Ways To Make A Cobra Safer

[Cobrabill]

Neal-yep-i missed th Az.thing.Since you know Tucson,then you also know that Oracle,Tanque Verde,Silverbell,Benson Highway,Ajo and whole bunch of others can support higher speeds.That was my point.
And i wasn't referring to YOUR math figures.Accident investigators use math formulas to determine many things.This i why i have a problem with what was"reported".

If you get back down here look me up.

[Turk]

Speed alone does not kill.

If it did, we would have a hard time explaning the safety record of Autobahn travel.
Car, driver and the training are the components needed to accumulate many many thousands of accident free miles. People do it all the time.

It is just that when something DOES happen, the results are more devastating. If the speed was 80 instead of 40 the results are uglier. If the vehicle was a Cobra instead of a Suburban uglier yet.

To get hung up on speed and speed alone is not correct.
If 40 is safer than 80, why not 20 MPH?

There is something called Risk to Reward. We all have, and do trade some for the other from time to time.
Let's do it in safe, well maintained cars with alert and trained drivers on roads, or tracks that are more suitable for the thrill we all seek....

TURK

[Neal Jackson]

Bill,

Ok, thanks for the invite. If you come up this way for the Run To The Pines car show in late Sept each year (several AZ Cobra members came up for it this past Sept), I'll look forward to meeting you.

One interesting thing about "speed limits" these days: without them, probably every state in the nation would be getting its butt sued off for "failure to warn" type allegations.

[Cobrabill]

Lawsuits & reprobate lawyers are another topic that could go on forever.

I've heard of the Run to the Pines.But it conflicts with my Aruba trib.

[casaleenie]

Neal,

Thanks for all that info and the observations... I agree with the "speed limit" posting. I get to live on an island for six months out of the year where the maximum speed limit is 25mph.
People still manage to run into each other and do considerable damage..(usually on golfcarts). We kid about the next Kelleys Island Grand Prix, we plan on starting the two cars in the same direction this time.. During the winter months it's hard to find two cars being driven at the same time. However, if there are two cars running at the same time they will run into each other... It the law!!. Or so it seems to be on that island...

Bill,

And speaking of the law, thanks for those words of praise and encouragement to all of us in the legal profession...

RL

[Jamo]

Assolutely.

[BANDIT 1]

I think the biggest improvement that can be done to make Cobra's safer would be to add some kind of "traction control" system.

[Excaliber]

casaleenie,,,,,Reminds me of Kwajalien Atoll. Bicycles everywhere, ha ha. Or better yet, Roi Namur, 160 people on the spec of land in the pacific.

Ok, Meck Atoll,,,,35 people! How small can you get, lol. I've worked on all three. When you start watching the screen saver of your Lap Top like it was TV,,,,,,you been there to long.

Missles and radar keeping us safe,,,,powered by bicycles all.


Ernie

[Cobrabill]

Casaleenie-yer welcome

[mj_duell]

Well, As I see it. The best safety device in any car is you. It does not matter how much horsepower, traction or handling you have. I have been racing Vettes for the last five years (We'll get to why I'm going Cobra in a minute). GM did a great job building in safety into the car, however, it never ceases to amaze me when someone crashes their Vette on a local road and gets hurt. Cobras also fall into this group. Remember also, If you hurt or kill someone else, you have to live with that the rest of your life. It's one thing to be on a course or autocross and have a mishap. It is completely different on the street. Although I am not a follower of the "You should drive very safe and friendly car crowd", I do agree we should drive with our heads. Insurance prices do not only go up because of accidents. When you pull a nice smokey burn-out in the local taco bell parking lot and get a ticket, you contribute to every motorheads insurance rate. Secondly, we do not want to draw attention to our selves from the environmentilist groups. There are still plenty of places around for us to have a blast. Check out your local drag strip or SCCA Club. Almost done preaching I promise. As for crash safety of a Cobra being hit by another car, Well, regardless of the manufactures data or belief, you are not safe. You are driving a framed car without crumple zones, meaning your body will feel the full force of impact even if you are not physically hit. A side impact from a large SUV would be devastating. You do not have air bags either. My advice is to drive with the same caution a motorcycle driver would use. Now, not to scare anyone off. I myself am going to build a Cobra kit this spring. After years of driving Corvettes I would like a change. I love Cobras and always have. Does it scare me to drive one? No. I try to drive as safe as I can. If I get hit by a Semi driver who's drunk....well....I don't have control over that. As far as built in safety I am going with a good set of well anchored harnesses, a fire suppression system, fuel cell and a electrical shut off switch. Other than those things not much I can do. I do suggest taking a high performance driving course if you can. This may help you on the road more than you can imagine. Be Safe.


--Mike

[BLACKJACK]

MIKE - -

IN A COBRA - - THE DRIVERS BODY IS THE "CRUMPLE ZONE".

GOOD POST - - THANKS.

Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY.

BLACKJACK

[Carroll DeWeese]

At GM and the other auto manufactures, we build alot of safety into cars. But I have seen the research and as the absolute physical safety of a car improves, people feel safer and push the car closer to the edge (offsetting the safety advantage). If you drive a junker and know that the brakes can fail, you give more distance and show more caution than if you have full racing brakes. The same is true with the other safety technology in cars. We get some improvement but not as much as expected since the improvements change driver behavior.

Also, absolute speed can be a problem; however, most people undervalue relative differences in speed. If all the traffic is going along at 70 mph, the relative position of cars relative to each other is stationary. If one car is going 30 mph and another is going 70 mph with other cars at various speed in between, the situation can be very dangerous. Even though the average speed may be only 45 mph, you have a speed difference in cars up to 40 mph in my example.

Individual and group driving behavior is key to safety.

If you want the safest Cobra, build one that meets all safety specs for racing (full roll bar, etc.) and drive like you have none of it. Yet, do not be too cautious. The slow guy on the road is a hazard to themself and everyone else.

[Fred Douglass]

.....nudged me out---I guess great minds think alike!

[Dave Samson]

Above and beyond all that has been said above, I think that ABS is just one more additional saftey feature that should be fitted to Cobras. There are obvious benefits on the street, on the track you can brake later without locking up. I have retro-fitted it, tested it on a wet and dry track up to 115 mph and it works as well as on a production car.

[Back in Black]

Crumple zones.

However, to make a cobra totally safe .... Park it and admire the artistry.