Safety Question

[Wellardmac]

I'd like to run a safety question by our resident safety experts.

On our last drive we had a couple of Cayennes join us. I had privately joked that they should be careful not to block the view or squish any of the smaller cars, but I was half serious also.

SUVs generally can cause visibility problems for smaller cars. I had considered running them at the back of the line to avoid problems, but decided in the end just to let them run with the pack and see how things went.

Overall, I think things went very well and we had no complaints from the drivers around the Cayennes. However, I did get an email afterwards from someone expressing concerns about the safety of running ahead or behind them - the author of the note said he deliberately made sure he wasn't near them in the pack.

My natural behavior when driving behind an SUV or truck is to hang back even further than usual to give myself extra braking distance and visibility. I made sure that I gave this general warning to the group before we left on the drive because of the curvy nature of the roads.

What are the thoughts of our safety gurus, does this advice work, or should I consider running the Cayennes at the back of the pack in future?

I'm loathed to "fix" a problem that does not exist, but also very conscious that I'd prefer to maintain a good safety record on our drives. I value your thoughts.

[Tony356993]

 

I do not think the Cayenne is the problem. The problem is folks that are driving too close to each other that might not have the proper vision skill set to "see" and anticipate what is happening or about to happen. Proper vision skills and proper braking technique are, to me, far more important than if I run in front of or behind a Cayenne in a rally on public roads. Are they hard to see around? Yes! If you drive too close to the Cayenne and you vision is limited, whose fault is that? Yours!

I think it is only a "problem" if the persons driving the Cayenne or near the Cayenne do not recognize the situation around them at all times and drive within the limits of the machine AND themselves.

Having the Cayenne on the track with sports cars can be a problem. I have experienced this first hand at Watkins Glen and at Summit Point. I make sure that there is no doubt that I can be seen and make sure the pass can be accomplished long before turn in. On a track your "fears" have a bit more validity but it does work if everyone understands the situation. Some regions do not allow Cayennes on the track and I understand the policy.

I think your concerns about safe runs are valid but I think the real question is who is driving the vehicle and not what the vehicle is. Just MHO.

Good question and food for thought. We will see what others think.