Pacemakers Dragway Park

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Drivers Emergency Plan
Race Car Drivers Need an Emergency Plan
Parts of this article are taken from an article written by track operator and drag racer Royce Miller, Maryland International Dragway.
Imagine you are approaching the finish line at a high rate of speed when all of a sudden your motor expires and you have 2 gallons of oil under your tires, and on top of that, a piece of connecting rod cuts a brake line. You push on the brake pedal and there is no stopping this freight train. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Do good drivers act solely from instinct or by the seat of their pants? Do others simply panic because they don't know what to do? After a serious accident there is always the talk about "shoulda, woulda, coulda," and then everyone has an opinion on what happened. But no one really knows how he or she will act in a crisis until they are faced with it.
Drivers need an emergency plan! Regardless of how fast your car or motorcycle is, you need to run through your head the best options to stop your vehicle in all different emergency situations. It is easier to quickly think back on what to do in a situation if you have thought it out previously.
If you have never seen the end of the track you are about to run on it is imperative before you make a time run, go to the end of the track and look at the surrounding area and study the best plan if you are in an emergency situation. Yes throttles do stick, brakes do fail, and parachutes do not always deploy, and then what is the best thing to do? Thinking about different situations ahead of time will make emergency decisions easier.
If you have a parachute on your car, you should pull it on the first time run of the day to make sure everything is in good working order. You would be very surprised how many parachutes never get out of the pack. They are damp and wrinkled and may not blossom correctly if not properly maintained. Don't hesitate to use your parachute; it is an important piece of safety equipment.
In case of a stuck throttle, always kill the ignition first, then pull your parachute and brake carefully. These are a few points to get you thinking about what to do in your race car in the event of an emergency situation.