36 replies to this topic

[nickhead]

another one would be to look at upgrading the brakes! having the ability to stop on a five pence can help you avoid a fair few crashes.

seats with headrests rather than low back seats are much bett

[Beej123]

As said, maintenance is the key, I know some people say you dont need a torque wrench but if you follow the Haynes to the letter then it is an essential investment!
Regular checks of all major parts and a good condition body will help a lot, door bars offer a bit more strength and always make sure you have a good set of tyres on! Anything close to the legal limit should be changed straight away for good quality brand new tyres.
Upgrading the brakes and suspension will increase handling and reduce stopping distances.

Change all of the cars bulbs for high performance ones to be seen better and add a high level brake light.

Adapt your driving style to the conditions and don't drive competitively. Keep an eye out for harder to spot problems, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Keep your seatbelts well maintained and even fitting the standard buckets with normal seatbelts can help a little to hold you in place.

Don't keep loose luggage in the cab, if possible always put it in the boot and always make sure any passengers wear their seatbelt, they can be a danger to you aswel as themselves.


Think I covered most things there? Anyone got anything to add?
This is my list assuming you don't go down the roll cage route.

[Cooperman]

In my personal opinion, and I do stress that it's my personal opinion, a well-designed, properly made and correctly installed cage together with decent seats and 4-point full-harness belts are definately safer. That, surely, is stating the obvious. They are intended fror motorsport where high-impact crashes can be expected and you won't be allowed to start any real event without an FIA spec cage.
Yes, you could hit your head against a cage in a road accident when crash helmets are not being worn, but the same applies to road sections on rallies when helmets are not worn. By the same token, in a crash you could hit your head on the top screen rail, the screen, the door frame - in fact any hard bit of body. One might assume that a roll cage would be padded anyway.
Whether a cage is a good idea in a road car is another matter. I would not and have not fitted one to any road Mini, despite having had a few large rally crashes over the years in a variety of cars all with cages and not suffering injury in any, so if anyone ought to be pro-cage it's me.
Again a personal opinion, but the look of a load of steel tubes running around the inside of the car, including the door bars, make the inside seem cluttered up, make the rear seats unuseable as bolted down high-back seats, 4-point belts and the diagonal tube will obviously be a part of this 'total safety package' and make getting in and out difficult. They also give others the perception that the driver is a bit of a 'boy/girl racer' and increase the insurance premium.
It's just a choice in the end.

Edited by Cooperman, 07 February 2011 - 01:10 PM.

[jonny f]

Everyone seems to be making some really good points in this thread and then arguing against each other with the same points. A never ending circle!

Also something to possibly bare in mind is what is actually likely to occur in a crash between a race car and a road car.

How often is a race car going to hit solid object like a tree at resonable speed? Probably not very often, it is more likely to roll a few times accross a gravel track so the roll cage would help in keeping the car in shape as it bounces on its roof.

Whereas a road car is much more likely to hit a unmoveable object in a crash requiring more crumple zones etc.

Correct me if im wrong!!






Wondering if anyone can help me on this to. I have a fibreglass minus, anybody got any ideas in regards to a roll cage. My first thoughts were, its a definate must! After reading this thread im not so sure.....?

[Cooperman]

[quote name='jonny f' post='2045823' date='Feb 7 2011, 01:38 PM']Everyone seems to be making some really good points in this thread and then arguing against each other with the same points. A never ending circle!

Also something to possibly bare in mind is what is actually likely to occur in a crash between a race car and a road car.

How often is a race car going to hit solid object like a tree at resonable speed? Probably not very often, it is more likely to roll a few times accross a gravel track so the roll cage would help in keeping the car in shape as it bounces on its roof.

Whereas a road car is much more likely to hit a unmoveable object in a crash requiring more crumple zones etc.

Correct me if im wrong!!

Race cars tend to have accidents which go on for a long time (in relative terms). Race tracks have run-off areas.
But rallies are a different matter entirely. The worst accident I had was in a Ford on a Scottish rally when we went 'over the edge', down 60 ft, 4-times end-over-end and side-over-side and stopped when we hit the trees! Both unharmed as we were in a caged car with proper seats & belts. The damage definately didn't 'polish out'. I've also been in a Mini on an event in N. Italy when, on a tight road section, we had a head-on with a large truck (I was not the driver, but it was my car!). It had a rear cage only (the regs have since changed), but we stepped out OK with no injury although the car needed a complete new front end. Actually structurally sound Minis are very strong little cars - rusty ones are most definately not.

Edited by Cooperman, 07 February 2011 - 02:11 PM.

[D 'n A]

If someone would survived a motorcycle crash if he didn't wore a helmet, does that mean wearing a helmet is unsafe? Guess not, same applies for a roll cage in my opinion.

A cage does not effect the crumble zones of the car in every way. As said on the road you are most likely to hit an object head on. Tell me, does a cage effect the front crumbling zone in a frontal impact? or the rear? Think about it...

In case of a side impact the side bars will absorb the energy of a car bumping in your door. Seriously how strong is a mini door? A good kick and the fire department will have to cut you out! A friend of ours had a side impact with w Mercedes, doing 30mph... she can never walk properly ever again. A cage with side bars would have definitely saved her.

Arguments like, your insurance will go up..... well tell me, what is your safety worth?

[CooperMad93]

As said, maintenance is the key, I know some people say you dont need a torque wrench but if you follow the Haynes to the letter then it is an essential investment!
Regular checks of all major parts and a good condition body will help a lot, door bars offer a bit more strength and always make sure you have a good set of tyres on! Anything close to the legal limit should be changed straight away for good quality brand new tyres.
Upgrading the brakes and suspension will increase handling and reduce stopping distances.

Change all of the cars bulbs for high performance ones to be seen better and add a high level brake light.

Adapt your driving style to the conditions and don't drive competitively. Keep an eye out for harder to spot problems, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Keep your seatbelts well maintained and even fitting the standard buckets with normal seatbelts can help a little to hold you in place.

Don't keep loose luggage in the cab, if possible always put it in the boot and always make sure any passengers wear their seatbelt, they can be a danger to you aswel as themselves.


Think I covered most things there? Anyone got anything to add?
This is my list assuming you don't go down the roll cage route.

Have to agree with this,

I was taught by my parents that a car is a 'weapon' not in the sense that it should be used as one, but it has the potential to cause grevious damage to others. I look at all cars as potential weapons and even 'death traps'. Just because it has all the latest safety features does not mean you will get away scratch free, or with your life, every crash is different and the results that follow... What makes a good driver is a safe driver and as stated by Beej123 adapt your driving style to the conditions and dont drive competitively.
a car is a car, if you crash you either live or die and the factors which determin this vary but you can decrease your risk of serious harm by taking such measures, but its not garunteed