[Wichita-SCCA] Auto-x finish gone wrong

[Greg Laws]

Absolutely true.  And that's why the Riverfest event should never have been 
staged -- not because accidents can happen anywhere but because at that 
event any accident in any portion of the course had a good chance of hitting 
spectators.

In the case of the current event under discussion the possibility for 
accident existed throughout the course just as you say.  However at this 
event the only area where an accident might involve people was at the 
shutdown where the design required driving straight into the paddock.  The 
whole incident would have been avoided if the shutdown had instead been 
directed down track and then made a u-turn to come back to the exit gate.  A 
confused driver or a car with no brakes would then have had plenty of time 
to get things under control without endangering cars or people.

Greg Laws


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sam & Greg" <samandgreg at netins.net>
To: "Wichita Region SCCA." <wichita-scca at wichitascca.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 10:31 AM
Subject: Re: [Wichita-SCCA] Auto-x finish gone wrong


> Greg:
>
> Don't forget.  The driver error or vehicle failure you talk about can
> happen anywhere, not just at the finish.
>
> Greg S.
>
> At 10:04 AM 4/24/2007, you wrote:
>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "James Harrison" <jimh_mic at msn.com>
>>To: <wichita-scca at wichitascca.org>
>>Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 11:28 PM
>>Subject: Re: [Wichita-SCCA] Auto-x finish gone wrong
>>
>>
>> > HAve you all looked at these vidoes?
>> > http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3197431&page=4
>> > If I'm looking correctly the finish is before the last turn? I don't
>> > understand how this happened.
>> >
>>
>>Thanks Jim.  Seeing the four videos of the event helped sort it out in my
>>mind.  None of the videos included the actual accident but each of the 
>>four
>>shows a different portion of the course and one can piece the course 
>>design
>>together.
>>
>>First off, this is a crappy surface and wet to boot but that didn't effect
>>the cause of the accident.  The finish lights seemed to be well back from
>>the end of the coned course just as they should have been.  Shortly after
>>the finish lights, the course turned left in a smooth radius due to space
>>limitations so I imagine that the drivers would tend to continue around 
>>the
>>corner at speed (roughly mid-2nd gear) and then slow down within the
>>following straight.  This straight section was pointed at the exit gate 
>>and
>>the distance was fairly short but we in the Wichita Region have had 
>>numerous
>>events with shutdown as short or shorter, speeds as high or higher.  At 
>>the
>>exit gate there was a tee intersection with an access road going to the 
>>left
>>and right.  The paddock cars were parked along far side of the access 
>>road.
>>It was clearly quite easy to slow down to a stop at the exit gate, and 
>>then
>>turn right or left onto the access road as desired.  After seeing the 
>>video
>>several times I can't honestly say that it would have set off any alarm
>>bells in my mind if I had been there.  It wasn't the best but one makes do
>>with what one has and stopping before the exit gate would have been well
>>within the capability of any competent driver in any mechanically solid 
>>car
>>regardless of speed on course.
>>
>>Where the design of the shutdown got into trouble was that it didn't allow
>>for the "what if" question.  What if the driver is not competent and 
>>fumbles
>>the clutch/brake pedal?  What if we have a car that experiences sudden 
>>brake
>>failure?  Where is he going to end up if that happens?  The answer with 
>>this
>>shutdown design is that a car would have nowhere to go but through the 
>>exit
>>gate and straight across the access road into the cars and any people who
>>might be around at the moment if either of those things happened ... and 
>>one
>>of them did.
>>
>>The accident, as I understand it, happened when the driver reached for the
>>brake and got the clutch pedal in an unfamiliar car.  The car failed to 
>>stop
>>and he went sailing through the exit gate to slam into the parked cars 
>>lined
>>up along the access road, directly across from the access gate.  The only
>>good thing is that the paddock cars probably protected the stadium 
>>bleachers
>>from damage because that's where he would have ended up if they hadn't 
>>been
>>there.
>>
>>I want to be perfectly clear on the point that I now believe that this
>>accident was caused by a combination of factors.  The major factor was 
>>that
>>the driver fumbled the pedals and then panicked.  The lesser but still
>>contribituting factor was that the design of the shutdown did not allow 
>>for
>>this or a similar problem to occur while still keeping within a zone of
>>safety.
>>
>>One Monday morning quarterback idea would have changed the course design
>>after the finish to include the original left turn but then quickly add a
>>right turn to shoot the cars down track, followed by a U-turn back and 
>>only
>>then to the exit gate.  I suspect that this or something similar is what 
>>the
>>event officials switched to after the collision.  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT 
>>THEY
>>CONTINUED THE EVENT AFTER THAT SMASH UP?  Unbelievable.  I would have shut
>>it down and also would have gotten out cameras and video cameras to 
>>document
>>everything.  Then witness statements and so on.  This one will end up in 
>>the
>>courts, guaranteed.
>>
>>Of course I can say this now but the truth is that I myself failed to shut
>>down an event where I was chairman that, in looking back on it now, still
>>sends shivers down my spine.  I even got the "Event of the Year" trophy 
>>for
>>that event which was the Riverfest solo of 1986.  We were on Main Street 
>>in
>>downtown Wichita.  The street looked wide enough but turned out to be 
>>slick
>>and treacherous with oil and road use.  There were two close calls.  One 
>>was
>>where a sports racer lost fluid in his hydraulic clutch and couldn't
>>disengage his clutch.  This became a problem because the cars were 
>>required
>>to stop before proceeding into the alley that went to the bank's parking
>>garage.  The driver had to overpower the engine with his brakes and the
>>sports racer came to a shuddering stop so violent that the front portion 
>>of
>>his hood (hinged at the front) flew open.  The scary part was that the
>>corner worker stood directly in front of this car with his hand up during
>>the entire incident even when the car ended up only three feet from his
>>ankles!  That incident got my nerves on edge but no one was hurt and the
>>event went on.
>>
>>Where it really got hairy was when a girl in a ... Camaro? Mustang?
>>something of that nature ... lost control in mid-track and looped the car.
>>She ended up parked straight into the curb with the front bumper hanging
>>over the curb and the front wheels almost but not quite touching the curb.
>>No harm, no foul you say?  True, but this was a Riverfest event and there
>>were spectators lining the curbs on both sides of the street for four
>>blocks.  We had flag lines to keep them back but that was the only
>>protection there was.  The Greg Laws of thirty years ago just wasn't
>>experienced enough to realize that the situation was a time bomb and never
>>should have been staged in the first place.  The event continued.  All 
>>that
>>I can say now is that I lucked out and that the folks in this collision
>>situation didn't.
>>
>>Enjoy,
>>Greg Laws
>
>
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