To cage or not to cage? That is the question.

[oc_civic]

In reply to that SEMA car.. that thing will never see the track, ever.. so I woudn't consult a JDM styled show whore car as the epitome of what is safe on racing circuits :rolleyes:

X2

bars that are within contact of occupants should be padded...

also not even sure if thats an approved harness..

it is a nice looking car NO question.. but i dont think its all that safe..

 

[DaGFTDOne]

The point I see here is you better have a cage, seats and a harness to be safe but keep in mind that you really cant change fate.... If you are destined to die in an accident or get seriously injured in one its gonna happen whether you have the greatest roll cage in the world or not....

 

[Beelzebubba]

The point I see here is you better have a cage, seats and a harness to be safe but keep in mind that you really cant change fate.... If you are destined to die in an accident or get seriously injured in one its gonna happen whether you have the greatest roll cage in the world or not....

AHHH! Predestination!
So much for free-will.

 

[ryan89crx]

The point I see here is you better have a cage, seats and a harness to be safe but keep in mind that you really cant change fate.... If you are destined to die in an accident or get seriously injured in one its gonna happen whether you have the greatest roll cage in the world or not....

who the hell believes in "fate" anyways??

i in no way think that the way i die is already planned out by a higher power. s**t, i dont know if i even believe in god, let alone predestination...

 

[burntrice16]

Okay ladies and gentlemen (using that term loosely) we got way off track. Lets get some stuff straight if possible. I said not to cage the car due to the inherent danger of secondary impact. Caged, with a proper seat and harness, is actually quite safe. But in daily driving situations would you really want to trust that your harness was in good shape or perfectly secured( this is what killed Earnhardt) or properly installed? my issue was with a CAGE. I agree with OC. He has a rollbar or half cage. He also has no use for his back seat obviously. His rollbar also has 2 lateral supports. They will keep his seat from sliding up under the roll bar. His harnesses are properly installed and supported. His arse is planted. This I feel is a safe setup. I however have a beautiful daughter who has to ride in my backseat so I wont get a half cage or roll bar setup. I cant think of any way to do it that would keep her safe. Why? Because she is back there with it, putting her in the cage. BTW most ppl that have died in their cars did not use the stuff right. Harnnesses bolted to the floor pan instead of using a harness bar, a cage without proper seats, I could go on forever. Anyway, If I had a rex I would probably put in a roll bar with lateral supports and triangulate the inner hatch area. I would also put in the appropriate seats and harnesses. It would also only be a car for occasionally stomping on fools on the weekend. I could not do a harness every day. By the way I saw a horrid accident the other day. A Saturn had the cv joint go out at 70 going through a curve on the highway. The car left the road, caught air, flipped tail over nose and landed on the roof. It bounced and flipped sideways landing on its tires pointed the opposite way it had come from and slid to a stop. The passenger side was crushed to the point where only a small child would hav survived. Somehow the car landed jost right for the driver and she was still able to open her door. She didnt have a scratch on her. How often will that happen?

 

[DaGFTDOne]

who the hell believes in "fate" anyways??

i in no way think that the way i die is already planned out by a higher power. s**t, i dont know if i even believe in god, let alone predestination...

Believe what you want, I really dont give a f**k... if its gonna happen its gonna happen.....

 

[oc_civic]

( this is what killed Earnhardt)

i could be wrong but i THINK he actually died from a neck injury that was not related to the cage at all..

 

[ImportFan1]

I think you are right too A. cuz wasnt it the next year they made it mandatory for the Neck harness?

 

[NOFX]

i could be wrong but i THINK he actually died from a neck injury that was not related to the cage at all..

I went on Wikipedia and tried to figure it out. You would think it would be more cut and dry...

Various views were expressed by NASCAR and others about the cause or causes of Dale Earnhardt's death, causing controversy but also leading to subsequent improvements in safety. Factors in the controversy included:

* NASCAR's initial claim of seat belt failure (which led to speculation as to whether this might have been caused by deliberate incorrect fitting to aid driver comfort);
* Whether Dale Earnhardt's continued use of an open-faced helmet was a factor.
* Controversy over access to the autopsy records.
* The different findings of an independent report, which said that whether the seat belt failed or not was irrelevant, as death had been caused by neck injuries which could have been prevented by a HANS device.
* NASCAR's own report, which did not concur with the independent report, but rather lay blame across a range of causes.

Main article: Dale Earnhardt: Autopsy photographs controversy

In the midst of the general controversy, legal, political and public opinion were all engaged in ways that changed Florida's laws as to how and under what circumstances public record medical examiner files, including autopsy photographs, would be released to members of the public.

This article will give you more info though... (The above is from the main Dale Earnhardt article.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Earnhardt:_Controversy_over_the_cause(s)_of_his_death

I think you are right too A. cuz wasnt it the next year they made it mandatory for the Neck harness?

In this article I also found the reasoning for the mandated head and neck restraints.

Two months later, after Earnhardt's son Kerry was involved in a fatal crash in an ARCA race where he and Blaise Alexander collided late in an ARCA race, and Alexander was killed because of a basal skull fracture, NASCAR quickly mandated head and neck restraints.

 

[ImportFan1]

thanks for the info Amy. i thought it was sooner after the accident than that. I think his accident played a part tho.

 

[97-ferio]

my reply is kinda late on this topic...but, i say, if the car is only gonna be used for daily street driving and never see a track for any reason (i.e. autoX, drag, timeattack) then don't do the cage. it looks cool and all, but a cage isn't really a necessity when you just drive around town everyday. plus it makes you an even bigger target for the po-pos. but if you were planning on doing the cage anyway, then make sure it's padded...especially for daily driver use. and make sure that is installed correctly too. laterz

 

[wtfh4xx]

Unless you want to always wear a helmet, don't do it. period. When you get in a wreck, you are going to be tossed around at whatever speed you were travelling. As far as padding goes, all I have to say is imagine being hit in the head with a padded aluminum bat going 50+ mph. If you are worried about rolling your car, lower its center of gravity. take some racing classes. don't drive like an ass. A very good friend of mine lost her life due to head trauma. it was only 25 mph when her head hit the pavement. I know pavement is harder than a roll bar but a roll bar will do more damage as it hits a smaller spot with the same force.

Hey man, Im sorry about your friend.