Driver coaching and the risks of the passenger seat

[CSG Mike]

I thought this would be most appropriate in this subforum...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/features...ight-side-seat

I've been in more wrecks than I care to count, including a 130+ one less than a month ago. I was lucky enough to walk away with nothing more than a ripped shirt and some sore muscles. Sean Edwards wasn't so lucky.

Originally Posted by Road&track

Driver coaching and the risks of the passenger seat
Instructors put their lives in danger to help you be a better, faster driver.

By Jack Baruth October 16, 2013 / Photos by Getty Images

Around four years ago, I was at the end of an uneventful weekend of trackday driving and instructing. My intermediate student had one session left and a strong desire to get the most out of his mildly tuned C5 Corvette Z06. Everything was going fine until, as the speedometer hovered slightly below the “130” mark, he said in sort of a disbelieving voice,

“My brakes don’t seem to work any more.”

The five or six seconds between that statement and the ensuing tire-wall impact will stick in my memory for a long time. We got lucky: we had a long, albeit bumpy, run-off area and my student was able to follow directions on safe car control all the way to the head-on hit. We walked away with nothing more than sore backs and a story to tell.

Sean Edwards didn’t have that same sort of luck. Or perhaps he’d used it up in all those brilliant drives, all those victories. Maybe there’s really no such thing as luck behind the wheel. When his student’s GT3 Cup car hit the tire wall at Queensland Raceway, it caught fire and there was no way to escape the inferno. Mr. Edwards gained fame as a driver, but he died as an instructor. A coach. A teacher.

Every weekend, hundreds of volunteer and professional driving coaches strap in next to a students on a road course. In some cases, the student is an established racer looking to shave a critical half-second. Those sessions are usually part of an established, ongoing, and trusted relationship between instructor and student. Other times, however, it’s maybe a volunteer with just a few years experience himself sitting next to someone he’s just met—an unknown driver in an unknown and often troublesome vehicle.

Most of my time spent coaching drivers from the passenger seat has been productive and entertaining, but there have been enough bad times to make me occasionally question why I haven’t quit the gig. I’ve seen things I wouldn’t believe if someone else swore to having seen them, like drivers taking their hands off the steering wheel and covering their eyes when things go wrong. I’ve ended sessions in which first-time participants couldn’t find the brake pedal under stress and therefore kept running off the ends of straights.

As word of Edwards’ crash spread across the Internet, I saw several well-respected drivers and coaches say they were reconsidering their participation in on-track instruction. I don't doubt their sincerity, but I believe that most or all of them will keep working with students, despite the risks. For many of us, it’s more than a way to earn a buck or snag some free track time. It’s a commitment—a calling, perhaps.

The next time—or the first time—you show up for a trackday and some guy or girl you’ve never met drops into the freshly Lexoled passenger seat of your car, take a moment to get to know that person.

He’s taking a risk.

He’s betting on you to do the right thing. To listen, to be responsible and responsive. To trust his instruction over your street-honed instincts. To be a safe and considerate student.

He’s willing to put his life in danger to help you be a better, faster driver.

If you think about it for a moment, that isn’t something most people would do for a total stranger. Your instructor, however, is. Which means he’s probably a pretty decent guy, all things considered.

Sean Edwards will be missed for many reasons, not the least of which was that he was willing to get in the passenger seat to help someone become better. Even though he knew the risks, as all of us do.

A pretty decent guy, indeed.

[Diode Dynamics]

Wow, that is a brutal way to go. Sorry to see that

Makes you think twice about getting in a car without knowing a driver

Nick C.

[canu_50]

I heard about it this weekend..

He was a great racer and sucks that he had to go this way!!

The only thing that i think is disrespectfull, is that nobody talk about the driver, the young kid, that also lost his life in the process. Everybody talks about Edwards.

For sure he was reckon and people knew him, but still they were 2 in the car.

[DarkSunrise]

What a harrowing story, especially hearing about the fire and how it took 3 hrs to cut them out of the wreckage.

Very sobering reminder of the risks of driving at the track and the need to act responsibly, not just for yourself but for those who ride with you (and others on the track around you).

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by canu_50

I heard about it this weekend..

He was a great racer and sucks that he had to go this way!!

The only thing that i think is disrespectfull, is that nobody talk about the driver, the young kid, that also lost his life in the process. Everybody talks about Edwards.

For sure he was reckon and people knew him, but still they were 2 in the car.

