Stronger restraints actually work against you if you're not wearing a HANS or similar HNR. The trouble is that while the restraints may be able to hold your body in place in an impact, they don't hold your head in place. Thus, in a severe frontal or side impact, the initial force can snap your neck. That's how Dale Earnhardt Sr died (along with a whole host of other race drivers), and why we all now wear HNRs on track.

 

Security camera footage from a distance...



http://www.tmz.com/2013/12/02/paul-w...che-collision/

 

Completely irresponsible of CNN to spread such a vicious unfounded rumor. There is video surveillance footage that shows no other car coming through before or after impact.


I raced with Roger. He was a gentleman, professional and a friend. He was about as far as one could get from an aggressive person or an aggressive driver that would take unnecessary risks on the street. He was absolutely capable of handling a CGT and he was an accomplished and talented racer.


I have driven CGTs at the limit. They are perhaps only a handful for people without much seat time in a race car. Roger would not have exceeded this car's limit, knew the car and knew this area well.


The car was apparently acting oddly and stalling which led them to take it around the block. There is evidence of a power steering fluid rupture and a leak or trail of fluid well before the short straight skid marks suggesting he lost steering prior to impact.


CGTs, 360s and 430s may be prone to splitting depending on angle an location of impact and shape of object impacted. One CGT split completely in half (rear and front a considerable distance apart). The driver was injured, but the passenger walked away.


No need to trash anyone yet or accuse someone of driving like a dick at this point in the process. I am sure the lawyers eventually will take care of that, especially given the Rudl CGT settlement.

 

really sad indeed RIP. Only met Paul once back in 06 at a club and he seemed really nice. Aside from all the car related stuff, I for one also appreciate the spotlight he shone on the plight of Great White Sharks.

 

I completely agree, so please take whatever I post as just news that I see and share. It may be true, it may not be. CNN is definitely known to jump the gun on stuff to make someone or something look bad.

In that video, the only car I see, slides up well after the accident time. So if they were racing(I think it's obvious they weren't), they were beating the dog5h1t out of that car by a 1/4 mile or so.

 

Agree with you 100%. As I used to tell drivers at accident scenes, these are called "accidents" because the didn't do it on purpose. Let's wait for LE to reconstruct the collision as best they can.

 

Now we get to see CNN ride their bike backwards. Idiots!!



http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/02/showbi...html?hpt=hp_c2

 

Very sad indeed. May both drivers rest in peace.

 

your second question is one of the few in this thread to which I can provide an well-informed answer to. several specific types of injury which can occur in a high speed deceleration, as was the case in this instance:

-with regards to the nervous system, often seen in high speed MVC is diffuse axonal injury in which aside from any discrete neurological injury (i.e. fractures, hematomas) the entire neural network in the brain displays changes in the connections and connectivity within neurons. if you imagine your brain as a network of christmas lights, this is akin to cutting the light cord at numerous locations and turning the lights out. this is manifest as a coma beginning at the point of impact, and may persist indefinitely in severe cases. in more mild impacts, patients can have transient loss of consciousness which is your common concussion and a separate process from DAI.

-another commonly seen nervous system injury in high speed MVC are spine fractures, most concerning at the junction between the skull and the spine or between the C1/2 vertebrae. this area is particularly susceptible to injury during high speed deceleration because the head is really quite heavy and can be thought of as a bowling ball on top of a slinky (although the spine and its ligaments are more resilient than a slinky). all that weight being flung forward in a rapid deceleration can shear the ligaments which hold your head to your spine and result in what is sometimes (dramatically) termed an "internal decapitation". if the brainstem/spine is severely damaged as a result of an unstable spine fracture at a high level (skull C1, C1/C2), you can die immediately from injury to your brainstem which contains the centers which control your breathing, moderate heartrate, and ultimately control wakefulness.

-outside of the nervous system, a tear in any large vascular structure as a result of rapid decelaration can result in internal bleeding which could kill you within minutes. this is most common where the aorta is tethered by a ligament in the chest. when you stop rapidly the aorta may fling forward until it's abruptly stopped by this ligamentous attachment, which can then rip off the wall of the aorta, tearing a hole in it. death comes quickly as the heart pumps its output into the thoracic cavity rather than your vital organs.

in short, there are a number of ways in which a rapid deceleration can seriously hurt or kill you. with the advent of modern seatblets, most of the body is well restrained leading to far fewer blunt force thoracic injuries. however, the head remains unrestrained on top of the neck and neurological injuries are still very common and often the most serious injury in restrained drivers in very high speed motor vehicle collisions. this has been addressed in the various racing series via regulations mandating HANS restraints, notably after the death of dale earnhardt from a basilar skull/spine fracture.

given that both drivers were unconscious, it is fair to say that they suffered some degree of neurological injury in the accident. this is a very sad story and a reminder that high speeds in the absence of a helmet and a head and neck restraint system is exceedingly dangerous, regardless of the car or other safety equipment.

 

The same force or greater acting on the cranium such as a knockout punch. In this case, seeming to travel much faster than human hand.

Sorry for your loss. However are you denying they weren't traveling well over the speed limit? 2 - 2.5x faster? That is an unnessary risk and could be defined as aggressive. And many make momentary lapses of reason or a decision that had bad timing.

Regardless of the cause of the loss of control, excessive speed clearly played a factor.

Regarding Rudl, Autoblog reported in 2007 that Porsche had 8% responsibility in the settlement. Regarding cars splitting in two laterally, I wouldn't want to guess what models are more prone to splitting in two, and whether not that is detrimental to driver safety (open wheel race cars split apart too) and how other models compare.

 

i cant believe some of these responses and what not. what could knock them out, wonder if they could undo seatbelt, where they speeding, why didnt people help, etc

they have a video of impact, you can't see the car clearly but you can see the slide, the dust, than impact and immediat explosion. more than likely they died on impact, wouldnt have mattered tho, the car exploded on impact. with that type of force at impact im sure organs where knock loosed from there body or brain loosened from stem, etc

needless to say the only good thing is they went fast, they didnt suffer

RIP

 

No it was a skilled race car driver driving like one. Does that make you feel better. Like others have said, at least some poor family of 5 in a minivan were not killed. Save it for the track or pay the price boys.

 

Link to video of impact?

 

sure

http://www.tmz.com/videos/0_oehej0ek/

 

Yep, with a fire like this http://www.tmz.com/videos/0_oehej0ek
Im willing to bet they died from the fire.. this is one crazy fire for a single car crash.. unreal

edit---maybe a bit of a different video? http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/pau...eo-1200910922/