Who Needs to See Ahead While Doing 120 MPH on a Track? Not This Guy

Then again, that would suck even if you were chilling on the sandy beaches of Bali, so we’re going to have to think of something else. A flat tire? Nah, too common. Some deer jumping in front of the car? That would be bad, too, but it would be much worse for the deer, though.

A call from your wife saying she’s had enough of your track-day shenanigans and that you should expect an empty house on your return? Yup, that would be bad, but not really life threatening.

Come on, think harder. Suddenly going blind? OK, that would be really bad, and it could also be potentially very dangerous as the guy in the clip below can tell you from his own experience.

He didn’t actually lose his sight, but the closest possible thing happened: the safety latch on the hood of his Porsche failed, which instantly slammed it into the windshield. While going really fast on a race track.

The aftermath wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but that’s only because it’s a modified car with plenty of racy bits on it - the most important of which, in this case, was the Lexan windshield, a feature that prevented it from shattering like the rearview mirror did.

Also, kudos to the driver for staying really calm and slowing the car down before going off the track. Had it happened in a bend, however, things might have ended up a bit differently.

According to the driver of the Porsche, he bought the car from a previous owner who “made some stupid changes to the hood latching system and, in the process, damaged the internal components of the locking mechanism.” He says he was aware of the problem and intended on buying hood clips, but never got to it. There you have it: never procrastinate on features that might affect safety.