Let's hear it for SAFETY!

5/31/2013

We invite you all to share anything regarding building and driving safe cars. Safety should be a concern during construction by following safe practices as you work on the car and making sure the car will be safe in case of an accident on the track. Let's not forget safety while on the track. Drive smart and just like on the hi-ways, look out for the other guy!
This forum was inspired by Dave Mackey who is a racer concerned not only for his own safety, but for the safety of other racers out there too. So let's support this effort and feel free to add your comments here, all are welcome.

Safety wire Dave, you bet. We used it extensively in aviation to insure all bolts stayed bolted. It could prevent a hard hit with the wall just as it prevented a hard landing from 1000 feet.

15 Comments

Dave Mackey

6/2/2013 02:56:02 pm

How many times do we see something on a race car or racing gear that gets our attention and we think to ourselves WOW, that is a great idea! or, How many times do we see something and it gives us an idea to make it better in some way. I'm always looking at race cars and asking myself if I would get in it, is there something about it that makes me think NO WAY, NOT ME!!! I look at the roll cages, seat belts and mounts, and these are just the most obvious things, what about design and construction. I'm no expert on the matter, but some things are very obvious when you see them, either good or not so good. Most racing is done as a hobby, there are no absolute set of rules that are made by anyone and accepted by all local tracks, so that leaves it up to whoever the builder is based on their experience and knowledge, not to mention ability to fabricate. Until someone steps up and mandates the way we will build our cars, it will be up to us to make racing as SAFE as it can be. This is why this site is so important to us, a way for us to share best practices and make racing as SAFE as it can be, share ideas, ask questions or help someone with a problem. I know that each track typically has a so called tech inspector that looks at your car before you are allowed to race, but who is this person? what qualifications do they have? and do they really have your safety in mind or just following what the promoter told them to do? TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, DO NOT TAKE SHORT CUTS and help others when possible, go to sites like this and seek the safety blog to get help or help others, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SITES LIKE THIS TO HELP EVERYONE GO HOME SAFE.

THANK YOU BOB, I hope this blog is successful... NOW, I have a question on the next entry....

Dave Mackey

6/2/2013 03:06:16 pm

I have a question about using safety wire, it seems like a good idea but....I see that some race cars have it on certain front end bolts and other places and some race cars don't have it at all... Jim Perry Jr. insists on using it for steering and engine mount bolts, I know it takes time to do it and I'm glad we have it on our hardtop, but should it be mandatory on all race cars? Who uses it, who doesn't and why?

Michael Haney

6/2/2013 03:52:04 pm

Safety MUST be #1 priority in all forms of racing, it is always bad news when a driver dies in a racing accident,no matter where,when or how, all racing sanctioning bodies, track owners and promoters,drivers,car owners,pit crews,track officials as well as the spectators ALL SHOULD DEMAND GREATER SAFETY. The thing is will they,l have been a racing fanatic since 1955,we see how far racing safety has advanced,our personal cars too,
A drastic and dramatic change won't happen at the snapping of a finger,auto racing has always been,is currently and will continue to be as long as cars go fast and race each other there will always be someone that takes that extra chance,to make their car lighter,faster,by sacrificing a little here, a little there to have a advantage,an unsafe advantage..In summation,l am not sure if there is a way to make racing totally,100% safe,or ever be able to completely stop injuries and deaths,the participants are aware of the dangers,but the do it anyway,and I ( not wanting to see injuries or deaths) am happy there are those that want race cars for a living.
Thanx for taking time to read this.
Michael Haney

Don O'Keefe Jr. (DOK)

6/3/2013 07:26:51 am

Here's a few links to different Safety Equipment Manufactures web sites that deal with seat and restraint systems. These are some of their guide lines for their different products. I just listed a few for all to take a look at... there are many more out there. As some of you may know I've been around a few years and I try to stay on top of the safety innovations as they evolve. Safety definitely isn't a one fits all thing. Type of car, height, weight, etc. all help determine what safety items and systems will work for you. I've updated a few things since my Chili Bowl crash back in January...your never to old to learn. Hope this adds to your discussions, DOK

SFI Web site,
http://www.sfifoundation.com/

Simpson, Instruction Manuals, http://www.teamsimpson.com/instruction-manuals/

Butler Built Seats,
http://www.butlerbuilt.net/resources.html

Crow Enterprises Installation tips, http://www.crowenterprizes.com/Pages/Install.html

Kirkey Racing Installation Tips,
http://kirkeyracing.com/index.php?link=install

Dave Mackey

6/3/2013 07:41:11 am

Don, I know you mentioned this previously in an email to me and I thought it was valuable info. thanks for sharing for all to see. I also hope that drivers who are involved in racing accidents share their experiences with us on sites like this and explain what equipment worked and what changes they might be considering as you have done. Do you use safety wire on your cars?

