Hey guys, goina rant a little on track day safety. As many of you know I am really passionate about drifting and love it when people put the effort together to put a track day together.
In Ontario we have had the opportunity to run drift track days for a little over 6 years now. Many have come and gone since then and I am hoping to get a message out to all future organizers of the sport to come to basic safety regulations.
I would hate to see drifting get a bad reputation by opening up the tracks to organizers that wanna make a quick buck. its been too many times that I see drivers or passengers without a helmet on the track. That should be basic common sense at any track whether you are lapping or drifting.
Helmets mandatory (snell 95 m2000, something logical ya know?)
windows up, no hanging out the windows
look ahead and slow down for traffic, no drifting around slow or stopped cars
no tandem without a proper roll cage
Seat restraints (belts and/or harnesses)
I would hate to see one amateur track day ruin it for everyone else ya know?!
The reality is you can get hurt and when someone does they wont let us back on the track. Ontario doesn’t have much choice when it comes to track these days and an unorganized unsafe track day can ruin 6 years of work…so my request to all the organizers out there is BE SMART and USE COMMON SENSE. Implement the basic safety into your track days…PLEASE!
I’m a total prick when it comes to safety at any event I’m at (whether a participant or organizor). HOWEVER, I don’t understand your Windows up mantra? Every event I do it’s windows down so in (god forbid) any situation you have another potential escape route, or you can be dragged by your suit to safety. Door blocked by armco? Climb out window. Car rolled, on fire, you unconscious, corner worker drags you out of window, yada yada yada.
I remember last year on the VIP track day, I was tandeming with Vlad on the last corner of Nelson when all of a sudden I felt a quick knock on my helmet and a “PING”.
A friggin rock went through the 5" crack in my window and hit my helmet. My visor is MIA and it could have hit my face or eye. Ever since, I only drift with 1-2" crack in the window to minimize flying projectiles from hitting me.
Theory is in the chance of a roll over u don’t get ejected outside the vehicle or limbs dismembered during the roll over without proper safety harnesses. All safety crews will have the means to break window to get you out (or at least they should).
You have to understand the rules standard for drifting are still under development and rules and regulations will change during time. Im on the fence with the window thing there, thats what the community been preaching, maybe we should change it…or keep it?
the regulations and the degree of safety required for drifting are slightly different than the requirements for an open lapping day
especially at small, flat tracks like dunnville or the tmp road course
i’ve run both many times without a helmet and do not feel it to be a major issue.
keep in mind this is in a CASUAL open lapping environment… aka, zero competitiveness.
as soon as it starts to get competitive, though, i agree that helmets ought to be a requirement.
for drifting i think mandating helmets at all times (practice as well as competition) isn’t a bad idea, due to the increased potential for a collision – whether it’s into a wall or another car
A helmet is the cheapest insurance for your LIFE…it should be a no brainer. Some will say “im not going to spend $200 on a helmet just to go lapping”.
My answer is “then you are not going lapping”. Its simple.
From an organizers point of view, if im not carrying my own insurance and relying on the track insurance, in case anything happens, Im goina damn well make sure nobody gets hurt in any circumstances I can control. Cause I know the track wont back me up when somethig happens.
That way I limit my chances of being sued for negligence or anything stupid that the north American legal system throws at me.
I definitely see and understand your point of view. I certainly think it could go either way. Probably could just stipulate if you have windows down you need a visor, but good luck enforcing that (as I’m sure you know). Other than that I completely agree with you, if you want to do a drift day and can’t spring for a cheap lid you don’t really have any business being out there.
I agree that safety at the track should never be something overlooked and I agree to some extent that organizers of track days whether it be open lapping or open drifting should recommend certain saftey procedures. Its never a bad idea to hold a quick drivers meeting before the day starts to go over the rules with everyone. I would highly recommend it, especially with large groups.
Only thing I am wondering is: is it okay to wear a helmet in a car that is equipped with air bags? I remember hearing it wasn’t but I could definatly be wrong.
In the end, all this stuff is just common sense, as is everything in life. But there are clearly a lot of idiots around the just seem to lack it.
IMO if a car has a roll cage dont get in it unless you are wearing a helmet. No matter what. If it is a stock car that has air bags, no, you dont need to wear a helmet.
i allllways rock a helmet… anything can happen on a track just remember that…
as for the window down or up… some times it gets really hot inside, so i open it a crack