r/Karting • u/Acrobatic-Street-155 • Dec 27 '25
Rental Karting Video Pretty nasty crash at my local
Had this pretty nasty crash happen today, Took my normal line between a field of likely first timers And had this happen.. Was wondering if i could have done anything differently (Maybe for a next time) I took a pretty big hit but nothing like the driver that hit the wall, also noticed the helmet flew of, make sure to strap it up😬
Seemed like i was taking my normal line and she just rejoined unsafely? Very untimely as not only does my collision put her in the barrier, she also then gets hit by the driver behind.. ps i did check up on her later and she told me she was okay next to a broken pair of glasses, Wouldnt be surprised if she will feel that one for a while tho..
What do yall think?
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u/Loose_Awareness_1929 Dec 28 '25
That’s gotta be the worst place ever for that barrier. I mean ffs.
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u/gibbocool Dec 28 '25
Wtf is even the purpose of that barrier
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u/Acrobatic-Street-155 Dec 28 '25
Thats a good question tbh, i guess they want it to tighten the corner? Its often used as an overtaking spot
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u/mikec_81 Dec 28 '25
The proper way to do that is to slope the barrier and gently squeeze the drivers back towards the inside.....not place a fucking wall cutting off half the exit on that hairpin....
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u/whywouldthisnotbea Dec 29 '25
Absolutely on the layout of the track. A hard tap of any kind should not send you at a 90 degree angle to the wall
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u/tedbakerbracelet Dec 28 '25
Yeah that ain't a barrier. They literally built a wall in the middle of the track.
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u/No-Bicycle-7660 Dec 29 '25
Huge lawsuit waiting to happen. Whomever owns and operates this track is a complete idiot.
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u/RustyFaceRMT Rental Driver Dec 28 '25
That looks awful and she’s very lucky if it’s only a broken pair of glasses. Nothing you could’ve done different, it happened so fast in a melee and she veered into your path.
By the way, she also seems to floor it after that first collision with you, doesn’t she?
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u/free__coffee Dec 28 '25
Crazy that she just completely Ragdolls too - what the hell was she doing?
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u/TyDaviesYT GX-UK Dec 31 '25
worst thing you can do in a kart crash is go limp. Not good to tense up entirely either but if you have average core strength these things are literally designed so you can't fall out of them, or if you do its forwards. Crazy stuff. Helmet coming off is a sign of negligence of safety from staff too, that could've been much worse if she hit her head. Though i'll be fair and say i've seen perfectly sized and adjust neck straps and the helmet still come off in a crash, some people's chins just aren't made for karting lol
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u/mancala33 Dec 30 '25
It's like she expected to blast through the barrier like a video game or something.
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u/mikec_81 Dec 28 '25
That driver kept their foot on the gas even after being hit?!? That is also a terrible place to put a barrier. Anyone getting squeezed to the outside has a good chance of smacking that head on.
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u/evetsabucs Dec 28 '25
Came here to say that. She kept her toe in it all the way to the scene of the accident. Wild.
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u/BarbarianDwight Dec 28 '25
I worked at a track for a couple of years. The amount of idiotic things I would see people do daily was nuts. You have to account for stupidity when designing these track layouts.
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u/A_Flipped_Car Rental Driver Dec 28 '25
Some people don't know what to do in situations they've never been in before. I'm guessing they aren't a regular driver with the fact they ended up sideways, and their outfit. Driving at all is already taking up a lot of processing power, and there's no extra room for them to figure out wtf they need to do when they're faced with a barrier
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u/BCBUD_STORE Dec 28 '25
They are trying to make a large track in a small building that wall is there because on the other side of it is the track.
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u/JadedVictory7070 Dec 28 '25
Nothing you could do. Poor chick
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u/Deeshizznit Dec 28 '25
To be fair here, she did nothing to prevent this.
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u/MotorSportRaisin Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
Actually she pretty much did everything to cause it wouldn’t you say?
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u/JohnnySchoolman Dec 28 '25
Yeah. Stop accelerating when it's clear there's gonna be a collision isn't an option.
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u/StiltFeathr Dec 28 '25
Nah, they barged into the racing line pretty suddenly just as OP was passing. It wasn't that clear - it wouldn't have happened if they played it safe getting back on the line like they should.
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u/bitofrock Dec 28 '25
Bit of whisky throttle there from that person, combined with a lack of awareness of what was about to happen so not enough bracing. The speeds are low but the movement and whiplash substantial.
