These are the kind of videos that always make me wonder if it's worth taking the risk with autocrossing. Aren't autocross events supposed to be safe? Although somehow it always seems like there's a Mustang involved in each one of these dumb crashes...

http://www.onehotlap.com/2012/09/adv...echniques.html

 

Most of the MINI's I know in AutoX are with BMW Clubs, thus well supervised. So stick with those. In this particular case the first domino to fall here was the location.

The very idea of holding one in the middle of "Sherwood Forrest" was idiotic.

 

Any time you attempt to turn in a Mustang, something is bound to go horribly wrong.

 

SCCA Solo (autocross) rules normally require course layout to be set at least 25' from any solid object, but stupid driving can sometimes trump that safety margin. There are a bunch of other safety rules as well, but some drivers seem to have an impressive capacity to dodge all fail-safes to hurt something. Wild drivers can be kicked out of the event.

From my experience, the bigger risk is to corner workers. This season a Miata driver lost control of the car and headed straight for our worker station at least 50' away. I leaped to the side at the last moment, while my co-worker leaped high into the air (so as not to be run over) and landed on the rear fender. He got a trip to the hospital, but was released after a close inspection.

 

Our local AutoX is on an old runway/WW2 training facility with loads of pavement and nothing else.

 

Of course autocross is not safe.

Although I have never seen a confirmed death from a SCCA sanctioned autocross, 4,280 pedestrians in the U.S. died as a result of motor vehicle crashes in 2010.

 

I autocrossed an ESP class 83 Camaro for 2 seasons (early 90s) and never saw anything worse than a spun bearing. (and a coupla cones ......... ) As long as you dont turn into a complete tool the second you get behind the wheel, its prob the safest type of motorsports in existence.

 

Been AutoXing for years and I'd say it's perfectly safe.

 

There was a solo fatality video posted years ago. A Corvette driver lost control and went into a group of spectators or corner workers. A more recent video showed a car crashing hard into several cars in the paddock area, and I think that was after the finish line. I've seen several cars flip over, but only one injury from those.

Many cars are much more powerful than the cars that ran when I started autocrossing (1970), so a safety margin significantly greater than 25' should be advised. I've seen cars impact something (ditches mostly) over 60' from the course.

Clubman is correct about autocross being *relatively* safe for the driver, as long as one avoids being like the guy in the video linked above. When someone starts driving like that, they should be red-flagged and sent packing. My SCCA region has done that several times. We can laugh at a harmless spin, but tempting fate with that kind of driving places the welfare of bystanders at risk. Besides, filling out all the forms when things go terribly wrong is a PITA.

If autocrossing were perfectly safe, we wouldn't be required to sign those liability waivers.

 

I feel like that video was posted with a hint of sarcasm...

 

Last I looked SCCA insures every participant who signs the required waiver for one million dollars secondary medical insurance. Secondary means it pays secondary to any other medical insurance the participant has.

I've been autocrossing since 1996 in the San Francisco region and we've hit two course workers that I know about. One suffered a concussion and the other a broken hand. We've had a number of cars damaged hitting a concrete barrier, a fence, a curb, and one struck by an oncoming car. I have a seen a car lose a wheel that was stopped by a very brave young man directly in front of the cars parked in grid. A loose wheel reportedly did considerable damage one year at nationals.

One of SCCA's drivers of emminence reportedly was the unlucky chap who broke his arm when his car rolled with the driver side window open. I have seen cars and driven one that popped up on two wheels when the suspension hit the bump stops. I have attended more than 250 events and could go on for some time.

 

That video does not seem to be of a sanctioned solo event. There is no starting box or timing light at the car's starting position. There don't seem to be any corner workers or spectators anywhere around.

 

I'm not sure where that video came from, but that seemed more like a group of people that scrounged up some cones, and decided it would be fun to do this "autocross" thing that they saw a bunch of videos of on YouTube, and read about on Jalopnik than an event held by an actual club. For one thing, I didn't see any workers or timing equipment.

