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Old 25 Jul 2008, 17:35 (Ref:2257842)   #18
alimcb
Racer
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Scotland
Northampton
Posts: 188
alimcb should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
It's really not that hard to make a high voltage system safe in normal use (after all, mains voltage can easily kill but we use it safely in our homes). The danger comes when the car has been damaged in an incident. If someone put a pickaxe through your television, you wouldn't touch it until it was switched off at the wall.

Exactly what happened to cause the electric shock to the BMW mechanic isn't being made clear, but we need to put aside any ideas that there will be cars driving around racing circuits with their bodies carrying lethal voltages just waiting to zap an unwary driver or mechanic (or marshal). High voltage needs to be treated as a potential risk, same as leaking fuel, hot exhausts or sharp edges.

The other risk is damaged & leaking supercapacitors, which might contain some unpleasant electrolytes. If the materials are so dangerous we need special protective gear then I for one won't be bothering to volunteer for it.

Ali B
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