Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Questioning Driver Safety

Last week at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 15 IndyCar drivers involved in a horrific accident on the 11th lap. 14 survived. Dan Wheldon did not.

The video is brutal to watch. Drivers crash into walls, cars fly through the air like jets, balls of fire explode on the track. The laws of physics are not supposed to work this way. But sometimes all we can do is close our eyes and hope for the best.

There are probably not too many IndyCar fans reading this. There are probably not too many Dan Wheldon fans, either. Even I didn’t even know who Dan Wheldon was until I picked up the newspaper last week. He was a two-time Indy 500 winner and the 2005 IndyCar Series Champion.

His tragic death sent shockwaves throughout the community. The fourth fatality in the history of IndyCar racing was horrifying enough to make us stop and utter a short prayer. Whenever someone gets injured during a sporting event, we feel helpless and tense sitting on the couch or watching from the stands. The sheer violence of Wheldon’s crash was unlike anything many of us have ever seen before.

The real impact of Wheldon’s death will be felt far beyond Las Vegas. Just as Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001 sparked a conversation about NASCAR safety, so will last week’s tragedy encourage changes to the IndyCar series. We see crashes and injuries every year, but sometimes it takes a true catastrophe to get our attention and wake us up to reality.

There are several problems that need to be fixed. First of all, we should have seen this coming. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a small track, and with 34 identical cars (they all run with the same engine, chassis and tires) circling at over 220 mph, the racers group together early and often. One wrong move and a driver could bump ends with another car, lose control of his vehicle and set off a chain reaction that’s hard to avoid. Wheldon was far behind the two drivers that initially collided, but he was traveling so fast that he didn’t have time to brake or avoid the pile-up in front of him.

Furthermore, the cars are so light that they can fly off the track and spin into the air fairly easily. Unlike NASCAR, which runs a full-bodied car, the IndyCar has no protection for the driver’s head. With the exception of a helmet (which can only do so much at 200 mph), drivers are very vulnerable to head trauma if their car ever flips over.

So how do we change IndyCar without changing the integrity of the sport? Changing the body style of the cars, the power of the engines or the design of the racetracks will mean changing the very essence of IndyCar. It will become more like NASCAR than anything else, and both drivers and loyal fans are not willing to compromise the unique character of their sport.

But one change that will undoubtedly be proposed is a covered cockpit. This could go a long way in protecting the most vulnerable part of the driver’s body. The one potential problem is that a cockpit might prevent a driver from exiting the racecar if it’s damaged during a crash, but I trust that some innovative engineers may be working on this as we speak.

Regardless of the solution, racing will remain inherently dangerous. It’s a sport where fast cars and heavy metal combine to create the perfect storm of both exhilaration and peril. There’s certainly a lot of risk involved, but many fans argue that danger makes the sport even more exciting.

But that risk also means that at any moment, drivers can lose control and become seriously injured. Each time they step into the cars, drivers place a bet on their life. Now it’s up to us to find the balance between safety and entertainment. How much is a life really worth?

Nick Fedyk is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. DOUBLE NICKTWIST appears every Tuesday.

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Hoya

Your donation will support the student journalists of Georgetown University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Hoya

Comments (0)

All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *