suprf1y wrote:
I never understood the requirement for a drivers license for a competiton event. Nonetheless, every autocross I've entered has requested it, but I've never once seen tech inspection.
I know our club asks to see your drivers license and will tell you it's an insurance requirement.
First event I ever went to, the Subaru Challenge at SIA here in Lafayette back in 07, we had a couple cars spin in the same spot. One of them kept going and smacked an island clean with both right tires. A couple shattered rims and one rotor later... They were fine. The wife was upset, it was her car, but she did find a ride in another car and set ladies FTD and thereby won a trip to Houston in a factory prepped car. Hubby didn't drive again that day.
Funny coincidence - I saw my first auto-x accident this weekend as well. A pretty competent driver got the back end of her S2000 loose and spun into a light pole. She was driving with an instructor in the passenger seat and car came to rest with the passenger side fender against the pole. The damage wasn't too bad, but I can't believe that neither she nor the instructor had to change their shorts afterward.
Was anybody else here part of the Clemson Sports Car Club back in the day?
We used to autox in a lot with trees. Between the trees and the curbs I think there were about 4-5 accidents while I was in college.
Trans_Maro wrote: Does the insurance REQUIRE a driver's licence? It's not on public roads.
Our hillclimbs are on CLOSED public roads and we require drivers' licences. Since said roads are closed off, I'm not real sure why.
I heard a registrar answer "it's our agreement with the state" the one time I heard the question raised...
a couple of years ago i was running with the WCMC here in IL and one event that i can say if all my fault that they whould not let me live down for the next few events came about from me getting out of shape coming out a a solom with my delta 88 and i seen it was just before the finsish line...i whipped it around so i would not kill the lights...they are way to much money to pay out...but i did kill the battery though....sigh....
in 2003 i took a scca autocross class with the milwakee region and they talked about a test and tune that had someone testing a corvette that the peeson drive and lost it at miller park..skidded 120 fett into one of the big light poles killing the vette and the pole..that was $20,00 for the light...and the replacment of the vette...
I saw a 911 back into a race prepped 914 during staging at a PCA autocross a few months ago. The driver of the 914 shrugged it off and had a good laugh about it, despite the crumpled nose...good sport.
Saw my first about 15 years ago in Boston at a national tour. At the Bayside Expo Center there was (is?) a spot that rises and there happened to be a sweeper there, a Suzuki Swift got a little light and with a good set of R's grabbed enough traction to put it on it's side. Last month at a local event a new Miata went for a cruise into a ditch full of small trees after crossing the finish. There was enough room to woha it up quite easily without jumping on the binders hard at all. But when I heard the engine rev up I knew they hit the wrong brake pedal!!
Crocs should never be worn when driving!!
this is the GT3 thread on a vw board... the ignorance/finger-pointing is very entertaining:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3197431
ive seen a Lotus Elise spin, and rear wheel caught a curb and (the wheel) rolled over, and a Saabaru lose a wheel, supposedly the wheel was just mounted by a shop the day before or something.
Soma007 wrote: In reply to Wowak: Don't forget threatening to sue you should your thoughts stray from how awesome this person was. The really sad thing is this person actually thought he did well on course...
My favorite part was his son apologizing to me and suggesting that he should be ejected. Dad of the year, right there.
In most of these it seems course design comes under question, At a local club event some years ago, they had start/finish at the same place I pointed out that this was not safe and after some close calls, they conceded that I was right and change it. The drivers license thing may be to show that the driver does have "some" competency,albeit not always true.
We had a Vette kiss a guardrail in the wet at an NEPA event this year. This the only crash I can recall at an NEPA event in the 10 years I have been autocrossing.
As for the post which mentioned the car with the stock suspension and R tires flipping, there was a movement underway a few years ago to ban R tires in the stock classes for just such a reason, but it never went anywhere.
I've only seen two minor accidents: A car smacking a chainlink fence, and a car breaking a rim on a curb (it was an EP70 starlet with the springs cut so short that the suspension was practically solid).
The drivers license may be to verify age also.
I'm pretty sure the drivers license requirement is stipulated by the insurance policies required at these events.
Duke wrote: There has been a minor incident this year and last year at our local independent club's events. They don't have the best safety record, unfortunately, but they are stuck with tight sites. Last year a kid, maybe 17 or 18, was there with his father. The kid was driving his DD Maxima, which was a mid-'90s 5-speed model and looked pretty stock. He got crossed up on some gravel, either confused gas/brake or just didn't let up when he should have, and nailed a curb at about a 45 deg angle. Bounced up and would have gotten away with RF suspension damage except his last bit of momentum carried him into a concrete light standard and blew the airbags. At the first event this year a guy overcooked a short slalom in a near-stock NA Miata and spun it backwards up onto a projecting curb. That one was a bit scary because it was a worker station and several of them were sitting down on the curb (like they should NOT have been doing). Nobody hurt and surprisingly enough the Miata took it like a champ, though his competition day was done, he drove it home and it didn't look bad.
I was at both of those events, and the young guys with the Miata were real champs about it. I google'd my way here because I'm still a little freaked out about our safety record, and I'm wondering if it's normal.
It may be better not to have posts like this to be easily found by google. I came across a very ignorant anti autocross article, and it had links to several vidoes and message board threads in it (not this one though). It was basicly saying that they didnt want a bunch of street racers using city property, and they had the video of the guy getting out of the e30 and getting run over (which as far as I know didnt even take place in this country) as an example just becasue autocross accident was the title of it, then a very bad accident involving a corvette starting to spin and doing a long powerslide out of the course, then snapping back into a curb, light pole and several spectators, which was described as being funny by the person who posted the video.
got a link to the anti autoX article?
that one still GOTTA be the mother of all Auto-X accidents:
GT3 + Corvette totaled Audi, Subi and Corolla badly damaged
driver error and baaaaaaad course design:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3197431
I recall that the Stalker designer - Dennis Brunton was knocked over pretty bad by a stray car while course working.
maroon92 wrote: At all of our events, the registrar checks for a valid drivers license. I think if you have a seizure you have to wait two years to drive again.
You would have to depend on self reporting....the doctor or hospital are not going to call the state...
Hatzenbach wrote: that one still GOTTA be the mother of all Auto-X accidents: GT3 + Corvette totaled Audi, Subi and Corolla badly damaged driver error and baaaaaaad course design: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3197431
Yes, that's what happens with bad course design, under-attentive safety stewards and driver's with more balls than brains.
Since that incident happened three years ago, I suspect the safety-steward at that event has lost that privelege forever, and the SCCA incurred a substantial increase for insurance costs.
The posts on that thread confirn that VWVortex is the snake-pit that others (here) have noted.
Here is the article i was talking about. http://actionalameda.org/actionalamedanewsblog/2009/03/04/tonight-alameda-city-council-considers-expanded-autocross-events-at-alameda-point/
Its pretty obvious that the person who write it hasnt ever seen a real autocross.
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