In recent weeks, we have seen a number of fatal accidents in various forms of motor sport. Given the high safety standards employed in the sport these days, fortunately, such situations are few and far between.
Indeed, where fatalities were common in the early years of the sport, they are most uncommon in the modern era. This is why the motor racing community is in such shock, to have two high profile deaths in quick succession.
High profile or not, every death is felt deeply.
With the recent NASCAR incident involving Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday fresh in our minds, I have personally been contemplating just what could have happened in that incident.
A similar style of impact that was endured by Hornaday claimed the life of Dale Earnhardt Sr in 2001:
The structure of cars, and other ancillary safety systems has improved dramatically, even in the ten years since – and we thought the cars were super safe back then.
What we learn from these accidents helps the authorities take action to make sure they don’t happen again. Systems such as the HANS device were introduced to most major forms of racing as a direct result of accidents like Earnhardt’s.
As for what Kyle Busch did, without a HANS device, what might have happened to Hornaday, given the similarities to Earnhardt’s crash? One accident and what we learn from it can prevent injury or death from the next similar accident.
However, it’s not just the obvious things that can take a driver from us, such as the heart attack that claimed 1967 Formula One champion Denny Hulme at the 1992 Bathurst 1000:
Denny was one of my heroes, and it was heartbreaking to watch his life end, live on television in front of my eyes. He had reported on the radio that he didn’t feel well, and was suffering from blurred vision. A silent time bomb nobody knew about.
For this reason, the health and fitness of drivers is a critical safety factor that is taken into consideration.
The lesson is there for all of us – whether we be racing drivers or not – take care, look after yourself, and look after others on the roads.
The simplest things can take away more than we realise.