Safety First - Why all the new rules!!??

Every year, we regularly field questions and comments regarding many of the new safety requirements that racers have to go through. Here is a portion of an article that printed in the latest PCA Club Racing magazine that really sums up why organizations do what they have to do:

Safety First: An Obligation to You and PCA Club Racing
by Donna Amico, Technical and Rules Chairman

There were two very significant changes to the safety rules for PCA Club Racing in 2008, and both have generated considerable discussion and questions. One is the requirement for a roll cage in all cars, and the second is the requirement for a head and neck restraint certified to either SFI 38.1 or FIA 8858 standards. The main questions are:

1. Why are we requiring a roll cage, instead of leaving it up to the personal choice of the racer?
2. Why are we restricting acceptable equipment only to devices that meet a certain standard?

The first question is a very old one. It has been applied to seat belt use, motorcycle helmets on highways, and probably by the racers that were first told that they had to wear helmets. "I’m willing to accept the risk! I shouldn’t have to do this! I'll even sign a waiver that I understand the risks and I accept them and I won’t sue if something happens." Actually, you probably can’t waive all the rights of your heirs, or the people who have to take care of you if you are disabled. When we establish a major safety rule, it has to apply to everyone and we must enforce it to the best of our ability.

But why establish the rule in the first place? I think we have an obligation to all of us, and the rest of the racing community, to join together and insure that racing risks are prudently managed. We want to preserve our sport so we and those who follow us can continue to enjoy amateur racing. Serious injuries threaten the ability of PCA to maintain a race program, and threaten the racing facilities that we need to have a place to play. A roll cage simply isn’t a luxury in a race car any more. It is a standard requirement of every similar amateur sanctioning body that races modern cars.

What about head and neck restraints? Head and neck restraints are probably the single biggest recent advance in race driver safety that is associated with the driver or the car. There are now a variety of devices that have been designed to prevent head and neck injuries. Why mandate that a device must meet a specific standard rather than allow the racer to choose from among all the available devices?

When PCA relies upon SFI or FIA standards, we are following best practices for automobile racing. Racing sanctioning bodies in the U.S. and elsewhere rely upon the SFI Foundation to establish and administer standards for racing equipment. Although the FIA establishes its own standards, it is also a Member Sanctioning Body of SFI. SFI Foundation employs professionals who are experts in various aspects of racing safety, and solicits participation from industry, scientists, and sanctioning bodies when establishing or revising standards.

A standard or specification is a set of requirements for a device to be suitable for the intended purpose. It considers effectiveness, reliability, human factors (how humans interact with the device), and interoperability with other systems. It considers whether tests are valid predictors of actual performance before including that test in a standard. No single test or single aspect of performance can substitute for a standard. It is a complex undertaking that is beyond the resources available to most sanctioning bodes. That’s why sanctioning bodies and manufacturers support the SFI Foundation, so it can amass the expertise necessary to establish validated standards and evaluate devices.

There is a common misconception that we have mandated the HANS device through our reference to SFI 38.1. We have not. At present, there are 7 devices from 4 different manufacturers that are certified to 38.1. The most current list is posted at http://www.sfifoundation.com/manuf.html. There are choices available to you.

Stewardship of a racing program brings with it significant obligations to current and future racers. Our safety rules are designed to protect you, and to preserve our program for those who come after us.