Racing is dangerous.

[IceWhite]

Sorry to read this about your dad. I really hope he recovers fully from this, soon.

[craz azn]

Sorry to read about this news. Hope he recovers well and quickly! And thumbs up to your stand on the safety items. We need more people like that all over! I see the wildest stuff sometimes locally, and it boggles my mind how that passes tech.

[kronus]

I'm sorry to hear about this. Glad it's sounding non-surgical. Hope he recovers quickly!

[ELVA164]

Thanks, guys. Couple rough days yesterday and today because they're moving him around for tests and things, but the good news is his vertebra didn't completely break so there's no need for surgery.

[flyboyx]

Ah man...... really sorry to hear this mike. Hope he recovers quickly and gets back in the seat.

[Jon325i]

I'm really sorry to hear about your dad's accident and the injuries he suffered, but it certainly sounds like the attention you guys paid towards safety paid off a lot. A real wake up call for racers and fans alike. Vintage racing looks like a lot of fun but the safety has to be taken very seriously since some of those older cars can fold up severely from an impact.

I wish your dad a quick and thorough recovery and hopefully this 'event' doesn't have him thinking about finding a new hobby.

Cheers.

Jon

[ELVA164]

Glad your dad's alright, at least relatively. I saw your thread about a week ago about the car he had just finished restoring. Sounds like it wasn't that one, thankfully. As much as I love vintage cars, the one thing about them that makes me nervous is the lack of safety. Never know when some soccer mom is gonna run a light and ruin your day, and if that does happen, I would much rather be in something new than something old. I would certainly agree that safety is paramount.

I don't see it happen in NJ since it's illegal, but in PA it's legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, and yes, some do ride without helmets. Blows my mind.

Unfortunately, it is that car. This was the test weekend for it.

People ride like that in CT, too, and I hate it.

[e30rapidic]

Hope your dad recovers quickly. I've wrecked a few race cars and thankfully walked away from them all.

You are right, there are no reasons for short cuts to be taken in safety.

[rturbo 930]

Glad your dad's alright, at least relatively. I saw your thread about a week ago about the car he had just finished restoring. Sounds like it wasn't that one, thankfully. As much as I love vintage cars, the one thing about them that makes me nervous is the lack of safety. Never know when some soccer mom is gonna run a light and ruin your day, and if that does happen, I would much rather be in something new than something old. I would certainly agree that safety is paramount.

(or even driving around on the road--people still drive without seatbelts!!).

I don't see it happen in NJ since it's illegal, but in PA it's legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, and yes, some do ride without helmets. Blows my mind.

[ELVA164]

Wow. That's not good news. That torn up shoulder & ribs thing can be not fun. Is the L2 a compression fracture?

Tell him all us forum guys are pulling for him.

Just learned the vertebra is a crack, not a full break. No surgery required now.

[MrBurgundy]

Thanks for sharing. I hope he has a full and speedy recovery. Bad crashes are a part of racing, so I hope people who read this and race take this to heart.




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[LateFan]

Wow. That's not good news. That torn up shoulder & ribs thing can be not fun. Is the L2 a compression fracture?

Tell him all us forum guys are pulling for him.

[ELVA164]

My father had a pretty serious accident yesterday.

I don't know all the details, but his formula junior went off the track just before the uphill at Lime Rock, went sideways, caught the grass, and rolled about three times.

Dad's pretty banged up, with a broken right scapula, three broken ribs, a broken L2 vertebra, and a bruised/slightly punctured right lung. His head and neck are completely fine.

The car is completely destroyed, pretty horrific to see actually.

I guess what I'm learning from the accident and its results is just how imperative proper safety precautions are, and how ridiculous it is for people to ignore them. I've always felt this way, but this accident was as clear a picture as possible to paint. The steel floor and roll bar we installed in the car are the only things that did not bend, and that probably played a bit part in saving Dad's life. His harness held him in place, his arm restraints saved his arms from serious damage, and his HANS saved him from a broken neck.

Two years ago at Lime Rock, a Pre-War driver was killed in a similar accident because he did not take the proper safety precautions. I'm going to be applying to become a tech inspector soon and I can guarantee you there will be no leeway when it comes to items like these. It's idiotic that it even has to be said, but this is all the evidence anyone should need.

The crappy thing for me was I heard someone rolled, then found out it was Dad, then saw the car before I saw or heard anything about Dad. Not a good time.

I'm not totally sure why I'm posting this, except maybe for cathartic reasons and to drive the point home that you should never skimp on safety if you're hitting the track (or even driving around on the road--people still drive without seatbelts!!).

-Mike