Don O'Keefe Jr. (DOK)

6/3/2013 10:43:05 am

Yes, I use safety wire on my cars. Both of our midgets have it on any bolt that isn't secured with a nyloc or jet nut. I also use a little Loctite on the treads of safety wired bolts

When we ran our USAC Silver Crown car in 96-97, I would get sick of safety wire. We used it on numerous components on the running gear & brake system to name a couple. Running cars on mile dirt & pavement tracks subject the cars to a lot of different vibrations during a 100 mile race.

The use of safety wire, Loctite, different locking type nuts, or anything else is great but only if you put whatever your working on together the right way in the 1st place.

On top of that a regular maintenance program really helps. Race cars these days aren't as simple as most think, but really become simple if you maintain it the way we should.

Dave Mackey

6/3/2013 01:14:05 pm

Thanks Don, I just wonder why there is no standard or regulation for basic car building, regulation for personal safety gear such as mandatory Hans device and so on. Also, Dwarf cars seem to have some safety issues of their own as they are so small to begin with. We will be building a new Dwarf car chassis soon for a friend, and will incorporate some new ideas to help make it safer. I came up with an idea to make the driver compartment more of an oval shape using better materials, the idea came to me by thinking that it will be harder to push in roll cage tubing that is bowed outward. Other ideas include no opening doors, enter through roof and maybe have a removable cage bar for protection at that point, These are just some thoughts, what do you think?

Don O'Keefe Jr. (DOK)

6/4/2013 07:52:27 am

First of all when you start “Mandating Safety Items” you open yourself up to liability issues that most tracks, groups, or sanctioning bodies can’t afford to deal with. That is why certain safety items are suggested for use vs. mandating them.

You mention the “Hans Device” for one that should be mandated. Don’t confuse the Hans Device with “Head and Neck” restrain systems. There are many different head & neck restrain system out there, The Hans Device is just one of them. I use the Simpson Hybrid Pro Rage, which for my body type works well. A lot of racers went out and bought the “Hans Device” because they thought that particular device was the one mandated by certain groups…don’t get me wrong the “Hans Device” is great but as more different drivers had different impacts, it was found that some drivers were suffering some neck injuries due to the way the device fit their body type and possibly the seat they didn’t have.

Does a track or group get sued for not having strict safety mandates or by mandating them? As far as standard regulations groups I have run with have them. POWRi midgets & USAC have listed in their rules the minimum as far as chassis construction, driver safety gear and so on. POWRI officials come and inspect the car and all the drivers’ gear, before they OK a car/driver for competition.

One of the main problems with California short tracks as I remember when I left west coast, was lack of any real officiating at most of the tracks. I never saw them inspect anything safety wise, (as most really didn’t know what they were looking at) they were more worried about busting someone on some technical issue. That’s as far as I’ll go on the front for now.

Dwarf cars… yes most of them don’t have very much room, also there isn’t much extra to absorb any impact in a wreck. Sprint cars, midgets, mini sprints, all have some cushion in the form of side nerfs that stick out & up enough to help absorb side hits. Dwarf cars nerfs for the most part hang low and because of the wheel base width don’t extend out very far. A Dwarf car is almost like a cube if it gets rolling… really no body work like a stock car to any impact.

Some things that could help some things are window or head nets (which I don’t think most use) arm restraints, Absorbent material between the cage and body work. The crash at Fernley was tragic and hopefully won’t happen again. I never really liked Dwarf cars on anything better than a ¼ mile track. Saw a few wrecks at San Jose years ago that they were lucky nobody was badly hurt.

Hope you try some of your ideas…ideas are where everything safety wise gets started. We don’t know until we try. Hope you all don’t mind my thoughts…

Dave Mackey

6/4/2013 12:03:00 pm

Thanks Don, great info for myself and other readers to think about...

