Driver's Education Minimum Standards

The DE Advisory Team, as the name implies, is advisory in nature. The team's first task was to collaborate on a set of "Minimum Standards" to be used as a common set of safety based rules upon which to build and improve regional DE programs. These Standards were designed to be basic in nature, with an emphasis on proven safe practices, and are designed to be expanded upon as each region tailors their own programs to their entrants. Download PCA DE Minimum Standards.

1. Open Cars: Any make of car delivered with factory installed roll over protection meets the minimum standards for PCA DE events. In these cars the soft top must be in the up position or the hard top installed.
   
   If a car does not have factory installed roll over protection,a roll bar must be installed, which meets the "broomstick" rule (the driver's helmeted head is below a bar placed on top of the rollbar and windshield). All targa tops must be installed unless there is addition roll over protection. All sunroofs must be in the closed position. The windshield alone is not considered to be factory roll over protection.
   
2. Equal Restraints: Both student and instructor shall have the same restraint system. All vehicles must be equipped with a properly installed lap and shoulder restraint system.
   
3. Harness Systems: If the participant chooses to install a 5- or 6-point driving harness several changes to the automobile must be made to create a safe occupant restraint system. Harnesses must include a antisubmarine strap and be mounted in an approved manner consistent the manufacturer’s instructions. The Harness system must be used in conjunction with a seat which has the supplied routing holes for the shoulder and antisubmarine belts. All pieces of the restraint system must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. This means that a seat is required to have the proper routing holes for the harness as supplied by the seat manufacturer for the shoulder and anti-submarine straps. The shoulder straps should be mounted at 90 degrees to the axis of your spine or at most 40 degrees down from horizontal. Because the addition of the harness system means that the occupants are fastened upright in the vehicle, a properly padded roll bar or roll cage is strongly encouraged to complete the SYSTEM. The use of one without the other may result in an unsafe environment and is not a COMPLETE SYSTEM. Due to UV degradation and wear the harness webbing must be replaced every five years.
   
   Four point systems are not allowed in Porsches because of the integrated headrest supplied by the factory. In addition to the standard SFI and/ or FIA approved 5- and/or 6-point system, a 4-point system is allowed in non-Porsches that meet the following requirements:
   - Meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209.
   - Attaches to the factory seat belt mounting points.
   - Each belt is designed to work in a specific vehicle and that vehicle tag must be attached to the belt system.
   An example of a system that meets the above criteria is the Schroth Quick Fit system.
   
4. Medical Personnel at the site: The minimum standards are one EMT trained attendant and an emergency equipped vehicle.
   
5. Fire and Emergency at the site: There must be personnel trained in fire and emergency situations and the site must have either a fire truck and /or a tow truck equipped with fire emergency equipment.
   
6. Insurance: All events must meet the PCA insurance carrier's requirements and everyone entering the event location must sign the insurance waiver.
   
7. Driver's License: All entrants must have a valid driver's license (state, country or province as appropriate).
   
8. Car Occupancy: If two people are in a car, one must be an approved event instructor. and the other must be a registered entrant in the event. There are no exceptions to this rule. Registering people for the sole purpose of allowing instructor rides is not an acceptable procedure. A registered entrant is defined as a person who will be participating in substantially all appropriate aspects of the event (on track, classroom and exercises). This does not mean, however, that a registered entrant must attend the event full time, or participate in classroom sessions or exercises that are not scheduled for such entrant (e.g., instructors and advanced students need not participate in classroom session or exercises developed for novice drivers.)
   
9. Corner Workers: A minimum of one person per designated station and the station must be equipped with an appropriate complement of flags, fire extinguisher, and communication equipment (radio or track hardwire system).
   
10. Run Groups: The grouping of drivers into run groups shall be assigned in terms of their track driving experience and capability, as well as speed potential of the cars. All novice drivers shall be assigned an eventapproved instructor to ride with them for incar instruction.
    
11. Clothing: All car occupants must wear a Snell approved helmet, which has the current available Snell rating or the one previous Snell rating. Footwear must be enclosed, nonslip, with a relatively smooth sole. Hiking type deep lugged soles are not acceptable.
    
