I just wanted to take a little time to talk about safety.
The last thing we want is for anyone else to have an injury while racing with us. That really takes the fun out of things in a hurry.
First, I would like to start with helmets. As you know helmets are required to run with us. No helmets, no race. No Exceptions!
This past week, actress Natasha Richardson died of a "blunt impact to the head", according to information released Thursday by the New York City medical examiner's office. News reports said she was on a beginners slope at a ski resort taking a private lesson when she took a fall.
I havn’t been able to find any information on what type of safety equipment if any, she was using at the time. But this incident just sort of drives home the importance of a good quality helmet for what we are doing.
It has been mentioned in the past, If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet. I can not stress enough the importance of a good helmet.
Also, it is a good idea for you to put some of your vital information on your helmet. I have a DYMO label maker if you would like to use it for this purpose. The information should include your name (real name, not your rider name), date of birth, blood type, and any known allergies.
Anyone using a loaner helmet should write their information on a piece of masking tape and apply it to the back of the helmet.
In the event of an incident where you require medical attention, your helmet will be transported with you to the hospital. The information on the helmet may then be used by medical personnel to help access your situation.
You also need to take great care of your helmet. Don’t bang it, or drop it, don’t let it get scratched. These types of damage can cause stress fractures in the helmet which diminish it’s ability to protect your head in an impact.
Racing drivers who know their helmet has been dropped or banged, will not use that helmet again. They will replace it. Remember when handling your helmet, this is your first and only line of defense in an accident to protect your head and your brain. Don’t take chances with that!
One thing that has disturbed me watching videos of some of the other groups running is the laxness of their helmet rules. I have seen in car camera shots of guys driving with out their helmet fastened. And I have seen a few videos of crashes where a helmet is seen rolling away down the pavement.
This is NOT the time you want your helmet to leave your head! You MUST make sure you have a helmet that fits correctly. One that fastens correctly, and that it is fastened correctly BEFORE you get into your kart. I don’t want to see anyone’s helmet rolling away under any circumstances.
Your helmet is IMPORTANT and you need to treat it better then you do your own head.
Also, eye protection is a MUST. A bug or a small stone in your eye at 30mph could be a disaster. Many of the karts running have no fenders, so the tires will be throwing a lot of debris into the air. If you get hit with a stone, sand, stick, or dust coming off your tire, or someone else’s tire, it could be real bad if you don’t have adequate eye protection.
So if your full face helmet does not have a visor, you may want to get your self a pair of goggles.
I would also like to put together an EMERGENCY BINDER that will be with us at every race. Anyone who is participating can choose to record their information in the binder. I’ll be working on sheets for this in the next few days as time allows. In addition to the information listed above for your helmet, these sheets will also have other important information we may need in the event of an incident. Your emergency contact and their contact phone number, as well as a second contact. And any other pertinent information we may need should you be unconscious following an incident.
If you don't know your blood type, you can get that information for free by donating blood.
Putting your information in the binder is voluntary, but highly recommended.
Also, Tom mentioned the NJ guys have been sort of making a note of where the closest hospital is to the course they are running. This information, along with driving directions should be in the EMERGENCY BINDER for each course we run.
This type of information and simple preparation may be all it takes to save someone’s life following an incident during one of our events.
Hopefully this is something we will never have to deal with, but if we do, it will be good to be prepared and organized.
I know a few of you who were on loaner cars at the first race of the year had issues with the steering being too quick and the brakes not working so well in the wet. In order to help with the steering, I have purchased several larger diameter steering wheels. This should help correct the quick steering issue. If we need to do more, I have also been thinking about modifications to the pitman arm and tie rods to slow it down even more.
The brake issue is going to require a little more thought. Right now I’m thinking about mountain bike disc brakes on the rears. I’m confident we can mount a disc to the wheels we have been running and use the mountain bike calipers. This could be mounted while still retaining the scrub brakes on the car. That would give us 2 braking systems.
I can assure you, in the dry, the scrub brakes work very well. Some other folks are using a wood block to rub on the tire on their scrub brakes. This wears away over time, but tire life is supposed to be extended. It also helps to work a little better in the wet.
I have been thinking about a revision to the brake mounting pivot which will allow us to make changes to things like tire size and brake shoe thickness with a simple adjustment.
There are a lot of other things we can do to help increase safety. I’d like to hear from you guys what your ideas are.
