Greetings all.
I got to talking with Scotty Adema about some safety stuff and the recent, and unfortunate passing of Jesse Hockett, and we got to thinking it would be a good idea to put together some tips on how to be safe in your shop and also what you should do if something bad does happen.
Hopefully you can find some valuable tips in here, or just print it and keep it handy in your shop.
Thanks.
Tripper, thanks for that article that highlights a very important aspect of our sport. I’d like to make two additions that your readers will find useful.
Many years ago, a spark from grinding set off a big fire at a business down the road from where I worked. I’ll never forget seeing a guy walk out of that fire, but he was burned and didn’t live for long. This fire started because some solvent like laquer thinner was sitting in the spray of sparks that comes off grinding wheels. It lit up and killed a guy.
The moral of this story is to keep and eye on the flammable liquids, and make sure they are not in the area where you are welding or grinding.
Next, I don’t have a lift, so I spend lots of time under my car when is up on jackstands. Aside from always giving the car a big push and pull to make sure it is secure on the stands, I still feel vulnerable when under there. In fact, I remember a guy who raced at Auburndale was fatally injured a few years ago when his car fell on him. Although I’ve never had a problem, I bought a spare jack that just sits in the corner of the garage. I made sure my wife and oldest son know how to operate it in case I get stuck and the other jack is down there with me.
What exactly happened to him & how?
His name was Wayne Weaver as I remember. He was working ALONE at his shop at night. The car he was working on fell on him. He was found by his wife I think later that night or the next morning. I can’t remember which.
I was referring to Jesse Hockett.
Other than “he got electrocuted” I don’t think there has been much else said. I thought I heard it had something to do with his trailer, but I could be wrong.
for all the years i have raced you can never be too safe
as careful as you are . the most important advise i could give any one is please don’t be alone . in a shop or were ever you work on your car.
even if it’s 10 year old with cell phone and set eyes and little man is your watch dog . 
[SIZE=“4”]Following along with Boneman?s & Ron?s concerns & recommendations,
here?s a similar tragedy that happened to a Maine LM racer
Gary Bellefleur a few months back.
When I first read about this back in April I wondered
how he could?ve laid there all night without somebody
finding him until the next morning.
Then I remembered all the late nights workingon my iron
back in the day, sometimes even falling asleep under the
thing for awhile, then the better half asking me the next
morning; ?what time did you quit and come in last night??
WCHS Channel 6 Portland Maine News Brief
[/SIZE]
Aside from always giving the car a big push and pull to make sure it is secure on the stands, I still feel vulnerable when under there.
throw a tire/wheel under the frame of the car. it’s tall enough that it should keep you from getting crushed but it’s so wide that you don’t have to worry about it tipping over or the car coming off of it like you do with a jackstand.
Other than “he got electrocuted” I don’t think there has been much else said. I thought I heard it had something to do with his trailer, but I could be wrong.
http://www.examiner.com/x-10906-Sprint--Midget-Car-Racing-Examiner~y2010m5d27-Jesse-Hockett-remembered-as-hardcharging-humble-driver
“According to Wright, Hockett was electrocuted when he attempted to fix a broken generator in his trailer by himself while using a pair of pliers.”
sounds like he got ahold of something that he really didn’t want to be holding onto. while the generator was running.
gloves and insulated handles on your tools are always good ideas when dealing with high voltage. don’t ever stand around in water ( say, if you’re getting rained on at the track ) and being covered in sweat isn’t the greatest idea either.
voltage will cause your muscles to contract … so if he grabbed a live wire it would have caused his hand to clamp down on the handle of the pliers and he wouldn’t have been able to get off of the tool or the wire. not a fun way to go.