12. Eye Protection: If the car does not have a windshield, the driver must be equipped with eye protection.
    
13. Drivers' Meeting: All events must have a drivers' meeting prior to putting cars on the track to review event procedures and policies.
    
14. Car Safety Inspection: The car owner must certify that the car is safe to run on the track and that the car has been inspected by an regionally approved person or shop within thirty days prior to the event.
    
15. Final Safety Inspection: A final safety inspection of the car shall be performed within 24 hours at a site near or at the event facility.This should include inspection of the helmet, the restraint system, all loose objects to be removed, gas cap must be tight and any other items deemed necessary by the event chairman. The car is identified with a sticker or some other means as having passed the final inspection.
    
16. Passing Zones: Passing zones for all groups shall be well defined at the Drivers Meeting. All passing must be completed by the end of the passing zone as defined by the event organizer. Road courses associated with super speedways may use the super speedway turns as passing zones (turns on the portion of the track comprised of the oval section of the super speedway); e.g., Turn 3 at Pocono, or NASCAR Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4 at Texas Motor Speedway. There shall be no passing in any other turns except as allowed by the Expanded Passing Program. Kinks in a straight area of the track will not be considered turns unless specified by the Event Chairman. The Event Chairman shall take into consideration the areas of the track that are preferred for passing, and may restrict certain passing zones to advanced run groups. THERE WILL BE NO PASSING UNDER RED FLAG CONDITIONS. THERE IS ALSO NO PASSING UNDER YELLOW FLAG CONDITIONS EXCEPT FOR SLOW MOVING VEHICLES WHOSE DRIVERS HAVE SIGNALLED THAT THEIR VEHICLES ARE DISABLED.
    
17. Passing Signals and Procedures: All passing in the designated areas will be with the use of hand signals to direct the passing car safely around the car being passed. It is preferred that the car being passed remains on line allowing the faster car to pass safely. In the event of drivers who, due to a physical impairment, are unable to use hand signals, the use of turn signals to signal passing will be permitted. It is recommended that such drivers and their cars, if any, be identified in the Drivers' Meeting.
    
18. Expanded Passing Program: The Event Chairman may choose to implement the expanded passing program. With expanded passing, passing may occur on all portions of the track, including all turns. If expanded passing is allowed at an event, it shall follow these restrictions:
    • Expanded passing will ONLY be run in the Instructors run group which may include non-instructors.
    • All passing must be initiated WITH A HAND SIGNAL.
    • All signals MUST BE demonstratively clear and there must be one for each car.
    • All signals are “real time”. If you initiate a pass with a signal, expect a car to pass at the time you give the signal, not at the next straight away.
    • All signals are a contract between two drivers. If you initiate, let the car pass. If you are given a signal and decline, you must wave off the signal.
    • No more than two cars side by side in the turn.
    • When entering a turn with another car, NO ONE OWNS THE TURN. Each driver is entitled to 50% of the track as if there was a white line through the center of the turn.
    • The only passengers allowed in the expanded passing run groups are qualified instructors.
    • All drivers of the designated run group must participate in expanded passing. Any driver who does not care to participate must be moved to another run group.
    This program is self-policed and any passing done without a signal or over aggressive driving may result in exclusion from the program or may be dealt with as decided by Regional DE management.
    
19. Event Control Center: The event control center must have the ability at all times when cars are on the track, to be in communication with the corner stations and track fire and emergency center.
    
20. Grid/Pit Marshall: The event organizers must designate a grid and/or pitout Marshall to control the flow of cars on and off the track.
    
21. Chief of Course: The flag station or person that communicates with event control and all corners. The chief of course is responsible for all reports and actions of each of the corner stations. The person coordinates all of the actions of the corner stations. It can be the same person as in Event Control but tracks that use professional corner workers will usually designate one person on their team for this role.
    
22. PCA Observers' Report: The PCA Observers' Report form must be completed by an impartial party (i.e., not the Event Chairperson or the Chief Instructor) who attended the event.
    