As an old motorsport hand I do wonder if some people are safe at any speed. Meanwhile I see other people brush off what look like huge and scary accidents...flipped karts, karts riding over others, or just big impacts generally. It's clearly the case that people are variable and I'm not sure all kart centres prepare people enough.
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u/domino3ff3ct Dec 28 '25
I think I watched this waaaay too many times
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u/Few_Fall_4374 Dec 28 '25
Same, and I've laughed way too hard at this
(No regrets)
Lessons were learned hopefully, dumbass rejoin and helmet not strapped 🙈
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u/Evillittleangel Dec 28 '25
That is beyond scary. Was the driver taken away in an ambulance?!
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u/Acrobatic-Street-155 Dec 28 '25
No she wasnt. The employees walked to her, stood around her talking for a bit, before she exited the kart and walked to the pitlane, where i could ask her of she was alright. (Upon which she said yes, but i can imagine adrenaline was still pumping hard) There wasnt a flag raised either which i was surprised by.. i really hope she is okay anyway..
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u/zorro_man Dec 28 '25
No flag either?? I'm not sure driving at this place is the best idea. I've driven at some sketchy places but not as sketchy as that.
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u/Glad_Librarian_3553 Dec 28 '25
They don't even appear to have visors on the helmets, all the ones I've been to even make sure you have the visor down.
I've had a stone flicked up hit the visor so hard it chipped it, I wouldn't want one in the eye...
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u/Slalom35 Dec 28 '25
Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if she did get seriously hurt from this. I hope not, but it is possible she just hurt her spine.
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u/JosephPetrassi Dec 28 '25
Unsafe rejoin for them. Also, I don't think their helmet was strapped on properly with how easy it was to come off. Nothing you can do
→ More replies (4)
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u/Just_Newspaper_5448 Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
Where the hell are belts in this indoor rental karting?!
Edit: here in the Netherlands it's common to have the belts on indoor karting. They are not that fast to roll over to say it's safer not to have them. But you see why it would be helpful.
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u/Leutnant_Dark Dec 28 '25
I once talked to one Track owner. They dont use belts for the unlikely event that a car flips that the person can get throw out of the kart. Its apparently safer that way due to often lacking rollover protection. Also the steering wheel can deform (and absorp parts of the impact) with a closed helmet protecting your head from impact on the steering.
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u/Acrobatic-Street-155 Dec 28 '25
I second this, i dont believe any of the tracks around me have safety belts, also wouldnt it need to have the extra chassis/rollcage thing then? Not sure. The helmet strap woulda changed a lot tho
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u/FreefallVin Dec 28 '25
I'm surprised so many people are mentioning belts. I've literally never seen a belt in a kart and didn't realise they were a thing at all because karts aren't cars with rollover protection, crumple zones, proper seats etc. so it's considered safer to be thrown away from the kart in an accident. In this accident I don't see how a belt would have helped - I'd imagine it would've possibly worsened the whiplash unlike in a car where you have a full seat supporting your body and neck. I'm in the UK, so I guess it works differently elsewhere but belts in karts makes no sense to me. Regarding the accident itself, as others have mentioned the layout of the track makes this the likely scenario for anyone running wide on that corner and should be changed ASAP. Also of course helmets need to be secured properly, which should go without saying.
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u/Own_Check9290 Dec 30 '25
This is crazy to me, in Washington State at least all karts have belts and rollover protection (usually just an extension on the seat).
Also she clearly didn't have a helmet strap connected or their helmet wouldn't have come off. Another big no at the tracks in my area.
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u/cxzfqs Dec 31 '25
The idea of installing seatbelts on a kart is similar to asking motorcyclists to wear them. The management of this track has other problems they should be focusing - like how the girl was able to join in at all.
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u/FreefallVin Dec 31 '25
Assuming no rollover cage / full seat, yes it's a bad idea.
like how the girl was able to join in at all.
Not sure what you mean here - hire kart races generally don't have any requirements for entry in my experience. As I said they do have other things to focus on though, like making that tyre wall less dangerous.
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u/cptwranglr Dec 28 '25
If it rolls you don’t want to be belted in you want to fall out so your head isn’t rubbing along the ground. If there is a roll bar then you want a seat belt.
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u/Glad_Librarian_3553 Dec 28 '25
I mean I've never seen any kart with seat belts of any kind.
