[DeTomaso] 'Racing' Safety

[Bill Lewis]

Sean, we had a driving school in Houston, back in the early '70's, and one day I had a car load of student drivers who had ridden their Hondas to the lesson and they all had their helmets.  At the time I had a Honda 450, so I also had a helmet.  We all put our helmets on for about an hour as a joke.  Of course, at the time I was still in my 20's.    ---Bill



> Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:58:53 -0500
> From: spkorb at gmail.com
> To: detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] 'Racing' Safety
> 
> 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
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