23. Chief Instructor: The event chairman must designate an individual as Chief Instructor who may also be the Attitude Adjustment Counselor.
    
24. Safety Inspector: The event organizers shall designate a person responsible for car inspection at the event.
    
25. Novice Meeting: There shall be a mandatory session for all novice drivers, which could include track etiquette and flagging responsibilities.
    
26. Erratic Driving: Four wheels off, spin, and/or contact, the driver must come into the pits to have the car looked over and to be queried for the cause.
    
27. Entrant Age: The minimum age for any driving entrant is eighteen years.
    
28. Identification: All cars must be identified with a legible number. Either the car or the driver must be identified by run group. The use of colored wrist bands to identify the entrant and his or her run group is highly recommended.
    
29. Lap Timing: PCA DE Programs are not timed events. Any timing is done for instructional purposes only, and is not part of the operation of the event.
    
30. NO ALCOHOL OR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES CAN BE CONSUMED BY ANY PARTICIPANT DURING THE HOURS OF EVENT OPERATION, OR BY ANY PERSON AT THE SITE OF THE EVENT DURING THE HOURS OF EVENT OPERATION. This is not intended to prevent participants from taking medication as long as it does NOT have an effect upon the person's ability to control a vehicle at speed.
    
31. Event Registration: Every entrant must complete a registration form which must include emergency contact information.
    
32. Instructor Qualification: Every region and Zone who organizes a DE event must have an instructor qualification program.
    
33. Track Contractual Requirements: The event organizers must adhere to any facility safety requirement that is more stringent than the PCA minimum standards; e.g., track density, open car standard, etc.
    
34. Time Trials: Some Regions may wish to experience Time Trialing during a Drivers Education Weekend. Time Trialing is to be run during a Drivers Education weekend to stay under the Drivers Education insurance coverage. Time Trials usually run at the end of a DE weekend. During the Time Trial portion of the weekend, cars are sent out one at a time onto the track to have their lap or laps timed by the Region. Multiple cars can be on the track at the same time, but they must be separated by approximately a third of a mile or more. No passing is to be allowed during timed runs. The purpose of Time Trialing is to give the entrants a clear track with no distractions, to get an impartial lap time, and potentially have rankings among the drivers. As always safety is the primary concern during PCA track events.
    All standards that apply to a Drivers Education weekend will apply to the Time Trial portion of the weekend except as noted in this section.
    
    Organizing before timed runs: Have drivers organize in sequence from faster to slower. That way the cars spread themselves apart during the timing sequence.
    
    Have a separate Drivers meeting before timed runs start. The drivers meeting should at least cover:
    • No passing
    • Flags rules
    • Maintaining distance between cars
    • Amount of laps that will be timed
    • All safety concerns.
    Make sure all cars comply with safety equipment requirements before they start their timed runs. Track must be manned with corner workers, and safety workers at the same level as the DE portion of the weekend.
    
    Timed Runs: Starter ensures that cars are properly spaced during the timed runs. Corner workers should report to Starter if any cars are gaining onto a car in front of them.
    
35. Accident Policy: In the event of physical damage to an automobile that cannot be buffed out, an incident report must be submitted to the individuals indicated on the then current Incident Report form. The report form is available on the web site and is now part of the insurance packet received from the National Office when you submitted an insurance enrollment form. In case of bodily injury to any individual at the event, a report must be written and submitted to our National Insurance Chairman on the next business day.
    

The purpose of the "Minimum Standards" is to provide a region with a base point on which to build their own regional program. The standards were designed to be minimal in nature so that any region can have more stringent rules, but none should have any more lenient. Any region that plans to run a DE event must strive to meet all the minimum standards. A region's repeated failure to comply after warnings of noncompliance or a region's refusal to adhere to these standards could prevent the region from obtaining PCA insurance for future events. Substantial compliance with these standards would be part of the Observer's Report process. One of the functions of the advisory committee is to review and modify these standards, if required. Any modifications to these standards will need Executive Council approval.