A Horrible Reminder Why We Need Drive line Saftey

RSWORDS

RSWORDS

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Horrible story. But this is why some organizations are VERY strict on drive line safety.

http://www.komonews.com/news/37765479.html

My prayers are with the family.

EDIT: A guy on Pirate4x4 was there and said it looked like a slip joint came apart and flew up into the stands.
 
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Yeah, heard about this on the news...VERY SAD!!! This is a chilling reminder of what can happen when high HP trucks are not properly equiped with the right safty equipment! And the quality of the safty equipment starts with the builder of the truck... Do it right or don't do it!!!!!!!!!
 
I feel bad for the families but after reading the article. How can you sue for an injury sustained from a truck you payed to ride in? Or anything that happens at these events?
 
I feel for the families as I'm sure everyone else does too. Saftey is the most inportant part of any motorsports. I feel they should have shout down the show for the night. We have a few pullers around here that think loops, and shout offs, ect. are not important. It's B.S. it's a major part of being a professional racer. I have seen many accidents in motorsports around here and It's not good. I try to push the saftey issue everywhere I go. Just my 2 cents
 
Was it something that could of been avoided or one of those rare occurances where something failed? I thought those trucks were teched pretty hard?
 
According to the Associated Press, truck accidents have killed five people and injured more than 40 between 1992 and 2007
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out of the tens of millions of people that have watch the show in person over the course of last 16 years. thats is a impressive safety record. IMO i am going with freak acident.

it still sucks that they were injured and one was killed :(
 
I'm pretty sure they tech these trucks pretty hard, it's a horrible accident that should have never happened. Someone probably missed something on tech. My old boss was right next to the people that got smashed by the monster truck in Idaho, he barely got out of the way. He said that scene is something that will never leave his mind.
 
from what I have read it seems like the object was the pinion brake disk. witch I'm pretty sure they don't run a cover over that but I believe they do run drive shaft loops on the trucks. so if it was the disk I have to guess either the pinion gear would have to break or the bolts holding it to the pinion flange would of had to sheer.
 
malibu795 said:
out of the tens of millions of people that have watch the show in person over the course of last 16 years. thats is a impressive safety record. IMO i am going with freak acident.

it still sucks that they were injured and one was killed :(
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X2. Especially considering how extreme some of them are. Its probably a wonder that more people dont get hurt. I think any time anyone goes to a motorsports event, they should be aware that there is some risk of injury. Still stinks about the boy though.

There was a guy killed at a tractor pull here in Kentucky a few years back. IIRC a high RPM tractor was running a stock cast flywheel that exploded, exited the tractor, and flew into the stands.
 
roachie said:
I feel bad for the families but after reading the article. How can you sue for an injury sustained from a truck you payed to ride in? Or anything that happens at these events?
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Easy. In their minds, they were paying to be entertained, not hurt. Even a mediocre lawyer would have a field day proving some aspect of negligence, no matter how small. The logic goes like this:

"So, Mr. Grave Digger, we have more than a dozen videos showing where your vehicle becomes unstable and flips over. Do you agree?"

"Yeah."

"So Mr. Grave Digger, you had to be aware of the risks involved in taking passengers for a ride. Can you please tell the court what precautions you took to ensure that the passengers were not hurt?"

"Uh, we put a good seat in it."

"So what testing do you do to make sure that the seat was safe? What standards did you follow? Did you do any simulations or testing to show that someone would be reasonably free from risk?"

And so it would go. You'd be a sitting duck. Pay up.

Same goes for all of us. We could all lose our trucks and a whole lot more if we don't follow the standards we have now. Some people will surely argue with me on this, but I think the standards need to go even further.

Like for example, I have been at exactly ONE pull where I was required to have the truck running and demonstrate the proper operation of the air shutoff. And I have pulled with guys who have told me that theirs doesn't kill the truck completely, and seen proof of such on the track.

I have NEVER been asked to show that my fuel shutoff works.
I have NEVER had my driveshaft loops inspected for proper material and thickness, and solid mounting.
I have NEVER been asked to show proof that my blanket is up to snuff.

And the list goes on and on.

The day will come when something really serious happens and unfortunately it could have been predicted.
 
Black05DMAX said:
I'm pretty sure they tech these trucks pretty hard, it's a horrible accident that should have never happened. Someone probably missed something on tech. My old boss was right next to the people that got smashed by the monster truck in Idaho, he barely got out of the way. He said that scene is something that will never leave his mind.
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I was there in Idaho as well. It was a mud drag truck that the cut off string t didn't work. The rodeo grounds in Lewiston are to small for these kind of events. The trucks had run out of the arena to stop. The kid was standing next to the gate, The truck came out of the pit a little off and that was is it.

You have to assume some personal liability in life. You decide to crawl into a 1000 hp monster truck that was built by a redneck in a garage (don't get pissy I am one too.) You decide to help out in the arena. You decide to stand in the kill zone to get a better view. I don't sit above the glass at a hockey game. I don't stand under crane booms or inside the swing of an excavator.


The trucks get bigger and faster every year. Your asking for trouble when you run trucks like those in an arena built for two horses and a cow.

I wasn't present at this last traggedy. So i can only assume, that if the father and child were struck with drive line pieces, they were way to close to the action. Just my
2cents.gif



My prayers and condolences go out to the family...
 
nwpadmax said:
Easy. In their minds, they were paying to be entertained, not hurt. Even a mediocre lawyer would have a field day proving some aspect of negligence, no matter how small. The logic goes like this:

"So, Mr. Grave Digger, we have more than a dozen videos showing where your vehicle becomes unstable and flips over. Do you agree?"

"Yeah."

"So Mr. Grave Digger, you had to be aware of the risks involved in taking passengers for a ride. Can you please tell the court what precautions you took to ensure that the passengers were not hurt?"

"Uh, we put a good seat in it."

"So what testing do you do to make sure that the seat was safe? What standards did you follow? Did you do any simulations or testing to show that someone would be reasonably free from risk?"

And so it would go. You'd be a sitting duck. Pay up.

Same goes for all of us. We could all lose our trucks and a whole lot more if we don't follow the standards we have now. Some people will surely argue with me on this, but I think the standards need to go even further.

Like for example, I have been at exactly ONE pull where I was required to have the truck running and demonstrate the proper operation of the air shutoff. And I have pulled with guys who have told me that theirs doesn't kill the truck completely, and seen proof of such on the track.

I have NEVER been asked to show that my fuel shutoff works.
I have NEVER had my driveshaft loops inspected for proper material and thickness, and solid mounting.
I have NEVER been asked to show proof that my blanket is up to snuff.

And the list goes on and on.

The day will come when something really serious happens and unfortunately it could have been predicted.
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I have been at one pull where I was asked to demonstrate my kill switch worked also.

What people don't realize by putting a device on the truck that isn't functional and leading people to believe it is, makes you more vulnerable than not having a device at all.

I thought about this some last night, trying to find areas for concern. Other than the engines, I just can't find alot of exposure areas.
 
nwpadmax said:
I have NEVER been asked to show that my fuel shutoff works.
I have NEVER had my driveshaft loops inspected for proper material and thickness, and solid mounting.
I have NEVER been asked to show proof that my blanket is up to snuff.

And the list goes on and on.
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I wouldn't roll the dice on that this year, tech has been a changing this winter!
 
black4x4 said:
from what I have read it seems like the object was the pinion brake disk. witch I'm pretty sure they don't run a cover over that but I believe they do run drive shaft loops on the trucks. so if it was the disk I have to guess either the pinion gear would have to break or the bolts holding it to the pinion flange would of had to sheer.
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x2, think of taking a rotor to the face, awful.
 
Sledpuller said:
I wouldn't roll the dice on that this year, tech has been a changing this winter!
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When I see your new Master Chief donning coveralls so he can roll under my truck to check it out, I'll believe you!

But the point is, tech is very lax at 90+% of the pulls you go to. I would think that most of the trucks I run with are up to par....but it's that 20% that could damage the future of the sport. As the accidents increase or get more severe, the insurance companies will have to get more involved, and that's never a good thing.
 
zstroken said:
I thought about this some last night, trying to find areas for concern. Other than the engines, I just can't find alot of exposure areas.
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One I can think of is a broken hitch.

I have seen them break on the line several times and it's not a big deal. I have seen video of them breaking at like 1/3 track and again not a big deal although the truck took off faster than you might think.

If this were to happen in a small arena, and where there are 100 people at the end of the track that have been told 100 times to "get back" and they don't, someone is asking to get hurt. This is more scary with the tractors, but think about it, 25 mph = 37 feet per second. And that's if the driver responds immediately and/or the kill switch is activated, and works.

Second, sled malfunction where the weight doesn't come up. This has happened. Yes, it's the sled operator's fault to some extent, but it's you who is dragging it. So the wounded parties sue you both and let the judge figure out who owes what.

I seriously doubt that Grave Digger had $12 million in liability insurance.
 
nwpadmax said:
One I can think of is a broken hitch.

I have seen them break on the line several times and it's not a big deal. I have seen video of them breaking at like 1/3 track and again not a big deal although the truck took off faster than you might think.

If this were to happen in a small arena, and where there are 100 people at the end of the track that have been told 100 times to "get back" and they don't, someone is asking to get hurt. This is more scary with the tractors, but think about it, 25 mph = 37 feet per second. And that's if the driver responds immediately and/or the kill switch is activated, and works.

Second, sled malfunction where the weight doesn't come up. This has happened. Yes, it's the sled operator's fault to some extent, but it's you who is dragging it. So the wounded parties sue you both and let the judge figure out who owes what.

I seriously doubt that Grave Digger had $12 million in liability insurance.
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I am thinking with my truck. I have reinforced the stock reciever pretty well(even put some thought into it) and run a grade 8 bolt for a pin for the receiver, and a grate 8 bolt for the clevis. That is an area that I should look over. I do think I could rework my air shut off activator, as it requires power to to kill the truck and if I would have a short or cut wire the air shut off would fail to activate. Of course I have the pump shut off solenoid and the electric fuel pump that I can kill also. Of course we could think a failed ignition switch could happen, but then the sled operator should be pulling the ring in the back at that time.
 
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