ASSE Urges NASCAR to Improve Driver Safety

Aug. 23, 2001
The American Society of Safety Engineers is urging NASCAR to take the lead in formulating and implementing solutions to improve racing safety.

Despite what NASCAR officials unveiled this week on their investigation into the death of racing legend Dale Earnhardt, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), is urging NASCAR to take the lead now in formulating and implementing solutions to improve racing safety.

"How many more deaths must occur on the racetrack before they take positive safety steps," said Carmen Daecher, ASSE''s transportation practice specialty administrator. "NASCAR is just keeping their head in the sand."

Following last year''s deaths of drivers Kenny Irwin, Tony Roper and Adam Petty in racing accidents, ASSE sent a letter to NASCAR President Mike Helton Jan. 8, 2001 urging NASCAR to take steps to improve safety before the Daytona 500 race kicked off the 2001 NASCAR racing season.

Dale Earnhardt crashed and lost his life at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18.

In the letter, ASSE officials applauded NASCAR''s pioneering inventions in the area of safety resulting in many life-saving products and systems now utilized by the general public such as the fire safe/retardant protection suit; the self-contained gas tanks; the vehicle roll cages; and, their research into aerodynamic vehicle body changes aimed at slowing speed.

However, ASSE suggested that NASCAR move forward with increasing safety by putting up soft, energy-absorbing walls on race tracks, increasing the use of the HANS (head and neck support) system and utilizing "black box" crash recorders to garner data, and much more.

"NASCAR must take responsibility for the safety of the drivers," Daecher continued. "We applaud the fact that they did announce that they are moving forward with putting in the ''black box'' crash recorder in cars as we had recommended back in January of 2001, however they must move forward with mandating the use of head restraint systems."

"Anything that can be done to dissipate that crash energy from the occupant should be used. Using the black box recorder is a step in the right direction, but it doesn''t help all that much when you''re hitting a wall at 120 mph."

ASSE noted that the investment NASCAR makes in putting up the protective walls and implementing other such safety features will quadruple in worth over time as fatalities and injuries are reduced.

"It doesn''t cost NASCAR a penny to implement most of these life-saving initiatives," Daecher added.

by Virginia Foran

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EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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