SAFETY

Safety intro

Safety intro | Worst accident | Most bizarre accident

The BFPCR takes safety very seriously. This includes the cars, drivers clothing (most notably a Snell / ANSI certified cycle helmet) and behaviour of anyone at any event.

Pedalcar racing's worst accident was caused by two members of a team crossing the track to "chat up some girls" without checking the track was clear. The track was not clear and in the ensuing crash, the driver's correctly fitted cycle helmet was the only factor which prevented the accident inflicting very serious or possibly fatal head injuries.

In the above incident, the undisciplined behaviour of two race goers caused a terrifying accident that would have been far worse had it not been for the driver's helmet. The car involved was structurally sound enough to withstand the crash, continue in the race, and finish third some hours later. Not only that, but the car was still racing competitively for the same team, five years on - and the driver still is.

The physics of pedal car safety are quite simple really. A pedal car can weigh up to 25kg (around 55 pounds) and an average driver maybe 75kg (12 stone). In total then, you have 100kg travelling at up to 13.5 metres per second (25 mph). The vehicle therefore has over 9100 Joules of Kinetic energy. While this may mean diddly squat to anyone without a physics background, this is enough energy to lift the same 75kg person 12.4 metres vertically - forty feet up. How you get back to the ground is up (or rather, down) to you.

While a collision would never actually do this, for various reasons, it is worth bearing in mind. Imagine how much pain would be involved in a forty-foot free-fall to concrete (given that a twenty-foot fall can be fatal) and remember that a pedal car travelling at high speed has to transfer the same amount of energy in order to stop.

The structural integrity of race cars (or lack of it) also contributes to some accidents, such as at TRL in 1998 when part of the steering assembly failed on one of the leading cars. Four cars went into a turn, and four came out, but the last car in the line was missing a vital part - the driver. He had been unceremoniously dumped on the tarmac when the handlebar he was leaning on broke. Fortunately no serious injuries were sustained and the incident will be remembered only for being funny.

Most accidents, however, are down to driver error, which is the only explanation we can think of for pedalcar racing's most bizarre accident, which happily ended in nothing worse than some rather wet cycling shorts (and a submerged pedalcar, before you get the wrong idea).

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