10 replies to this topic

[JHS18]

Just something I've thought of.

Today, in a support race for the Macau Grand Prix, we saw this big accident. Fortunately nobody was seriously injured.



Last weekend, 22 year old Guido Falaschi was killed in a multi-car crash.

When I was at the BTCC at Silverstone, I saw a horrific near-miss, where a car came flying around a blind corner (trying to catch the pack who were under SC conditions), and nearly took out two marshals who were happening to be clearing up debris left by an accident

From my point of view, all these situations could have been prevented if drivers had reacted differently to yellow flags.

Recently, in all forms of motorsport, we've seen a lot of this type of thing. Drivers not slowing down suitably for yellow flag conditions, or further accidents occuring as drivers have entered an accident scene, find a car in the middle of the road, and crash into it.

Surely it is time to take a different approach. Penalising the drivers doesn't seem to work. Even in F1, which has big flashing yellow boards as well as the traditional marshal posts AND lights flashing on their steering wheel to inform them of a yellow flag zone, drivers are still called to the stewards for not slowing down enough.

Perhaps then, something should be done to the cars. What about some sort of electronic restriction that reduces cars to a suitable speed when going past an accident if they're unable to slow down accordingly on their own? Maybe as soon as a yellow flag is waved, something in race control could happen to limit cars of their speed in a sensible way, at the same time.

I'm just thinking aloud here, what does anyone else think? Am I missing something totally obvious?

Edited by JHS18, 20 November 2011 - 08:49 PM.

[Caesar]

maybe something like pit lane speed limiter?

[Rainmaster]

It is one of the biggest remaining "obvious dangers". Some kind of technical solution might be worth thinking about, as drivers will naturally always try to maximise their opportunities, and that has always been the case (there is a good line about it in the 1966 film Grand Prix).

[JHS18]

Caesar, on 20 November 2011 - 06:54 PM, said:

maybe something like pit lane speed limiter?

Yes, exactly, or the thing when there's a SC, they have a rule meaning that drivers can't speed past the scene of an accident.

#46, on 20 November 2011 - 08:37 PM, said:

It is one of the biggest remaining "obvious dangers". Some kind of technical solution might be worth thinking about, as drivers will naturally always try to maximise their opportunities, and that has always been the case (there is a good line about it in the 1966 film Grand Prix).

Yeah, I'm all for drivers maximising their chances, and I'll defend racing drivers till I'm blue in the face, but there's been some really stupid driving recently in quite a few races, drivers taking unnecessary risks when there's a yellow flag. For what? We've seen the consequences such foolishness can have, with the death of a driver. Idiotic really.

[Caesar]

few more buttons wouldn't hurt, if F1 can impose DRS, KERS they can do something about this

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer]

Caesar, on 21 November 2011 - 11:32 AM, said:

few more buttons wouldn't hurt, if F1 can impose DRS, KERS they can do something about this

Wouldn't need buttons - could be two-way telemetry allowing race control to automatically switch-on a speed limiter (at a higher level than the pit lane to prevent accidents/issues caused by sudden, rapid drop in engine power).

Could be exploitable as a cheat by other teams though zap your opponents car as you are about to overtake

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer]

Grabthaw the Hammerslayer, on 21 November 2011 - 06:08 PM, said:

Could be exploitable as a cheat by other teams though zap your opponents car as you are about to overtake

Mind you....

That could bring another element of competition in - have a (car) nose-mounted laser and a target on the back of every car - if they get the laser to hit the target, the one in front slows down... hmmm Red Baron style racing

[Caesar]

Grabthaw the Hammerslayer, on 21 November 2011 - 06:08 PM, said:

Wouldn't need buttons - could be two-way telemetry allowing race control to automatically switch-on a speed limiter (at a higher level than the pit lane to prevent accidents/issues caused by sudden, rapid drop in engine power).

Could be exploitable as a cheat by other teams though zap your opponents car as you are about to overtake

i thought of that but it could be a problem when driver is in fast corner doing 125 mph with sudden lost of power and downforce

[Massa]

Require more talent.

[Massa]

I'd say suspend someone who doesn't slow down for yellows.

But you can't have that rule.  That rule sets you up for something terrible.  Someone doesn't slow down.  Hits other driver.  Other driver is seriously injured.  Driver who didn't slow down is going to feel bad enough that a sanctioning body would be seen as a bunch of jerks for penalizing that driver.

So that rule's a no-go because rules need to be enforced consistently but it'd be too messy to enforce it sometimes because you'd legally be placing blame on someone for accidents and that's...I'm not saying it's right or wrong or anything it's just not the kind of controversy I think anyone wants to get into.

Original suggestion stands.

Require more talent.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer]

Massa, on 22 November 2011 - 04:09 AM, said:

Require more talent.

You have a point, or in Darwinian terms: survival of the fittest....




Unless Montoya is driving in which case it is survival of the fattest...