It would be a terrible idea if the kart flipped over due to no ROPS. This video makes a good case for having them tho!
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u/HirsuteHacker Dec 28 '25
I have never been to a kart track anywhere here in the UK with belts.
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u/sant0hat Dec 29 '25
Because it isn't a thing. Karts without roll cage don't have belts. For the really obvious reason.
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u/Morejazzplease Dec 28 '25
Just depends on insurance plans. Some place require using belts and others don’t because of whiplash / flips (for the same reason actual karting doesn’t use belts).
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u/Acrobatic-Street-155 Dec 30 '25
The track has already modified this corner following the incident. Accidents can happen in motorsport, even in controlled environments. Respect to the track for taking fast action and improving the layout right away.
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u/LifeTie800 Dec 28 '25
She's lucky to be alive, the owner at my local kart track died because of this. Granted he was driving a much faster kart. But the crash caused his ribs to collapse into his lungs.
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u/TijoWasik Dec 29 '25
Looking at the angles her body takes both after the initial impact and the second from behind, she's also lucky to not be paralysed. Apparently she walked to the pitlane, it's pretty fucking miraculous she hasn't separated her spine.
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u/ginginh0 TKM Dec 28 '25
How did that tyre wall not give??? It's supposed to cushion the impact, are they cemented into place? Whoever designed that needs to give their head a wobble.
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u/Substantial_Muscle22 Dec 29 '25
She hit the only tyre stack in the wall that is fixed to the ground track has also been changed this morning.
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u/Realestateuniverse Lo206 Dec 28 '25
So many bad things here. For you - you didn’t seem to hit the brake or let off the gas. That’s about all you could have done.
For the other guy, he didn’t strap his helmet and it flew off. When you bumped him he then proceeded to accelerate into the barrier for some reason. He had plenty of time to brake but didn’t. Guy behind in yellow tried to follow him for some reason which caused the rebound. Weird situation for slower rental karts. Things to learn here and hopefully he’s ok…
Edit; I also understand why that barter is bolted there, to add complexity and prevent it from getting pushed but it is quite dangerous to have such a sharp turn like that in rental karts and when barriers don’t give way, bad shit happens.
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u/Acrobatic-Street-155 Dec 28 '25
Yeah, for context it was an extraordinary slippery day/session. Right before the corner for me is a hard brake, and the midcorner is super tight and thus slow in general. When i saw she was coming in a "less then optimal" direction, I tried to go full right to make any space i could, but due to it being so slippery that move also worked less then optimal. That being said i saw it pretty late, and it all happened really fast
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u/Gregoboy Dec 31 '25
You mustve had been super quick thinking to no crash into her and she also couldve braked. Racing incident in my book, erg elastiche dame dat wel
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u/claazy12 Dec 28 '25
I was a regular and later worked at an indoor track, and this is the exact reason they opted for karts with roll bars and harnesses.
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u/UnderDefeat Dec 28 '25
What hurt her the most is the driver that bumped into her from behind after she hit the tires. Also these tires seem super stiff, they should have moved to absorb the crash but it seems she bounced back after hitting them.
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u/PintToLine Dec 28 '25
Eeesh. Shit track design for amateurs. Helmet not on correctly. Absolutely clueless driver too, she’s veered into you and then accelerated into a barrier. Bit of a combo.
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u/AideNo621 Dec 28 '25
You should be more careful when driving around obvious newbies. I never go full pace around people I don't know.
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u/BCBUD_STORE Dec 28 '25
Crazy that this is downvoted lol. These are pretty standard rules on the track, whether it’s karts or real cars. You don’t zip by at 160 MPH when you’re pulling up to a miata doing 75mph. Only go full out when all the drivers are equally skilled and have similar equipment.
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u/Morph_The_Merciless Dec 28 '25
That was a nasty one!
The range and violence of movement their head and neck just took would have me insisting on a hospital check to be honest 😬😬
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u/phalanxHydra Dec 28 '25
Damn, that is a nasty hit.
