New procedures regarding vehicles going out the back door at El Mirage

[John Noonan]

Willie,  I believe its a mile.  I'm open to correction on that.  Whatever the distance is Leggit can get stopped form over 300 so barring a catastrophic failure there is no reason (other than stupidity) for going out the back door.  Think about it.  Out the back door get involved in a crash with someone.  Big lawsuit.  End of El Mirage.  The penalties aren't harsh enough.

Jim and Willie,

It is about .7 - .8 of a mile from what I remember, I think it is closer to .7


John

[836dstr]

The idea of a catch net seems viable. The side benefit might be knowing it's there and not wanting the embarassment of untangling your car after going throught it.

Could there be safety issues in "netting" a car at speed? Certainly these would be offset by increased safety of the public riding North & South past the backdoor.

Where would the net have to be placed to assure no one going out the back?

Has the SCTA talked to BLM about extending the shutdown area. The cars are getting faster. Again maybe it's partially an educational issue.

Tom

[ol38y]

I'm thinking there might well be a saftey issue in "netting"  a bike!  Or clothslining the rider...

How many bikes have gone out the back door?

Should 4 wheel brakes for cars and 2 wheel brakes for bikes be required over a certain speed? They may be, but I didn't find it.

Larry

[fastesthonda_jim]

Larry,

As to a safety issue with netting a car or clotheslining a rider, I guess I would have to say, "Too bad!"  Virtually every run you are prototyping, and every run risks the entire sport.  You know that going in and you go in anyway.

And as to where to put the net, perhaps about 100 yards short of the back door would do, because as I recall, the chutes are pretty big.  Kind of like an auxilliary chute when you sky dive.  The first one opens sorta gentle.  The safety chute opens "wham!", bruises the daylights out of you, but saves your life.

And as to four wheel brakes.... dunno.  Most brakes are pretty useless above 200 or so, but I suppose we could make a rule about spending money on carbon fiber or spikes driven down into the dirt, or something.

Keep the shiny side up.

Jim

[Nortonist 592]

With each run there is always the possibility of a catastrophic failure that means you can't stop.  We all try to minimize such a happening.  There is a simple solution to this.  If you go out the back door and unless you can prove it to be something beyond your control, you're gone for the season.  Drastic?  Yes.  But it would also ensure that there would be a lot of re-checks done to make sure everything is a-ok.

[fastesthonda_jim]

Dunno, Norton,

Kind of like you don't have to wear a helmet or seat belts until after your first crash.  Unless of course the crash was caused by a moronic specator crossing the course while you were 200+mph.  Then it wouldn't be your fault.  In which case you might be "banned" permanently (to the cemetary).

I mean the sand dragsters run what, something like 100 yards?  And they run with something like a 102 yard "leash" that yanks the ignition as they go through the lights.  Maybe something like that so at least "seeing" the finish line wouldn't be necessary.

'nuf random thots for now.

Jim

[landracing]

There is a catch net for Bonneville, (I know we are talking about el Mirage), and it is there, when it's put up, for a vehicle to run thru the catch net and stop the vehicle in case of parachute problems or brake problems... It was designed to be driven into at SPEED, if you have nothing else, it seems like a good option to me.

There have been several cases where the catch net could have proved beneficial at Bonneville.

Tom Burkland is a good resource on information about it, maybe he will post and give some more information.
 
It could be procedure, that if you go out the back door you BETTER be in the net.
It would have to be an additional duty for el mirage to have it up every meet.

Jon

[dwarner]

Some who have run out the back door comment that they did not 'see' the finish. The two story tower plus ballons are there, I have seen it each time I have driven. How about a laser beam that runs with the timing beam that would put out an EMF signal that toasts the igintion system ensuring that the engine shuts off at the finish line.

DW

[kip305]

I think DW is on the right right track, however, his solution might be a little extreme.  It might be saved for the drivers third trip out the back door.  My suggestion to set of a buzzer or bells off at the finish line.  You could use a light, maybe flashing, triggered at 50 to 100 yards past the finish line.

Kip305

[Stan Back]

The first time I ran at Elmer, in the morning orientation, I noted the large balloons at the timing lights.  By the time we ran after noon (with a lousy starting position), I was looking for the balloons.  The car was all over the place, and I saw the cones coming up and decided I'd had enough and shut it down just before the cones (but maybe not the timing lights(?)).  I wasn't sure.  But it was the lights.  The balloons were probably in Cajon Pass by then.

I think a permanent reminder, no Space Age tether or such, might not be a bad idea.  Like a blinking light.  That you could count on being there.

I've been on patrol and seen a Roadster blaze by me to the left side backwards into the general public area.  And another Roadster driver, though new, not a first-timer, see the big balloons at the back door and accelerate (!) out through them.

Perhaps an unchanging marker, like the lights mentioned above, would be feasible and doable.

Stan Back

[desotoman]

Here is a picture of my car going through the lights at El Mirage. I don't know how much more visible you can make it.

Tom G.

[John Romero]

I think a permanent reminder, no Space Age tether or such, might not be a bad idea.  Like a blinking light.  That you could count on being there.

There was discussion about something like this in an earlier meeting and a sample was brought to the last meeting. Unfortunately it was too large and heavy and could have been quite unsafe if it got run down at speed. So I think that they were looking at some of the high intensity, really small LED's that are super lightweight but insanely bright.

This is an ongoing thing by the SCTA and multiple people are involved in trying to get a workable solution to make both the 132 foot trap and the back door more easily identifiable.

Most of those that voiced an opinion said that the shutdown distance was not the problem. The real problem was in getting people to respect the fact that the back door was an emergency option only. Freddie's 300+ MPH run without going out the back door was brought up repeatedly as a response to the insufficient run-out distance question.

[Nortonist 592]

I have to agree with Desotoman.  How hard is it to see the finish line boards? 
By weslake at 2008-02-04

[Stan Back]

My point was that there was something a lot more visible and identifiable in the morning that was gone in the afternoon.  And the Roadster that accelerated out the back door could have been looking for the balloons at the finish line that were then missing.

Norton -- we know it's hard to balance on two wheels, but you usually don't have a lot of horsepower issues that are getting your attention.

It's apparent that some don't know where the finish line is  -- because this has caused some of the problems.  I was only suggesting that perhaps something could be added to lessen this problem without a great deal of cost. 

[John Romero]

I believe that if a car takes out the lights that when the lights were restored then sometimes the balloons were not.

Maybe we need to have a bunch of balloons at the finish line rather than just one on each side as well.