Other driver charged in Mark's death.

[SSS]

Originally posted by SilverCobra

It is really sad that Mark lost his life over street racing. One thing that was really curious to me was that the driver with roll bar died of neck injuries and the passenger (no roll bar) had minor injuries. I would have expected injuries/death to be the other way around. I guess that there is no way to make predictions on injury/mortality when a car is rolling over and over at high speed.

I am waiting for a turnkey roadster to be built for me. I have put a lot of thought into rollbars and seatbelts and high-back seats. You will probably be surprised by the choices I have made. I suppose this qualifies me to be a "f'n waxer", but I want a strictly street car. I have no desire at all to track a car. I've never participated in a formal street race, but I have had impromptu short bouts similar to what Mr. Doherty was involved in. I was fortunate enough to not injure myself or anyone else, and I also didn't have anywhere near the horsepower a Cobra has.

That was a long time ago, and I know I won't do anything like that again. In case you think a Cobra would change my mind, I've recently owned two C5s, and I always ignored the punks who wanted to race with me. Still, my roadster will have a similar power to weight ratio that my C5s had, with no traction control and a shorter wheelbase, and I know I don't have to be too stupid to lose control of it. So, the question is, how do I protect myself?

As Mr. Doherty has unfortunately proved, a rollbar and 5-point harness does not guarantee your protection at high speed in a Cobra. In a rollover it's most certainly better to have them, but even with a helmet there's no guarantee. I don't think many of us use a helmet on the street. A Cobra is an inherently unsafe car, but it seems the most safe arrangement you could have is double or full-width roll bars, high-back seats, and 5-point restraints.

You might be surprised to hear that I have only chosen one of the three. My primary motivation is looks, and a Cobra with double roll bars and high-back seats looks like a phone booth to me. I have chosen to have no roll bar, and regular low-back seats. You might think I'm crazy, but I think having no roll bar will be a constant reminder to me to be careful. I think most people put too much faith in their roll bar and believe they are indestructible when they have it.

I am more concerned about neck and facial injuries than rollovers, since I will not race the car, and my primary worry is soccer moms in Suburbans. Also, it seems to me it's quite possible to strike your head on the rollbar in a collision. I will have 5-point restraints for the simple utility of keeping mine and my passenger's body firmly in the seat, so a frontal collision would not send us into the windshield. Other than making sure I keep the car shiny-side-up, my other concern is whiplash injury since I will not have neck protection.

I'm sorry if anyone finds this post inappropriate, but I have given this a lot of thought before considering actual examples of what can happen to us. Usually we don't want to think about these things, but the truth is we should never forget.