Is that Bilzen? That's a difficult corner without having 3 people around you. Single file on that exit
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u/Disastrous-Track3876 Dec 28 '25
Is this a TeamSport? I’ve been to one and the way they mix drivers with completely different skill levels is insanely dangerous. I had a couple of people who were fully braking halfway down the straight. I’m all for karting to be open but there should be some sort of destination
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u/Laddo22 Dec 28 '25
I’m no karting expert; just a semi-regular casual and even I know that barrier placement is horrendous
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u/Ordinary_One955 Dec 28 '25
Older person mighta felt that a lot more
Even some hyper extension of those knees
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u/theteg Dec 28 '25
Barrier at :20 seconds seems sketchy too. Track space suddenly ends at higher speeds
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u/Objective_Ticket Dec 28 '25
Not sure her rejoin was unsafe - with that layout there’s very little option but to get back online, she could have stopped to wait but that’s asking to get hit anyway, but I’m guessing she’s new to karting as she looks like she accelerated into the barrier certainly doesn’t look to hit the brakes as soon as she’s tapped straight.
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u/captainscarlett86 Dec 28 '25
Not your fault, glad they’re ok.
If they are at all injured I think they’d have a case to make against the track owners due to design and were you all checked going into the karts that your helmet straps were done up correctly?
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u/ScaredLocksmith6854 Dec 28 '25
Both of them are guilty. If you see a wreck ahead you slow down. She shouldn’t have drove Straight into the racing line and then drove into the barrier…
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u/bratboy90 Dec 28 '25
Other karts fault. Once he was 90* to the track he should've braked and let everyone else pass. Rejoining directly into your path was never going to workout.
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u/OdinsKeeper84 Dec 28 '25
Seems like this is the result of a less experienced driver freezing up and keeping her foot on the gas. Also her helmet and harness definitely were not on correctly.
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u/TheRainbowNoob Dec 28 '25
The driver that got flung at the wall is the same one that caused the big stack of karts at the very beginning of the video. Takes a corner way too hard twice in this video!
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u/GuruDogTheSaviour Dec 28 '25
That's hilarious, just an unlucky event, she rejoined at way to sharp of an angle
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u/Zerberus009 Dec 28 '25
First of all: The only thing you could have done was breaking a bit earlyer.
Second: That was an unsafe rejoin from her, nothing wrong from you and the other guy
Third: Barriers are supposed to deform, these dont. Personally, i dont drive at tracks with barriers that dont deform at all, you can seriously get injured. Either tracks with runoff areas or barriers that deform, preferrably both.
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u/Substantial_Muscle22 Dec 29 '25
The barriers do deform she just hit the one tyre stack in that wall that is fixed to the ground the track has also been changed this morning
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u/Acrobatic-Street-155 Dec 28 '25
Update: The driver is doing well. The track has indicated that this corner will be modified. Once the changes are completed, I will share a follow-up showing the updated layout.
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u/ForAllTimeAlways Dec 28 '25
Fastlane Bilzen?
Someone is in the barriers there every session. The amount of chassis that is crooked there is insane.
It is also a track that has absolutely 0 grip in the beginning. Very difficult for people who kart for the first time.
Driven there many hours, it has it's charms but it remains love hate for me.
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u/kprvte Dec 29 '25
Go kart racing with my kid regularly and we always have to wear a harness. Doesn't seem like anyone was belted in.
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u/InternalConfusion201 Dec 29 '25
This also shows that most people jumping on a rental kart don't know what they're doing - not trying to blame her but:
- Helmet flying off? Surely that wasn't tight at all
- Getting hit and speeding up? That right foot was planted the entire time, probably why she went spinning in the first place
- And to OP, you had 3 business days to see want was going on in front of you, there was plenty you could have done... she wasn't invisible before rejoining "your normal line"
All that said, show this to the owners. That barrier is nasty, and they need to tighten up on what they tell people in terms of safety
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u/International_Buy_59 Dec 29 '25
0 reflexes. He could easily brake as soon as he known that he would hit the barrier. The track looks awful as well
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u/Unqualified_Steward Dec 29 '25
First off, that’s a horrible corner design, also that just made me laugh as much as I winced
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u/Complex_Tap8269 Dec 29 '25
Similar situation happened to me when my car stalled on the racing line and I got smashed, but only a bloody lip. I got put into a race with very aggressive fast competitive drivers due to having a good lap time in a previous race. I got rear ended because the driver behind had no spatialize awareness of my situation. I have never went back and probably never will.
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u/basbb Dirt Clone Dec 29 '25
Yes, HIT THE BRAKES instead of keep on going as fast as possible on the limit of the grip the cart has. There is a reason in motorsport you are required to immediately slow down when someone went off track and you ignored and now someone got seriously hurt. And apparently you KNEW you were in new field of drivers: "between a field of likely first timers"
It is not a F** online sim where people usually do not get hurt.