Dave Mackey

6/9/2013 01:29:34 pm

When people ask me how I am, I sometimes say "perfect", just to get a reaction, in reality, I'm not even close. I try to think things through before I take on a task, but today I sit here with a small hole in my hand. All I had to do was look at the handle of the rake I was about to use and I would have seen that it had a large crack in it that caused my injury. I immediately thought about my own advice to others, look at the tools you are about to use and make sure they are in good condition. This rake belongs to my brother so I should have been even more careful about inspecting it. After doing some raking, I started working on my race car and was careful to inspect the tools. I knew that air was leaking at the fitting where the airline attaches to it and decided to take the time to look a little closer, I found that the hose was about to become separated from the fitting as it was very loose. I tightened it and felt good about it. The airline could have caused a serious injury that was prevented. Do you have some SAFETY issues that you know you should deal with? Hope you had a great week end! Stay SAFE! Dave..

Dave Mackey

6/24/2013 12:33:34 pm

Slips, trips and falls! Many of us have heard this term from SAFETY meetings where we work, but I use it for those who have not heard the term. I do not remember the stats on it, but I know that it makes up the majority of accidents in the work place and at home. What I got out of it, is that a neat clean work place is a SAFE one, hoses on the floor! spilled fluids not cleaned up! and not following safe ladder practices when working on things up high all contribute to accidents. Also, as we get older, we do not have the ability to react as quickly to a fall, we do not heal as quickly and it also seems to hurt a lot more! Take the time to get a ladder when needed, DO NOT USE SOMETHING BECAUSE IT IS CLOSE TO YOU, like a bucket or chair. I hope those who read this forum benefit from it, and if you have comments, please share them so we can all learn from it.. Stay SAFE...... Dave.

Mike Haney

8/12/2013 12:11:33 pm

Never turn your back to the cars,
There have recently been a spate of accidents some fatal and some with serious injuries, including this author's hero Tony Stewart. l purposely want to talk about the accident Saturday night in which a photographer was found by an out of control car. This occurred at the Stockton 99 dirt track during a hardtop race. As reported to me by a participant, an out of control hardtop struck and seriously injured a track photographer. Those who were there can only speculate as to why this accident happened. Most likely the photographer did not see the approaching out of control car with his back towards the oncoming car.
Any one who attends races regularly is aware of the dangers of out of control cars. No one on the racing surface should ever turn their back on the cars, as is evident in this situation, Now we all know accidents happen. That's why they're called accidents, not "on purposes". We all go to the races for the exciting action, the thrills and spills, the occasional flip, but we are relieved when crashes occur and the driver walks away. It was obvious to those there that the driver couldn't stop his car for whatever reason and that the photographer was not paying attention.
So in closing let this be a reminder, even after the races are over and everyone heads to the pits, the cars could still be moving,
Never Turn Your Back To The Cars!

The comments and opinions mentioned above are solely those of the author they are not necessarily the views of the website owner. Any comments opposing or in agreement are invited and welcome.
Michael (Mike) Haney

Dave Mackey

10/9/2013 02:45:18 pm

Mike H. Good comments about the pits, especially for those who seldom go in the pits, it can be very dangerous. Dave.

Dave Mackey

10/9/2013 03:32:45 pm

This is the time of year when racing is coming to an end for most of us, but that doesn't mean that safety should ever come to an end. I hope everyone had a great (SAFE) racing season. In the off season, remember to keep safety your number one priority. The holiday season offers all kinds of challenges when it comes to safety, such as doing things up high, remember to always use a step stool or ladder when needed, CHAIRS are NOT designed as ladders and account for many falls. Always inspect your ladders before use. Remember to inspect electrical cords, read and understand what their limitations are to prevent a fire. Remember, you are the one that controls your own safety, one way to help others stay safe, is to set the right example. Stay SAFE....Dave.

Dave Mackey

8/14/2014 03:24:53 pm

SAFETY! Well I haven't been on here in quite a while, but as you might have guessed, a couple thoughts on the recent death of Kevin Ward. First, a fellow upcoming race car driver has lost his life, that is the first thing everyone should think of. Second, his family and friends are now dealing with a huge tragedy, and third, Tony Stewart right or wrong must live with this for the rest of his life. We can debate forever about who was right or wrong, but for the purpose of something positive to come out of this, I would say to post here what your thoughts are to prevent this from ever happening again. My thoughts are the obvious ones like everyone in the pits including drivers must wear bright clothing, drivers will remain in their cars until an official has given them permission to exit unless there is immediate danger to the driver. I plan to start wearing white pants in the pits, like we did at Vallejo Speedway for two reasons, one to keep myself visible at night and the other to show support to the Ward family, and I hope that is the way they see it. I'm not blaming Kevin by wearing dark clothing, but making a statement that we should all make the best effort to be safe!

SAFETY FIRST

Let's hear it for SAFETY!

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