[DeTomaso] 'Racing' Safety

[Sean Korb]

I know it would scare everyone else on the highway to death, but I've
felt for a long time that helmets would be a helpful addition to my
commute.  Head injuries are often lethal and can I really count on the
SRS system in my commuter or the lack of such things in my Pantera?

sean

On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 1:53 AM,  <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:
>
> In a message dated 11/18/11 22 46 22, JDeRyke at aol.com writes:
>
>
>> For racing, the particular series
>> you want to go play in may have more stuff for you to add in their Tech
>> Regulations, but belts & an extinguisher will very likely keep you safe on
>> the
>> far more dangerous public streets & highways.
>>
>
> Excellent advice!
>
> Part of the problem when making decisions on safety equipment is in
> deciding what kind of car you want to have. While it's easy to automatically
> default to say, "FULL ROLL CAGE!", that ignores the inconvenient reality that a
> full roll cage is positively LETHAL on the street (and in fact is outlawed in
> some European countries).
>
> The very thing that makes them excellent in a track car makes them
> completely unsuitable for use on the street--their supreme hardness. On the GT40
> forum, I read a story of a poor fellow in the UK who was pottering around in
> his Lotus Super 7 replica, got involved in a minor shunt, and his head
> exploded like a melon when it struck his roll cage. Had he not had the cage, he
> probably would have had minor injuries (if any), and now he's dead.
>
> If your car will ONLY be a track car, then by all means, go for a cage. But
> if you will ever run your car without a helmet on, then a cage is a very
> bad idea indeed.
>
> Some sort of roll bar is the best compromise for a dual-purpose
> car--something that will improve the structural integrity of the car and decrease the
> chances of the roof caving in, but something that will never, EVER get
> anywhere near your head.
>
> My GT350 clone and Pantera both have roll bars, and I feel much more
> confident on the track because of them. Neither of them extends forward anywhere
> near my head. Instead, if I were to hit anything, it would be the (padded)
> headliner bow. While that wouldn't be any fun, it would certainly be a far
> sight better than whacking my head on a piece of thick steel tubing.




-- 
Sean Korb spkorb at spkorb.org http://www.spkorb.org
'65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera #1382
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
"Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso