Violent and Dangerous Crashes: Is it time to Ban Motor Vehicle Racing (Nascar, Indy, etc)?

reply to post by CosmicCitizen


Ban the sport? What that's jumping the GUN *hehehe* The debate should be about Fan seating locations distance. stronger mandated protective barriers etc etc.

THAT should be the debate. Not ban the sport that's retarded :/ Make sure drivers know (im sure they do...) of the risks of racing.


Problem solved. ^.^

Aha !

I just thought of a solution to our automotive "owies" conundrum...

Nerf cars !!!




(takes a bow amidst all the applause of gratitude)
Uh thank you, thank you very much

Originally posted by Cynicaleye

Originally posted by redoubt
reply to post by CosmicCitizen

 

Violent and Dangerous Crashes: Is it time to Ban Motor Vehicle Racing (Nascar, Indy, etc)?

Good lord.

Drive through Houston or Atlanta during rush hour. Let's just ban automobiles... and cell phones, and Starbucks, and screaming kids... and daily stress...

We should ban sarcasm aswell, it's clear that some people aren't bright enough to pick up on it.

LOL! Sarcasm is the voice of cynicism. At this point... you don't really expect it.

Cheers

It's quite simple American motor sports needs to move into the 21st century and make safety a priority.
It wasn't too long ago that F1 drivers were dying on a regular basis and it took the death Ayrton Senna to kick start a safety drive in F1.
Even though there have been some very high speed accidents the way the safety cell of the driver cockpit has been designed there have been few injuries. A perfect example is in this video of Robert Kubica from the Canadian GP in 2007. He hits a wall head on at 300kph and he missed the following race a week later with a bruised ankle.



The entire car is designed to crumple and to dissipate the impact energy away from the safety cell, combined with the HANS system which protects the drivers hands and neck under impact. The suspension parts are all designed to crumple so that no suspension arms can penetrate the safety cell. The noses of the car have to be below a certain height so that in the event of a side impact crash the nose doesn't impact the driver.
One of the reasons F1 didn't return to Indy was after the crash of Ralf Schumacher and the simple fact is stone walls are the worst things you can impact at high lateral G's. Ralf was doing 5 G's when he impacted the wall and was lucky not to break his neck. Nascar and Indy drivers also suffer from high cornering G's and you can guarantee that there will be many more drivers losing their lives or losing limbs until you start making the safety of drivers and spectators the priority.

In F1 and most FIA sanctioned series's have all made track safety a priority and over the years have developed a great understanding on what is most effective for slowing down speeds in the event of an accident. The use of big run off areas, the use of different surfaces to slow the car down before impact with the walls etc..
There are some very simple things you can do to the tracks to make the safer, the use of safety rails against the walls to absorbe some impact energy, run off areas between spectator and tracks.
Now there is no 100% solution to safety but you can do many things to reduce the risk.

Originally posted by CosmicCitizen
reply to post by schuyler

 

My 6 grader cant even play "Tag" during school recess anymore for fear that some kid will get hurt.....I have heard that some schools have banned "Dodge Ball" as well (same rationale). Nanny state on steroids.

They are doing the same thing here in Canada, they have basically banned any activity that might cause an injury......
Like walking :-)

Where the hell are our next race car hero's going to come from then eh?

Life is going to be very boring for the kids soon to be adults in a few years.
Maybe bingo will make a come back? How can you hurt yourself playing bingo?

Regards, Iwinder

The way I see it... these people get paid to drive in a dangerous racing sport where the risks are no secret. In the stands, fans come to watch these things in much the same way Romans came to applaud gladiators and wild animals that did sometimes get loose into the stands.

Same thing with football and every other sport. There's a risk. The competitors are well aware of it and in motorsports, so are the fans. But... if there is some need, let's erect a giant wall, six feet thick. On the inside, hang a huge digital screen to reflect what is happening on just the other side of that wall. After a while... it will become apparent that there is no difference in being there or at home... where you are supposed to be.

Go out, mow your lawn, buy more insurance... be safe and above all, be quiet.

reply to post by CosmicCitizen


Get your facts straight.It was not the Daytona 500.It was the Nationwide series race on Saturday.If you cannot get the most basic facts cstraight concernuiong this story then how is anyone to take you seriously? And those people ALL knew the risk they were taking in attending a motorsports event. You obviously have no clue as to the history surrounding motorsports in this country.Just cause you don't like somrthing doesn't mean its bad.

reply to post by CosmicCitizen


Woops...My mistake. I missed the last line about tongue in cheek at first reading.But you did have your facts wrong.

reply to post by mardukiscoming

The race (name: 500 vs 300) was already addressed....but that is not the point. 30 fans were injured in a car race (it doesn't matter if it was at Daytona or Talladega)...and there could have been fatalities (children even). Focus on the risks of the sport please. No wonder politicians keep focusing on the wrong language of the Constitution to the detriment of the "Intent of the Law" (eg. "well regulated militia" vs "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"....gee I hope I didnt make a typo in there for someone to go off on an irrelevant tangent).

Originally posted by mardukiscoming
reply to post by CosmicCitizen

 

Woops...My mistake. I missed the last line about tongue in cheek at first reading.But you did have your facts wrong.

It was already dealt with about 8 posts up or so, perhaps you should read a thread before posting.
No offense intended but I hate reading posts which in fact have nothing to do with the thread if the thread was read before posting.

Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by redoubt

Altho safety is always a serious issue most of you are taking the OP as it was posted: with a hint of sarcasm and with a subtle ntent to contrast the clamor for something to be done with "gun violence".

reply to post by CosmicCitizen



I am not a fan of race car driving but I have actually been on the track in Las Vegas and raced on it (some conference rented it).

Anyway something that was glaringly obvious to me was why do some of these most horrible accidents take place in front of the crowd and injuring people when nearly 3/4 of the track has no seating?

Seems odd to me I wonder has anyone else made this observation?

reply to post by abeverage

Hmmmm. Excellent observation....a coincidence or by design??

Should we ban driving around in circles for hours for no reason?


Nah we should probably just continue to shake our heads at those who think it's entertaining and if they want to go get debris thrown at them at races thats their right to do so

reply to post by Hawking

Well at least we can stop giving tax subsidies to foreign citizens who are billionaires to build these race tracks while taking peoples farm land at the same time under the auspices of a modern Manifest Destiny.

It's the restrictor plates that are causing the problems in NASCAR. NASCAR forces use of them one year, then relents, then makes them use them again. The restrictor plates act as a governor that limit performance of the cars, thus what was once a combination of car-set up and driver skill, now rests almost completely on driver skill, and guess what? They are ALL very skilled, so the cars get bunched up, which at 200 mph is a damned dangerous situation.

Fans (and/or sponsors) were apparently getting bored with cars in groups far apart, and thus the restrictor plates are in use this season. Foolishness.

That fence, by the way, did its job. The spinning car hit with enough force to shear the car in two forward of the fire wall, and the engine and heavy car parts didn't travel beyond the cables and chain link of the fence. None of the drivers were injured. Tires and other car parts (sheet metal, etc.) practically exploded from the impact of the car upon the fence. The fence was designed to flex, to absorb some of the force of a collision. You can see this if you look at the video of the impact: The camera is mounted on the fence and when the car hits it, the camera view (far away from the wreck) wobbles.

Ask the spectators who were injured if they think car racing should be done away with........ I bet they'd say "hell, no!"

It was a freak accident. Having cars bunched up at Daytona one of the worst stock car venues. All the safety equipment performed better than could be expected. I never liked sitting in the front rows anyway, because of the hot oil, fumes, rubber and other crudola that flies off the track. It was fortunate nobody died, and I can't remember the last time a car twirled into the fence in a NASCAR race. *ETA: It was probably Carl Edwards' crash at Talledega in 2009.

Originally posted by Iwinder

Maybe bingo will make a come back? How can you hurt yourself playing bingo?

Are you kidding ?!

Those bingo dabbers can take an eye out if you're not careful.
And the ink in them ? Toxic !

Originally posted by CosmicCitizen
reply to post by abeverage

 

Hmmmm. Excellent observation....a coincidence or by design??

Rationally I say coincidence but since this is ATS and there are no coincidences, then perhaps the modern day chariot races have a darker side to them.

Consider this, if the sport is so dangerous and by my observation more accidents happen near the spectator arena why would people continue to attend? Because people love the thrill! Now what if after every horrible accident especially for the big races there are larger turnouts and more media attention surrounding the next race? The conspiracist in me says if it makes more money then you better believe they will do it no matter the cost...

If however there are too many lawsuits from injured spectators and that extra money is wasted then I would go with coincidence...

Originally posted by CosmicCitizen
A crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 injured 30 fans....it could have been much worse and the tracks already have high safety fences. Given the danger to fans and drivers and the expressed endorsement of fast speeds and irresponsible fuel consumption isn't it time that we consider banning motor vehicle racing (nascar, drag cars, indy cars, trucks and motorcycles)? There isn't even a constitutional right to race (except for maybe a stretch of the "pursuit of...liberty and happiness"). What say you ATS (my tongue is firmly planted in cheek).

edit on 25-2-2013 by CosmicCitizen because: (no reason given)

I think it's time for common sense legislation.

Originally posted by CranialSponge

Originally posted by Iwinder

Maybe bingo will make a come back? How can you hurt yourself playing bingo?

Are you kidding ?!

Those bingo dabbers can take an eye out if you're not careful.
And the ink in them ? Toxic !

"Your gonna dab your eye out kid"
Quote from a Christmas story, but change the dab to shoot...

Great post and Laughing hard here.

Regards, Iwinder