Weather or not the SCCA safety guidelines need updating (they certainly wouldn't be the only part of the rules that could use it), that course was far too close to the trees. I've been autocrossing for 10 years (pretty much exclusively at an old airbase) and I've never seen a car suffer more damage than a ripped out fender liner, or a piece of trim or a light getting knocked out by a cone. I've never seen a course worker get hit, either. I have seen plenty of cars break down, and a few need to be pushed out of the mud on wet days after spins off the runway. In my experience, autocrossing is at least as safe as (and probably safer than) driving on the highway. Especially in this sate.

If you want to see what an autocross should be like, come out to the Boston BMWCCA event on October 14. Because of some silly IRS rules, you have to be a member to participate, but we do let visitors ride along if they want.

 

We run our autocrosses on the training track of a police academy, and for the most part they are safe. No trees, and water-filled plastic barriers in front of bad things. They'll make a dent, but you'll walk away. And it IS rare to hit anything other than a cone if the track is laid out. The course laid out in the video was idiotic.

I do recall running away from a Corvette once--I was at the sign-in/waivers desk and the 'Vette was WAY off course, courtesy of mismanaged power at the very end. Fortunately, a stack of tires stopped him.

 

I just went my first autocross event this weekend (CART).. I felt safe during the entire event.. As I beginner, the instructor went with me the first lap around and after that I had the option to take one with me every time! The instructor always made sure to find me in line to see if I wanted him to come out onto the course with me.. When he was with me, he was giving me helpful tips the whole time and pushed me to go faster, be more competitive (not beyond my comfort) and with his tips I got my time down 20 seconds from first to last lap. Autocross, for me, was a good, safe way to experience competitive driving and it was fun to push the car and myself.. I feel like I know my car a little better!

One thing to point out.. I BURNED through oil during autocross. Not sure why.

 

You'd be hard pressed to find yourself in a dangerous situation in a mini. The front wheel drive coupled with relatively low power levels means you'd really have to try to hit something. The SCCA rules are 75ft away from anything you're headed straight towards. The course can run closer if you're running along-side something. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean someone couldn't still screw it all up.

In the time I've been auto-xing I've only seen a few crashes. One was a corvette that went through a chain link fence. The guy went through a lane change... put his foot to the floor... and didn't knwo what to do when the back end stepped out on him. He tried to save it and ended up going off the lot into the grass and through a fence. The other one was a girl in a Scion. She took off from start and closed her eyes and put her foot to the floor. No joke. She made it around the first sweeper and then understeered into an "island" on the side of the lot. Tore up the front right of the car pretty bad.

I have heard of a lot of other issues. One of the other clubs that runs at a venue we use ends up running through one of the lower lots that none of the other clubs use. You have to make it through some islands that are pretty close to each other. Even though they slow people way down for the turn about once a year they end up with a car on the island. Cars can also flip over but it's typically older stock suspension cars on big race tires and violent transitions that does it.

Typically the only damage is some trim pieces coming off or losing those dumb little bumper clips. I'd say auto-x is awfully safe.

 

I have been autocrossing for almost 30 years, I have seen 2 cars Flip over, 1 car spin into a dumpster and a few go over curbs. Never seen anyone taken away in an ambulance. Most clubs run very safe events, but it only takes one person speeding in the staging area or not slowing down when they exit the course to cause a accident. Back in the day it was hard for any club just to get a location to run the event in, and having 25 cars was a big showing. Now days you can be at events with 140 cars, and it can get busy. Pay attention at the drivers meeting and ask questions, take an instructor on your first run, and you will be fine. Enjoy it, as it can become a addiction quick

 

Hope that guy in the video was okay. However that guy is is an idiot and the people running the event in that location are even dumber.

 

Good time to remind everyone who participates to check their auto policy. I would venture a guess and say that nobody has a policy that would cover them if they every have an accident while participating in an autox event, every policy I've ever seen excluded accidents while on a track of any kind... whether it's your fault or not.

So, if it's worth the risk, however small or large it may be for your particular event... enjoy !

 

The bigger concern is personal injury while working the course. The SCCA provides $1 million in secondary medical insurance for any current or temporary member at a sanctioned event who has a valid driver's license, signs the waiver, and has a credential for the event.