The Crazy part of this is that He managed to pull the Handbrake and downshift and he still made the corner.

 

Glad to hear everyone is OK. I too swapped lines after reading about Cale. Got a lot of other local track junkies to do the same. I will likely put brake lines on the maintenance list every 4-5 years.

This year I bit the bullet and spent all my allowance on safety (roll bar, seat, harness, HANS) because I am becoming increasingly aware the accidents happen. If and when they do I want to be as safe as I can be.

-Mike

 

Rob,

I am a customer support engineer for a USAF Military Jet Engine supplier and also support the very same aircraft mishap investigations that you have worked on. Thank you for bringing a professional, thorough analysis to undertand root cause for such a tragic accident, and helping to build awareness and improve safety (and maybe save some lives) amongst the s2000 community. I admit that I get choked up writing a message like this and my heart goes out to you and anyone else personally impacted by Cale's death. I know time can be a great tool for healing but these kinds of things affect us our entire lives and I know exactly what it is like to be connected to an event of this magnitude.

I do have some questions. Do we know the estimated velocity of the chassis as it impacted the concrete barrier and tire wall? With absolute respect, and total understanding of not wishing to disclose information, was the cause of death related to a neck fracture, or head trauma? I ask ONLY because I am trying to understand what other safety measures (if any) could have been taken, from a safety equipment perspective, that could have saved Cale's life. I am planning on building a car for heavy track use, and want to make sure I can do everything possible to keep myself, and my passengers safe in case of a catastrophic failure like this one occuring on my car.

Thank you again for your outstanding effort in helping to make the sport we love safer.

Nick

 

It's to the point where I don't feel comfortable in anything but a 6 point with HANS. I ordered a new halo seat for the S2000 when I sold the last one with the Civic.

 

I believe it was s2ki member Patinum who had a brake line failure on his 08 CR with around 20k miles on the clock.

 

Cale's terminal injury was brain stem trauma similar to Dale Earnhardt. I don't think a HANS would have helped due to the high velocity side impact of a non-cushioned concrete wall--no tires protected that wall. Cale's right rear bumper brushed the last row of tires but didn't affect the car's velocity. Summit Point considered it to be too far away from the track to be a threat. They were dead wrong. The wall is now completely covered by tires.

This picture is from a video capture about 10 minutes before the crash. The impact point is where "Wall" is pointing:



Maybe a combo of a HANS and halo seat may have saved him but he hit so hard the car came about 2 feet off the ground when it bounced off the wall. He was doing around 125mph at the end of the straight and I think my estimate was that the car hit the wall around 70mph.

Here's the accident analysis: http://robrobinette....dent_report.htm

 

it was a pretty close call. it didnt really scare me too bad bc instinct just kicked right in. But afters words it was scarey to think about what could have happened and i had a good friend with me ridding in the car. i am gonna upgrade my brake lines now after this incident and i have heard about Cales accident in the past. I wish i had my video camera on for this session but i decided not to bc i had my friend in the vehicle.

 

Thanks for reply Rob. I have read your report thoroughly. I am glad that some corrective action was taken at Summit point to help prevent against further tragedies.

 

If we have to hit what's the best way them frontal or sideways

 

frontal