I don't think anyone has forgotten about the driver, instead it's just an article about the risks instructors take. It clearly defines why I will never instruct in a car again also, and haven't for years. I haven't since the days where 200hp was an economy car

[canu_50]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

I don't think anyone has forgotten about the driver, instead it's just an article about the risks instructors take. It clearly defines why I will never instruct in a car again also, and haven't for years. I haven't since the days where 200hp was an economy car

I know about this article!! I wasn't clear, but every article i see nobody mention the kid name(calling him the kid because i have no clue how old he is)!!

Still a tragic accident!!

[engsr]

Only one article I've read has identified the driver, and from the sounds of it, he wasn't inexperienced at all. Also, the driver isn't dead and he is expected to fully recover from his injuries.

This incident and article has made me appreciate all the instructors/coaches I've had over the years, as well as all the other instructors/coaches out there that have helped anyone else become a better driver. Thank you.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

It clearly defines why I will never instruct in a car again also, and haven't for years. I haven't since the days where 200hp was an economy car

Does that mean you won't coach me if I make it out there?

I'm fairly selective about the cars I get into. Generally I only hop into cars with full race safety systems or completely intact OEM systems.

I remember clearly thinking "oh f@%&" as I was heading toward a wall at ~130-135 in the last incident... but the car had untouched OEM systems, and I walked out just fine. I was surprised I had the presence of mind to go limp, rather than stiffen up for the impact.

[canu_50]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Does that mean you won't coach me if I make it out there?

I'm fairly selective about the cars I get into. Generally I only hop into cars with full race safety systems or completely intact OEM systems.

I remember clearly thinking "oh f@%&" as I was heading toward a wall at ~130-135 in the last incident... but the car had untouched OEM systems, and I walked out just fine. I was surprised I had the presence of mind to go limp, rather than stiffen up for the impact.

This.. I had the same thing happen to me when i start rolling over at 75 in the passanger seat. brought my arm towards my torso and relaxed.. It feels a bit akward but when everything stops and dust settle, your happy to have the right intuition.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Does that mean you won't coach me if I make it out there?

I'm fairly selective about the cars I get into. Generally I only hop into cars with full race safety systems or completely intact OEM systems.

I remember clearly thinking "oh f@%&" as I was heading toward a wall at ~130-135 in the last incident... but the car had untouched OEM systems, and I walked out just fine. I was surprised I had the presence of mind to go limp, rather than stiffen up for the impact.

Just curious, what car was it? Did you crash head on?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ayau

Just curious, what car was it? Did you crash head on?

I'm not at liberty to say at this time... just that all the safety systems worked as intended. It's a high end car though; you wouldn't be seeing those types of speeds it the car wasn't fast.

[Captain Snooze]

Things that come to mind.

I am not suggesting this incident is not tragic.

There is no such thing as zero risk. One can reduce risk but can not eliminate it.

Only bad things make the news. You will never read/see "there were no accidents today".

We, as a species, have trouble telling the difference between real risk (the probability of something happening) and perceived risk.

I used to hang glide. I was at a competition one year where a guy spudded in. In a life threatening way, totally f**ked him up. No one in the competition pulled out. We all knew the risks (which are smaller than the general population thinks) and probably said to our selves he was just unlucky, that wouldn't happen to me.

I am being just a little flippant (but serious at the same time) when I say no one gets out alive.

(I recommend this book for more about risk. "Risk:The Science and Politics of Fear" by Dan Gardner)

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Does that mean you won't coach me if I make it out there?

I'm fairly selective about the cars I get into. Generally I only hop into cars with full race safety systems or completely intact OEM systems.

I remember clearly thinking "oh f@%&" as I was heading toward a wall at ~130-135 in the last incident... but the car had untouched OEM systems, and I walked out just fine. I was surprised I had the presence of mind to go limp, rather than stiffen up for the impact.

The idea of me coaching you makes me laugh, but anyways....

A lot of the groups around here aren't all that restrictive on safety. For ITR Expo, we require 100% OEM (or OEM equiv - OEM belts, OEM or OEM style seats (OEMs from other cars, etc), no rollover protection) or 100% the other way - roll bar/cage, fixed back buckets and harnesses. Equal for driver and passenger required. However, locally groups don't seem to care and I've seen plenty of unsafe (IMO) setups.

[Deep Six]

It happens in the motorcycle world as well. Instructor and student collided at Daytona during lead / follow and both were killed. Happened Thursday.