoy watching others try this!

Given the complexity of the various attachments sometimes used in modern racing cars (HANS, radio, cool suit, etc. every driver should have a clear exit strategy.

My idea is to show us all some of the pitfalls and problems of exiting a racing car as quickly as possible.

Many of the tests being done by some of the other safety organizations are actually two tests. One is the exit test suggested here. The other, probably more important one is the same test, blind folded. This is to mimic a fire/smoke situation. Two of the fatalities in the last couple years were attributed to the victim's inability to see what they were doing. Complicating the problem was that the corner workers could not see and find the fire button due to the dense smoke.

In one of the two tragedies, the car still had the safety pin in the button for the fire system. The corner worker managed to find the button despite the fire and smoke but was unable to activate the system. He had suffered severe burns as he continued to pull not understanding why it wasn't activating. Meanwhile the driver was engulfed in flames. Subsequent to this event a survey was done in Florida where the event took place. It was to find out how many drivers left the grid with the safety pin still in button. 70% had the pin in. The reason? They didn't want the system to accidentally discharge. Makes you think.

For starters, we'll confine ourselves to the initial test without a blindfold. If we get positive results, we might just go to the blindfold test.

Currently we have one volunteer (James Dallimore) in a Vee. It would be nice to have a mix of drivers, especially those with the complicated setups.

Don't be chicken. We're not trying to embarrass anyone.

Hi Mike,  I will participate.

Roland .

Thank you James and Roland.

Now all we need is a couple of sedans.

my cars are nascar/cascar chassis and all though all my racing has been on ovals, I have allways worn a Hans device and every time i am in the car at the track I practice getting out in a hurry just in case (you never no) and would encurage everybody to do the same!  
and if i can help i will , as we hope to have one of the cars ready for spring

mike cashen     Mech01@telus.net

Maybe Ecrew would like to be involved to see how we can make our jobs easier in that situation we don't like to talk about , but should . we try to get around the paddock to assess each car to get an idea whats is involved, but it gets complecated with multiple class cars at the same meeting and even the same race, maybe we should be allowed to get a driver out to simulate a worst case ,  sorry just thinking out loud

The initial intent of this is to convince the drivers to have an exit plan. Thus I'd like to keep this simply a driver oriented thing for the moment. I'm sure the e-crew would be welcome to observe and learn like the rest of us.

I believe Bob is correct and we should practice extractions so that e-crew are familiar with the cars and the issues. We'll have to work on that one for early next season.

Still looking for a couple more "volunteers" expecially in  sedans with lots of paraphenalia.

I will bring a stunt mat for those tests, great to see such great dialogue and participation!

My car will be there and i would be happy to climb in and out of it with my suit and helmet on , however i do not have a hans device.

Chris Doodson

Thank you, Chris. That's three. HANS device not absolutely necessary. We have to start somewhere.

This is a good time for all of our 'volunteers' to have a close look at their cars and make sure there are no sharp objects or anything else that may catch on their driving suit during a rushed exit that may tear or otherwise damage their driving suit.

It would be a shame to miss a race weekend because you damaged your suit during the demo.

Cheers,

Marc

I heard James has already started on his diet getting ready for showtime!

Been on the diet all this year!!  I have photos from Seattle last weekend where I was wearing my original 20 yr old race suit - and still breathing. good job I dont know how to post photos.

I have been practicing car exit..... check your car and you will see an aluminium bar across the floor - thats to hook your heels into so you can push out in a hurry.  

One thing I notice as I get older - gravity is increasing as its more difficult to do somersaults out of the car.  

looking forward to the results of this exercise - should be interesting. Can anyone loan a Hans device for the test? I want to find out which one I need to buy?

james

I'm in if you need another body.

Terrific response. We have a total of FIVE volunteers: James Dallimore, Roland Stec, The Dood, Campbell Carlyle and Jim Cadie.

Thank you all. That should give us a reasonable representation.

We'll be in touch on Saturday. Thanks, again.

Mike

Sorry Jim, I spelled your last name incorrectly. McCadie

Mike_the_Oldest wrote on Oct 6^th, 2010 at 1:32am:

Sorry Jim, I spelled your last name incorrectly. McCadie

Call me anything . . . but late for dinner  ;D

Jim McAdie

My apologies. I usually don't screw up names that badly.

Mike

Many thanks to the competitors who volunteered for this test: Chris, Jim, James and Roland. I think we all found is useful and worthwhile.

I do know from conversations I've had with various folks that we WILL be doing more of this type of proactive stuff.

Thank you all.

Mike

Thanks for thinking of it Mike.  It got me thinking about a couple of other related items - like my fire system pull handle.  Its in the perfect place for me to activate whist strapped in but Ecrew would have to put their head into the cockpit to find it as its low on the left and under the cowl.  Who wants to do that in a fire situation?

Needs to be moved up and back for better outside access.

AND clearly marked , but ithink you will find that that this Ecrew would use their own cold fire supression system [ rather wet and sticky as apposed to all that dry chem everywhere ]

I much prefer the cold fire as opposed to the nasty dry chem.
  We are fortunate enough to have the best safety crews and turn workers already, but the best are always looking for ways to improve and being pro active in all aspects of safety confirms that.

A big Thanks to all our volunteer  workers.

Roland