Joined
·
297 Posts
I got tired of dealing with the humongous other thread, so here's a re-post. Adrian had a suggestion on the other thread, involving three stewards of great knowledge and wisdom to make decisions. Any other suggestions?
===================
Let me add that we absolutely HAVE to do SOMETHING with regard to new drivers being allowed to drive anything they want. Read into that what you like, but I can't go into any more detail.
Limiting speeds probably won't limit actual crashes among beginners, but it will definitely limit the severity of the crashes. If you were to limit speeds to the point where nobody could get hurt at all, then we'd all be driving pedal cars and there would be no point to it. The 34mm restrictor rule is going to take effect, not only to cap the power made by the top cars but to bring us in line with Canada and the rest of the world.
Using car classes to limit new drivers is a broad stroke but is an easy place to start. You can probably find a car in almost any class, with the possible exception of Production, that would be considered too much car for a brand new driver. A top G2 car as has been mentioned would be too much, a mild G5 car might be fine, a P or mild PGT car with different brakes might be fine in Open, and so on.
Not only are there many levels of car builds in all classes that are acceptable or not acceptable, there are many levels of driver experience that should be taken into consideration as well. Rally school is knowledge plus seat time. Motocross or road racing experience applies as well.
Also a factor is co-driver experience. A spot-on navigator will make it easier for a new driver to stay on the road by delivering accurate and timely information. A good co-driver delivering notes may be better than one interpreting a picture of what someone else thought certain important turns looked like, provided the driver can absorb the information. An experienced co-driver may also be able to adjust a driver's attitude and always has the ability to climb out of the car at a control and refuse to play any more. The idea of mandatory time with a properly accredited "training navvie" is interesting to me in many ways.
The conclusion I come to is that we need some sort of default, overly restrictive base rule for new drivers such as P & G2 only. So if you're a newbie and you have zero experience, a new co-driver and no training whatsoever, those are your choices because we have to assume the worst about you.
However we need to implement some rational way of allowing exceptions to that base rule based on the factors mentioned above. So if you have a G2 car bored out to 2.1 liters which bumps it into G5 but it's otherwise a G2 car, you're good. Got an NA AWD PGT car with no fancy engine buildup? Probably OK. Went for the training, found a super-navigator willing to work with you, and have some sort of previous competitive driving experience? Go for the PGT turbo car.
What should the procedure be as far as who decides which exceptions are allowable and which aren't?
The new driver licensing system will keep a log of your driving adventures in a database. Offs, speeding through service, whacky transit antics, OBS infractions and the like will all be carried along with your license so your driving "personality" can be reviewed. If you continually push the limits in any category, I envision you being invited not to play any more. So while we're at it, let's talk about how those type of judgements will be made as well.
Cheers,
-Doug
===================
Let me add that we absolutely HAVE to do SOMETHING with regard to new drivers being allowed to drive anything they want. Read into that what you like, but I can't go into any more detail.
Limiting speeds probably won't limit actual crashes among beginners, but it will definitely limit the severity of the crashes. If you were to limit speeds to the point where nobody could get hurt at all, then we'd all be driving pedal cars and there would be no point to it. The 34mm restrictor rule is going to take effect, not only to cap the power made by the top cars but to bring us in line with Canada and the rest of the world.
Using car classes to limit new drivers is a broad stroke but is an easy place to start. You can probably find a car in almost any class, with the possible exception of Production, that would be considered too much car for a brand new driver. A top G2 car as has been mentioned would be too much, a mild G5 car might be fine, a P or mild PGT car with different brakes might be fine in Open, and so on.
Not only are there many levels of car builds in all classes that are acceptable or not acceptable, there are many levels of driver experience that should be taken into consideration as well. Rally school is knowledge plus seat time. Motocross or road racing experience applies as well.
Also a factor is co-driver experience. A spot-on navigator will make it easier for a new driver to stay on the road by delivering accurate and timely information. A good co-driver delivering notes may be better than one interpreting a picture of what someone else thought certain important turns looked like, provided the driver can absorb the information. An experienced co-driver may also be able to adjust a driver's attitude and always has the ability to climb out of the car at a control and refuse to play any more. The idea of mandatory time with a properly accredited "training navvie" is interesting to me in many ways.
The conclusion I come to is that we need some sort of default, overly restrictive base rule for new drivers such as P & G2 only. So if you're a newbie and you have zero experience, a new co-driver and no training whatsoever, those are your choices because we have to assume the worst about you.
However we need to implement some rational way of allowing exceptions to that base rule based on the factors mentioned above. So if you have a G2 car bored out to 2.1 liters which bumps it into G5 but it's otherwise a G2 car, you're good. Got an NA AWD PGT car with no fancy engine buildup? Probably OK. Went for the training, found a super-navigator willing to work with you, and have some sort of previous competitive driving experience? Go for the PGT turbo car.
What should the procedure be as far as who decides which exceptions are allowable and which aren't?
The new driver licensing system will keep a log of your driving adventures in a database. Offs, speeding through service, whacky transit antics, OBS infractions and the like will all be carried along with your license so your driving "personality" can be reviewed. If you continually push the limits in any category, I envision you being invited not to play any more. So while we're at it, let's talk about how those type of judgements will be made as well.
Cheers,
-Doug