Since SCCA does not test and certify products for safety, it has to rely on third parties to take care of that. If those third parties de-certify products (for whatever reason) then the SCCA must also rescind its approval of those products for use at its sanctioned events.
What about this don't you understand? Do you feel that SCCA is being arbitrary and capricious is how it approves and dis-approves safety products? Are there other testing and certification organizations that SCCA should use?
are any of our cages SFI certififed? afterall, SFI does have rollcage certifications. please note that i am not an advocate of this. just trying to look for consistency and what direction the club appears to be going.
the rollcage is likely the single most important safety device in our car and it is effectively certified by SCCA. and i am perfectly happy with its design and the evolution and minor updates and granfathering of existing cages.
and the SFI and FIA belts (and now possibly all our seats) are to be attached to this uncertified (at least via a third party such as SFI or FIA) safety device. doesn't anyone else see the irony here?
heck, if you think about it, our skill level as both a driver and a mechanic for our car prep is essentially "certified" by SCCA. well at least accepted by SCCA if one has been licensed by another organizaion such as NASA.
i am unable to understand how this is a consistent approach. and yes, i am bothered by the 180 in the H&NR policy. racers are making decisions based on these policies. i am not bothered as much on the belts as the H&NR and seats.
the belts are known to have a finite life (by the rules) and we all basically accept this. even before the number of years were specified, there was language to describe how they had to appear, etc. these have always been considered as a bit of a consumable.
on the H&NR or suit (weren't some of you on the wrong end of the FIA(?) suit issue a while ago?) or the seats, some of us are looking at this as being either a one time purchase or making use of this device over several years. i know that i invested in a better suit than was necessary and i will likely outgrow it before it wears out. i will also have to accept personal responsibility on that.......
maybe it should not matter but a high end suit or high end H&NR or high end seat can approach an annual racing budget for some of us. and i no longer have confidence that my investment can be utilized over a reasonable lifespan. or at least what i deem to be reasonable.
i certainly do not want to a take a year off to save for equipment and then have that equipment decertified or the policy changed before i get to use it the next year.
and when they trot out liability and exposure as the rationale for requiring the SFI certified H&NR and then allow minors to drive, it certainly makes me scratch my head.............afterall, i was willing to accept the premise that liability was a concern until they specifically disallowed one of the best devices on the market.
a couple of months ago, i received the offer for the 25 year membership pin. in it, Jeffrey Dahnert noted "THE SCCA is much more than competition. It is about people such as you who share the love and passion of our motorsports activities."
it got me thinking about the fact that there are plenty of venues to share motorsports activities (albeit not official racing) with friends that does not require all of SCCA's oversight.
http://www.100-speed.com/
http://wmhm.org/
the social aspect of having track time with friends and then some beer, burgers & brats afterwards a few times a year and wearing 4 or even 5 (gasp!) year old SFI belts that still look like new after being out of the sun in my car in my garage and using a 6 year old FIA seat without a back brace and wearing my Isaac is just sounding more appealing.
i do see the investigation into belt testing protocols as interesting. but will it be fruitless? if we are dedicated to SFI/FIA as the certification agencies, how can SCCA allow a different lifespan than certfifiaton agencies certify? oh, never mind. we may be headed towards adding seat back braces to FIA seats that were certified without them.
does SCCA know better or not? or will the lawyers keep SCCA headed to SFI and FIA as the be all and end all? does any of us really know? or, given my luck, will i only find out after i spend money in the wrong direction?
i think this is something that needs to be discussed and debated. that is why i started this thread and attached my previous submissions to the BOD and CRB. imho, there needs to be a more clear and consistent direction.
http://www.100-speed.com/
[/sarcasm]