In the interests of driver safety there has been a huge amount of work done to improve the strength and stiffness of modern rally cars. The technology of roll cages has improved to make them stiffer and safer, seats have evolved to be stronger and provide more support, and all drivers now wear a head and neck support device known as HANS, which restricts movement relative to the body.
Nevertheless, it is crucial that John Jones, the Subaru World Rally Team's medic, attends every one of the 25 tests conducted throughout the year to ensure the highest degree of driver and co-driver safety. Along with specialist safety equipment and knowledge of the car, John is capable of dealing with accident situations from simple crashes to driver extraction.
On every test, John and the team will take with them a portable generator, a compressed air-powered cutting tool similar to that used by fire brigades, a handheld electric saw and glass cutting equipment. These will be accompanied by three large boxes full of medical equipment. Box one contains a spinal immobilisation kit, box two the paramedic responder kit, which manages airways and resuscitation, and box three the general wounds kit.
A crucial safety procedure is the safe but fast extraction of a driver or co-driver from their car in the case of an accident, to minimise any further risk and allow medical attention if required. With the numerous interwoven roll cage bars that strengthen the cockpit, it can be a tricky exercise. If either the driver or co-driver needs to be immobilised, extraction is not simply a case of opening the doors and clambering out.
"In the case of an accident where the occupants need to be immobilised and we cannot use the doors," says John, "it is preferable to extract those in the car through the roof of the vehicle, as it allows the widest point of access and enables them to be lifted directly upwards and out."
While removing the roof may not seem the easiest task, it is a carefully planned procedure. Having perfected the theory through practice drills, the Subaru World Rally Team crew can remove the roof of an Impreza WRC2007 in just 90 seconds using their specialist tools.
"Removing the roof is a two-stage process: first, we use the saw and the air-powered cutting tool to slice through the roll cage bars. Secondly, we use a specialised glass saw to cut through the windscreen and rear screen. This works in two ways; firstly by a strike to the glass to shatter it, and then using a hacksaw-like blade to saw through the rest. We can cut through a windscreen in this fashion in as little as six strokes from the saw, making it incredibly fast and effective," he explains.
The roof is cut at all pillars and across the rear screen, and then pivoted forward at the base of the windscreen, like taking the lid off a biscuit tin. Once the roof is off, the crew can then extract either the driver or co-driver from their car in fewer than 90 seconds.
"The first piece of equipment we use is a brace to ensure that the patient's head and neck are fixed," explains John. "The proper procedure for extracting someone from a car requires at least three people. One to stand in front of the bonnet and maintain eye contact with the occupants at all times, and another to approach either from the side or preferably the rear of the vehicle to apply the brace."
"The third person should always remain on fire watch. In the case of an accident, the risk of fire must always be remembered, and having one man on permanent watch and with a suitable extinguisher increases the speed with which a fire can be dealt with."
"Once the brace has been applied, the occupants can then be slowly lifted from their seats and onto a flat stretcher board, keeping their back and neck straight. The stretcher board is then lifted up and over the top of their seat and slid to the reverse of the car across the bootlid," John adds.
Having safely cleared the vehicle, manoeuvrability of the crew is greatly improved, allowing the occupants to be safely and quickly moved to point where assistance can be more easily rendered.
Inside, each Impreza WRC2007 is equipped with two fire extinguishers, both of which are AAAF foam types, suitable for use on car-related fires. One is plumbed into the car with a nozzle in the engine bay and another that controls the cockpit. This can be activated from both outside the car by rescue crews and by a centrally positioned switch that both driver and co-driver can easily reach. The second is a hand-held extinguisher that is strapped into the co-driver's footwell.
With the strength of modern WRC cars, drivers are afforded more protection within the cockpit than ever, but safety cannot be taken for granted. The Subaru World Rally Team fully appreciate that, and as vehicles and technology change, John Jones follows with the latest medical equipment to ensure that drivers and co-drivers are even safer.
