Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackTalon
Hmmm, now you have me confused 
Best thing you can do at this point is get the basic info from PCAP, then do you best to extend it to 'per track mile driven', and then compare that with a highway statistic.
I fear you are hoping to hear "1 out of every x DE participants will get harmed physically, and possibly die", but I doubt that info exists.
There are so few incidents of serious injury that they are memorable. PCAP probably experiences only 1 every 4-5 seasons. And on a nationwide basis, I've only every heard about one death at a PCA DE over the last ~12 years. But when you try and figure how many participants, good luck comparing that to the # of people who get seriously hurt rock climbing. And any injury stats that are available are probably not very accurate, as who determines what is a serious injury? (the death one is a little easier...).
Anyway, tell your pops that only one participant has died due to a DE wreck at a PCA event in the last 5+ years, so DEs are way, way safer then driving on the street, as I believe a lot more people have died in accidents on the streets or highways. Oh, did you want to break it down by mile driven? Find a way to back out the passenger injuries/ deaths, so it is more apples-to-apples? I guess you can massage the stats however you like to find a way to back up the point you want to support. And here in the DC area there is no shortage of those you can hire to spin for you  |
Nothing to be confused about, you and others have effectively answered my legitimate question. Answers, as I understand them:
- The likelihood of getting killed at a DE is close to zero. But it
has happened, so no one should entirely disregard the possibility.
- The likelihood of getting injured is somewhat higher, but still very low.
- PCAP has data on safety incidents for particular tracks, turns, and run groups. Maybe this should be provided by email to DE participants before each event for that particular track?
- The primary risk is car damage, which usually runs a few thousand dollars, but it can go higher (cars have been totaled).
- Our own risks can be mitigated to a substantial extent through prudent driving and safety equipment.
- Safety programs should improve safety (as intended), but data may be lacking to compare with one safety program with another (eg, the
big differences between PCAP vs TD safety programs, which got me thinking about this). And generally speaking, some caution is needed here, since safety measures can sometimes backfire, such as when people engage in riskier behavior because they perceive a safety measure to be in place.