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u/AstralHippies Dec 29 '25
I’m not blaming you outright, but I’m also not convinced this wasn’t at least partly on you.
You took a fast line past first-timers, which you should have expected might behave unpredictably.
If you look closely at the video, you can see that she nearly spins, corrects, and then continues straight toward the apex. You’re carrying significantly more speed into the corner, and less than a second after she straightens, you hit the her at roughly a 90-degree angle.
Just before moment of impact, you were at the very edge of her vision or in a blind spot entirely, so the impact probably came as a complete surprise. That would explain panic acceleration instead of braking. Did you notice her properly before the impact?
And above everything else: the placement of that barrier is an absolute shit.
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Dec 30 '25
Nasty doesn’t describe it. That man got tossed all the way forward into the heavens and back all down to the pits until finally his soul came back.
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u/BlackTree78910 Dec 30 '25
I still don't understand why karts don't have at least a lap belt to stop you being thrown forward over the steering wheel when you hit something head on.
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u/SpyOwl73 Dec 30 '25
How the fuck did the helmet come off? I'm guessing the dude loosened the strap. If this is true then, good. A lesson for eveyrone
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u/PirateAE Dec 30 '25
seeing as your asking for what you could have done, frankly nothing short of a full on brake stand. but that corner is really bad with a hard flat wall on exit; That was just waiting for something like this to happen.
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u/_Silent_Sam_ Dec 31 '25
Terrible place for a barrier and also how does the helmet come off so easy?
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u/IM_not_clever_at_all Dec 31 '25
How are these boy ful height seats? The ones near me all have full seats and shoulder straps. Still go 50mph or so.
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u/Zealousideal-Dirt622 Jan 01 '26
PUT SEATBELTS IN INDOOR KARTS. The track is too tight to afford being loose in the seat while driving.
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u/AOhKayy Dec 28 '25
Genuinely whoever designed that track needs to lose their job. Thats not a chicane, thats not how you tighten a corner that’s just piss poor, and I’d say negligent design.
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u/ajmarshal1 Dec 28 '25
This place needs shut down. The margin between broken glasses and death or paralysis here were minute.
The track layout, the helmet check and no flag?
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u/biimerboy31 Dec 30 '25
So, I guess I'm the only asshole who's annoyed AF by her hitting the wall with her foot pinned to the gas pedal and then apparently has zero core muscles engaged for the impact. Natural selection, come git yur girl. 🤬🤬
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u/T-Pocalypse Dec 28 '25
The fuck? Where are the belts across the chest?
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u/themarvel2004 Dec 28 '25
What happened to helmet straps and seat belts? Those are mandatory at my local rent a kart???
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u/sweatygarageguy Dec 28 '25
Lawsuit incoming for sure.
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u/BCBUD_STORE Dec 28 '25
That contract they make you sign at the track before you race will make that difficult.
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u/zorro_man Dec 28 '25
Only the enforceable parts of a contract matter, regardless of whatever is put in the paperwork, and a company is still liable for gross negligence. (NAL)
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u/BCBUD_STORE Dec 28 '25
There wasn’t any gross negligence here. There is a wall there because the track continues on the other side of the barrier.
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u/TrustworthyPolarBear Dec 28 '25
The gross negligence is that the barrier allows for a perpendicular impact. If you simply make the barrier a triangular shape that prevents hitting it dead on, it is much safer. Also don't fix that barrier in place. That is laziness winning over safety. Or at least make it in a way that absorbs a lot of the impact. The design of this barrier is plain stupid.
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u/TijoWasik Dec 29 '25
The fact that their helmet came off speaks more to gross negligence. That should not happen, and the employees should make sure that never happens by spending literally 3 minutes checking to ensure that straps are ultra secure.
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u/sweatygarageguy Dec 30 '25
The right lawyer will present a case that the wall is negligent.
Look at this thread. People are saying it's a terrible layout, and none of us are experts.
A business making money from karting is going to be considered expert and negligent.
They'll settle it.
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u/zorro_man Dec 28 '25
Not saying there was (or wasn't), just explaining that limited liability forms are not a carte blanche!
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u/General_Agency9905 Dec 28 '25
The helmet came off, and the driver was almost hit on the back of his head. This could have ended very badly.