Racing Safety United Announces Driver Safety Survey Results

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In: Racing News

The topic of racing safety has been coming up more and more often, primarily due to notable drivers who either retired because of concussions, were permanently damaged, or worse. However, regardless of efforts by sanctioning bodies, series and equipment manufacturers to advance safety in motorsports, there continues to be some reticence from the very constituents everyone is working to protect—the drivers.

 

At the close of 2018, there emerged a new volunteer organization under the moniker Racing Safety United (RSU), which had about 35 members hailing from very diverse areas in motorsports. As one of its first initiatives, RSU was determined to find out what drivers really think about the current state of racing safety, and where it could be improved.

 

The group developed an open-ended survey of 14 questions and promoted it through RSU members, on select motorsports media websites and social forums. Over a 12-month period, allowing for lulls during peak racing season, a total of 140 survey responses were collected. Then began the arduous process of interpreting each answer, tabulating the results and formulating overall conclusions.

 

Driver Profile Snapshot

 

Close to 2/3 of the drivers who responded were amateur level racers or track day participants, versus semi-pro or pro-level, and over half were on track one or more times per month. This represents a fairly close approximation of what the motorsports universe actually looks like.

 

High Accident Potential

 

When asked whether they’d ever sustained an injury while racing, the results were almost evenly split between drivers who had and those who hadn’t. However, the percentage of those that had experienced severe vehicle damage during races was twice that of those who hadn’t. The most telling answers described the primary causes of most injuries and/or vehicle damage while racing. By far, driver error was cited as the top cause, followed by concrete walls, mechanical failure, and other drivers.

 

Another key area of concern for RSU is concussions in motorsports. In fact, four RSU members are well-known victims of concussions or TBI—Jerry Nadeau, Randy LaJoie, Preston Calvert and John Mills. Survey participants were asked whether they had ever experienced a racing-related concussion, to which 1/4 claimed they had, but there were also many who weren’t sure whether they had. Not surprisingly, concrete walls were named the number one cause for concussions in racing. However, what was surprising was about half of driver respondents said that receiving a concussion, or multiple concussions, would affect their decision to continue racing.

 

Safety Influencers

 

If drivers in general are somewhat reluctant to adopt new safety measures, what or who might help change this mindset? According to the survey, drivers are primarily influenced by suggestions from other drivers, as well as recommendations by sanctioning bodies and series. They are also very much affected by drivers who’ve been injured during a race. These answers indicate a need for more driver education, driver safety advocates, and sanction/series safety mandates.

 

Dangerous Race Tracks

 

A staggering 73% of driver respondents believed certain race tracks or types of tracks were more dangerous than others, and 2/3 of them identified specific areas that were notoriously hazardous on those tracks.

 

Furthermore, nearly half stated that the type of barriers responsible for causing the most damage to drivers and their vehicles were concrete walls. The real kicker was that the majority of drivers felt barrier improvements were necessary at most U.S. racetracks.

 

Drivers Willing to Help

 

The most positive news to come out of the survey was that an overwhelming 76% of drivers were willing to get involved and advocate for safer race tracks. Best of all, if a motorsports safety fund were established to help tracks afford to make barrier improvements, 2/3 of driver respondents stated they would definitely contribute, or would consider contributing, whether to an organization, as part of registration fees, or through a sanctioning body program. This offers hope for the future of racing safety.

 

Though the survey represents only a small sampling of a much larger motorsports community, it does give serious food for thought. To view the full survey results report, go to the RSU microsite http://www.impactsafetybarriers.com/racing-safety-united-alliance.php

Adam Sinclair
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