Tell us "door slammers" what you're looking for on a demonstration bail out.
Hi Chris, sorry for the delay... you've asked a good question that I want to answer. Obviously we want to make sure that you can get out of the vehicle "quickly" in an emergency but you obviously need to have pulled your chute(s), shut off the fuel, clicked off the ignition, and come to a stop before you exit the vehicle. We want to see you go through the motions of doing all those things.
Here are some examples of things to think about:
A lot of folks put their switches on their dash and then plop in the car and when asked to reach them they stick their arm out and say "look... see, I can reach them fine". Then we suit them up and put their limb restraints on and ask them to reach for the ignition switch. They stick their arm out and then bam, the limb restraints holds them back and they can barely touch the switch with tip of their gloved finger and the typical response is "oh, well I've never checked it with the limb restraints on before".
A lot of folks mount their chute release from the top of their roll cage and over somewhere to the side. And of course they can sit in the car, turn their head, see the release and reach over and pull it but you can't do that when you're fully suited up, belted in with a H&NR on. I've done the "you're getting warmer.... warmer... oh you're hot.... oops too far now you're cold" game and they're in there waving their hand around trying to find the chute release they can no longer see. Oh and a lot of time the release is just far enough away that they can't get to it with the limb restraints on.
Same thing with fire extinguisher actuators... don't put them where you can't see them or easily find them. Know where these safety items are.
Don't complain that your left arm limb restraint is being adjusted too short and not being able to undo the door net... you undo your belts before you take the net down. Also, when the tech inspector says "ok, you're on fire... bail out!" the first thing you shouldn't do is take your gloves off.... I see that a lot actually.
We want to make sure that you're relatively cool, calm, and collected and know what to do if something goes wrong. You should also practice exactly as you would as if you were in the car getting ready to make a run - have everything on. At the May El Mirage I did a bail out on a new car and I'm sure the driver had practiced many times but for whatever reason once he was in the car with full race gear on he couldn't get out. Sometimes its as simple as what shoes you wear. Your rubber soled street shoes probaby grip fine on the clean floor when you practice at home but put your fire suit booties on and throw some wet salt in the car and all of a sudden you're slipping and sliding and can't get out.
Oh and of course, we're looking to see that your belts are mounted correctly and that we can adjust them. The single most common belt problem is leaving the straps too long and running the buckle into the stitching as you tighten them down. Once you hit the stitching you can't go any tighter and if the belts aren't tight enough you'll have to adjust them. I've held people up from starting on their run because the belts wouldn't tighten up completely.
Last but not least, it isn't a race to see how quickly you can get out. Take your time... slow and steady wins the race. Be methodical. Don't thrash and then panic when you get hung up because you're trying to rip yourself out of the car. Pull the belts off slowly. Make sure everything is fully released. Get the door net down and out of the way. Take your time - be methodical - don't thrash.
