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Ron Stygar Carl Buckland Dale Beuning Forums Help
From digest.v6.n618 Sun May 4 13:21:11 1997 I couldn't help myself, I felt like I had to weigh in on the controversy of convertibles at driving schools, at the invitation in the post of Paul Jones. I am a Driving School coordinator. I was at the Driving School Conference this year, and heard all the reasons. But the main decision on whether to have convertibles rests with the Chapters. I heard everything from requirements for a full cage, to arm restraints, and etc. However it is a no brainer to me. At the last Driver School Conference in Dallas in 1994, there was a picture of a E-36 convertible that had been rolled at a east coast Driving School. I will not mention the Chapters name. This car was even equiped with the new pop-up roll bar protection. It was FLAT! ( NA was very interested in that)The point is it was rolled! I have decided that at our schools there will not be any convertibles - period. The reason is if an individual was crazy enough to want to drive their drop top in a driving school, thats their butt, not mine. However, I could not ask an Instructor to get in the right seat under any circumstance. I really don't want to have to go a spouse or family of an injured or deceased Instructor an apologize for them being assigned to a student in a convertible. Hey, it could happen. It could happen in an enclosed car, but a topless vehicle with or without rollbar protection is more suspectible to possible injury. Ask the person that went to car driving event (that was described at the driving school conference)and rolled her convertible. She lost the use of an arm, an was fortunate it wasn't riped off as her arms were flung around during the roll over. The National BMW standards have provisions in it if a Chapter does wish to allow convertible, they can with certain requirements. I can not believe that a Chapter would really want to expose itself, and want to except the responibility of allowing convertibles, especially with these up coming M-Powered Z-3's. If a person with a convertible wants to go to driving School, rent a hard top or something. Instead of doing a drivers school in their convertible, hey put the top down and go crusing, or hey what about a road trip. It will be a blast, I've done it. Unfortunately, convertibles are not made for driving school. Ed McClure, President, and Event Chair Bluegrass Bimmers Driving School 1985 323i |
