Why you shouldnt skimp on roll-cages, dont read if squeamish

[Evilgoat]

I just spent 30 minutes sat in the back of a modified Golf GTI, in the outside lane of the M27  trying to stem the bleeding from the peice of shattered roll cage cross brace wedged into the driver's shoulder blade.

For some reson he veered into the crash barrier at about 65/70, distorted the home brew rollcage which snapped and penetrated about an inch into the shoulder blade, possibly about 2" from being paralysed from the neck down.

The good news is although it buried in the bone, he'll probobly be ok, if not very sore for a while.

So, when me, Wolfie, Eeyore, Muddyweb, Henrywebster or anyone one on here starts getting antsy about using cheap materials for roll cages and mods, just thing how it feels like having a lump of steel tube wedged into you while the fire brigade cut it out.
 
Have to give a statemnet at some point but I'd love to know what caused it as he took off at almost 90 degrees, oh and Serenity's brakes work :shock:

[Disco Matt]

I once read a column in one of the magazines written by someone who had scrutineered competition vehicles. His worst horror story was the person who turned up with a rollcage made from plastic tube and glued together with silicone sealant. What was even more astonishing was that the builder of said rollcage didn't see anything wrong with it!

[Evilgoat]

I dont know what this stuff was and I'm no expert but.

The gage was bolted to the Monocoque. As he struck the barrier this deformed spectacularly, in credit to the golf, and maybe even the cage, had the bar not split he'd have walked from it. The brace had for one of a better word, shattered and  swung on the bracket, he then came back against the broken end. It almost looked like iron pipe.

[Bush Tucker Man]

I once read a column in one of the magazines written by someone who had scrutineered competition vehicles. His worst horror story was the person who turned up with a rollcage made from plastic tube and glued together with silicone sealant. What was even more astonishing was that the builder of said rollcage didn't see anything wrong with it!

There's also a story of one of the AWDC scrutineers (Mario Alliperti??) testing cages he was suspicious by whacking them near a joint/mounting with a 14IB sledgehammer!

[Tommo]

grim stuff. mines been rolled twice and is still recognisable as a land rover so its good to test your cage!!!!



I was in a range rover that rolled at about 35mph with no cage and that was a very interesting experience.

[Disco Matt]

I once read a column in one of the magazines written by someone who had scrutineered competition vehicles. His worst horror story was the person who turned up with a rollcage made from plastic tube and glued together with silicone sealant. What was even more astonishing was that the builder of said rollcage didn't see anything wrong with it!

There's also a story of one of the AWDC scrutineers (Mario Alliperti??) testing cages he was suspicious by whacking them near a joint/mounting with a 14IB sledgehammer!

Well, if it doesn't pass that it wouldn't stand up to two tons of Landy falling on it!

[Bush Tucker Man]

I know Goat's posting is a different scenario, but the end result could have been the same??

[Disco Matt]

If not worse - a Golf is a fair bit lighter than most 4x4s

[Tommo]

I know Goat's posting is a different scenario, but the end result could have been the same??

ouch, and in his dads car too.

[hingmy]

If an Aliperti has reason to be suspicious you better pay very good attention to what either of them has to say. The slogan been there, done it, got the t-shirt was written for people like them.

[rollazuki]

Whats wrong with plastic tube?

That silicon glue is well strong........

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

Another world weary sigh passes my lips :(
Being a complete 'realist' (cynical being such an un-PC phrase), I have come to realise after many years of clearing up after other peoples mistakes, whatever is said or done, fatalities caused by bad driving, speed and all the other causes will never stop.
Why?
The human factor.
We all have the urge to go fast, to feel the adrenalin pump, the sweaty palms etc etc, and at the risk of being lambasted for tthe next comment, is that a bad thing? I'm sure we've all been there in our younger days, trying to squeeze a few more HP out of a tiny engine, and trying to get round a bend a little bit quicker.
We naturally take risks, every day. Unfortunately some pay the ultimate price.
Although I am now desk bound, I still get a quickening of the pulse when I  see an area car go past with lights and wailers on. What are they going to? Where? How would I deal with it?
Will I go back to it? Maybe.
But could I cope with the messy bits and having to tell parents that their kid is now stretched out on a slab because he/her was driving like a complete [ed: naughty] in a car that wasn't capable of what it was being asked to do, in conditions that weren't suitable?
Probably not. I have enough demons and black dogs to cope with at the moment.
Unfortunately, I am no longer able to stop a motorist and say "Sir/Madam, if there was an offence of driving like a complete incompetent half witted moron, you would be going to court", or show pictures of a Peugeot 205Gti that hit a tree at 100mph and broke in half, throwing the parts of the occupants into a field on the opposite side of the road, or take a speeding driver to a spot at the side of the road to show her a pile of flowers to make the spot where another speeder died a week before.
Why can't I do that? Because I was told I was insensitive and might cause someone to become upset.
Oh dear, my heart bleeds for them! :roll:

[thermidorthelobster]

This is why I find it sad that Top Gear spends so much time highlighting the adrenaline side of driving.  Yes, clearly they ARE catering for what the audience wants.  But, although I still watch it from time to time, that doesn't mean I'm entirely comfortable with it.

[Mareng]

I know that the trend of this thread is more reckless driving than drink driving, but both are equally abhorrant..

If your in need of something to get the message across as to why people are stupid to do either, then perhaps showing people this video will have the desired effect.

We were shown this one friday morning when the entire regiment was summoned to the gym for a drink driving briefing (for want of a better word) along with quite a few 'aftermath' phots, generally showing what happens to the human body when it is subjected to the extreme forces experienced during an RTC.

The weekend previous 2 of our lads had ben picked up for D&D and following this brief, there was a whole lot of soul searching going on, and since then, I haven't heard of anyone being in front of the boss for D&D, so its had an effect...

[smo]

Driving is a buzz, i drive 50K+ a year, and still love it.

However, my truck has a very expensive cage, its make from top material and braced and welded properly - hopefully to avoid the kind of accident that this thread was about should the worst happen.

[rollazuki]

For gods sake guys, things go wrong, people get hurt, some die, sometimes things dont go wrong and all is good. I like speed and power as many more of us do, Ive rolled my truck at a time I never expected it to roll, one of our club members rolled doing something innocuous with his family in the back.
To make everything safe is to stop doing everything, Its all a calculated risk.

Just sometimes the sums struggle to add up....

[Ja1983]

having known a bloke who lost the mother of his son - his ex wife, and her pregnant friend, who were stood at a bus stop on xmas eve a couple of years back, when a drunk in a nova lost control and struck them, i have very strict views on the subject. Im sure most of us at some point have done something naughty in a car, i myself had 9 points for driving on the "exciting" side of the speed limit... but really, looking at the articles you have to ask - is it worth it..

no-one intends to use a roll cage, and if one is fitted, you have to consider do you want to trust a tried and tested specifficlly made item, or do you want to save a few quid, and hope you got it right?

personally i have had a lot of experience with structures, welding, and steelwork, but i wouldnt consider a home made job if i was taking part in the type of events that needed one...

just this afternoon i ended up in a ditch, not from speed, but from mis-interpreting road conditions... i had to pull over to remove the front grill cover, pulled over to one side, and immediatley found the bottom of the ditch! wet snow on the road, and soggy ground at the side left me in an awkward position, and its times like this you always think "why did i do that?"

take care everyone.

[Ja1983]

more bad driving... yep, its the chavs again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl1Ef-b4TKI