A message to the rest

[Al Fernandez]

Ok, so I had this long drawn out post yesterday before the crash of my mistake on track Sunday, and it got wiped...so now i have to do it again...

For those that werent there, we had three drivers get called out during Sunday's qual session for on track infractions. While there was some contributing factors around the flag situation, the bottom line is we as drivers are responsible for doing what the flag man says, each and every time we get to that flagged area. We the drivers are the only ones at fault.

Of the three, mine was by far the worst offense: passing under a waving yellow and a white/red cross. Inexcusable. As a result I got my time DQd, my race result DQd, and I'm on probation, and I killed my team's chances for the year...and I am damn lucky that is all I got!! It could have gotten much much worse.

Please let that serve as a warning. It takes a conscious effort to check each flag station, each time.

I also believe this is just another example of why we need to institutionalize (mandate even!) a safety broadcast. We owe it to ourselves to give ourselves every advantage possible in our race with safety; the right seat, fire retardant clothing, head and neck restraints...someone in your ear telling you and reminding you is nothing less.

[Todd Covini]

Thanks for being a great sport about it, Al. Kudos to Glenn as well, for removing himself from the infraction discussion with the officials as it involved his team-mate. (I would like to hear his eye-witness perspective from the tower though, as I was with Proctor at the scene of the crash.)

This really does go to show the integrity of the series and the directors we have. Al was very clear at the onset to "treat me like any other competitor...no special considerations because I'm a series director." (I had to do the same thing last year when spinning on the warm-up lap and passing the entire field under yellow to "get back in line". ops: )

We all make mistakes, but it's our duty to try and learn from them and make efforts to prevent re-occurences. As such, I agree that a mandatory information broadcast in all cars would have prevented this situation. Glenn (or other designee) in the tower could have seen the two of you racing toward the safety crews and called out on the radio.

Grand Am went to the Delphi yellow lights on the dashes of cars for the 24 Hours. Most professional series have a requirement for a crew chief to monitor the race director's info broadcast and have the ability to relay info to the drivers. We need to keep pace with safety improvement trends guys, and I think the minimal investment of the Argent Lab radios at ~$150 is achievable.

I propose to the series directors that we make the information broadcast mandatory for Texas AI/CMC with the same effective date as the HANS requirement this summer. This will show a step-change in our racing culture here in Texas. We'll discuss this in the coming weeks and let you know the results. If you have strong feelings one way or the other, please contact your friendly series directors.

-=- Todd Covini

[Fbody383]

We the drivers are the only ones at fault.

This really does go to show the integrity of the series and the directors we have. Al was very clear at the onset to "treat me like any other competitor...no special considerations because I'm a series director." (I had to do the same thing last year when spinning on the warm-up lap and passing the entire field under yellow to "get back in line". )

Yes it does.

This is exactly the kind of thing that separates you (us) from many other organizations. This is the character of people I want to associate with.

[AI#97]

I propose to the series directors that we make the information broadcast mandatory for Texas AI/CMC with the same effective date as the HANS requirement this summer. This will show a step-change in our racing culture here in Texas. We'll discuss this in the coming weeks and let you know the results. If you have strong feelings one way or the other, please contact your friendly series directors.

-=- Todd Covini

I support it as I already have the radio...however, I need to work with Robert to get a better earbud. I can't hear anything on the standard setup unless I put mufflers back on the car and even then it might be a stretch.

[ShadowBolt]

I propose to the series directors that we make the information broadcast mandatory for Texas AI/CMC with the same effective date as the HANS requirement this summer. This will show a step-change in our racing culture here in Texas. We'll discuss this in the coming weeks and let you know the results. If you have strong feelings one way or the other, please contact your friendly series directors.

-=- Todd Covini

I support it as I already have the radio...however, I need to work with Robert to get a better earbud. I can't hear anything on the standard setup unless I put mufflers back on the car and even then it might be a stretch.

You have something wrong then Matt. We just purchased the basic radio Robert sells and Jay had trouble understanding me on the radio in R3 because we had the volume too high. In qual earlier that morning we had it turned down and Jay heard every word. I'm sure Robert can fix it in a jiffy!

I saw Al pass Jay and I felt helpless standing there with no way to tell him.
I was able to make sure Jay knew the yellow was out and there was a car in the wall. He knew it already but it was nice to be able to tell him incase he had missed it.
JJ

[oz98cobra]

While I definitely support safety broadcasts as an added layer of safety over flags, there is a very real danger that a safety broadcast could create a potentially worse situation than none at all, as some drivers may have a tendency to unknowingly rely on the radio as the primary alert method instead of the flags - in other words, it may cause some drivers to be LESS aware of safety flags?

The problem with this is of course that radios can and do fail, especially in the environment that we are usuing them in.

It's not hard to imagine a situation where we have all been racing happily with a safety broadcast for a year or two, then the system fails during a major incident and something bad happens because multiple cars did not notice the flags.

At Apex at MSRC, we use flags as our primary communications system, with a radio broadcast backup - but it is always a struggle to train drivers, even the experienced ones, to be aware of flags when they get used to relying on the radio. In that school situation, we can and do induce situations to train them to be more aware - we will throw a full course yellow or red flag without a radio call just for training purposes - but we obviously can not do this at NASA events for racing classes.

Flags will continue to be the primary communication method between officials and drivers in NASA racing for some time to come, so the challenge to overcome is how to ensure drivers using a safety broadcast system maintain a high awareness for flags, especially rookies who learn to race from the get go with a safety broadcast?

My suggestion would be that it only be used for major incidents - that is when a safety vehicle is on track, full course yellows, and red flags - local yellows, meatballs, etc. should not be called on the radio.

[Todd Covini]

Agreed. Two communication methods are better than one.
Flags will always be the primary means of communications.
...and it's an INFORMATION broadcast and not a SAFETY broadcast.

[Wirtz]

I'd just like to understand if and how the saftey radio can be intergrated to a normal crew to car radio system. I already have an investiment in a crew radio system.

Jeff

[AI#97]

You have something wrong then Matt. We just purchased the basic radio Robert sells and Jay had trouble understanding me on the radio in R3 because we had the volume too high. In qual earlier that morning we had it turned down and Jay heard every word. I'm sure Robert can fix it in a jiffy!

It works fine when the car isn't running! It's just REALLY loud in the car. Can't imagine how bad it would be if I removed the sound deadening material from the floor boards! :shock:

[jeffburch]

Most radios can be programmed to scan the info freq.

jb