Originally Posted by JstAbvVMC:
I'm not going to address the safety issue. I think it's a no brainer, but I will address what might be an overlooked issue your group may want to consider....
As the former Technical Inspector for a racing association ( I will not name them because I don't speak for them) there was some serious discussion about "Mandating" certian safety items beyond what was refered to as "Standard Practice" safety equipment. IE...Snell approved Hemlet, Firesuit, Full 5 point belts ETC...
Items like a Hans device and full containment seats were ONLY listed as "Strongly Encouraged" safety items.
The thought was that if they mandated non standard items it could potentionally leave the organization open to legal issues if those items were to fail and cause injury or death.
Again, just a thought, after all we are a lawsuit happy nation.....
I agree with this post because of the litigation posibilities, when you "force" someone to use something they are opposed to, and that really hasn't been proven to be "safer" than what is currently being used, you open up the door for a lot of trouble, same goes for "testing" someone for drugs, of which we could justify in court, but somewhere along the line, it went soft, so now if you even hint at a drug test, at a race track, even tho it is in the interests of safety, of the person, and the people around, you better just bend over, and kiss your "cheeks" goodby, a local track, on a local budget, can't afford the headaches, and another promoter and race track will be a shopping center. Too much of this stuff comes from what Nascar does, and if real racing paid as well as it does, who would not go along with whatever is mandated, or the penalties they impose. Too many do-gooders have about ruined racing as far as I'm concerned, the "peeps" that don't own a car or drive one, just "pine knots" with big mouths and even bigger ideas about things they never experience. Bob!