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Some Words about RC Safety and RC Selection
The Hidden Dangers of Remote Control Cars

I love this hobby probably more than any other hobby I have become involved with. The RC community is a pretty cool bunch and affords the opportunity for almost every age group to get involved.  One of the coolest groups seems to be the crawler crowd - maybe the hole going slow thing attracts a more laid back person.  That said RC safety has been weighing on my mind for a while and I thought some general guidelines should be noted for the safety of everyone.

Today we are in the everyday world of 30+ MPH R/Cs with insanely fast models such as the 65+ MPH Traxxas Jato 3.3 and 70+ MPH Traxxas 4-Tec 3.3.  Traxxas just recently re-tooled their “entry” level electric R/Cs, the Stampede and Rustler, that now feature 30-35+MPH top ends  - yes I did say entry level.  Now Losi and Traxxas have hopped up brushless entry level RCs that will also hit the 60+MPH range. Pretty amazing speed advancements that make R/Cs just that much more fun to drive but at the same time potentially dangerous for even advanced drivers.

My concern is that all the R/Cs are getting faster and faster and in general I am seeing little if any common sense used by individuals and/or parents during the purchase process.  That lack of comment sense also tends to extend to the safe use of these expensive toys. The thinking still goes that I should buy the absolute fastest and most expensive thing my credit card will allow and be allowed to run it any time and anywhere I want.   As an owner of a truck load of very fast R/Cs I am just starting to realize the potential dangers these little bundles of fun represent. Hopefully I will give you some things to consider before purchasing.

Selecting a First RC
First off RC vehicles are not cheap, even your garden variety Wally World or Radio Shack RC is going to lighten your wallet by at least $50-$100 not including batteries and a charger.  The problem with all of these R/Cs is that once broken they are un-repairable – and yes every RC will eventually break.  At that point you have a thrown away that investment, will probably get a little frustrated, and call it quits on the whole RC thing.

Some people also go way overboard on their first RC and buy something that is far beyond their abilities as a operator and RC mechanic.  For a first RC I would not suggest a gas RC, or one that exceeds 35-40 MPH.  Yes the ability to top out at over 60+MPH is very enticing, but if you don’t know how to drive yet, there are going to be a series of very expensive and spectacular crashes.  Gas RC’s are more challenging for the beginner and have some limiting factors such as where to play and operate as discussed below.

My advice is to go with a real repairable electric RC car purchased from a reputable hobby shop.  I think you will find these R/Cs to be much less expensive in the short run and greatly enhance your long-term enjoyment of the hobby.  There are lots of brands out there; my favorites are Traxxas, HPI, and Lois simply because of overall toughness, support, simple and easy fixes and upgrades, and probably the best availability of replacement and upgrade parts of the manufacturer.  Traxxas' entry line models, the new 2006 Rustler and Stampede, even feature a 50% power training mode for beginners and youngsters but offers more than enough room for growth, upgrades, and speed to keep the attention of an advanced driver.  Enough fun that almost every hard core R/C'er owns at least one of each. 

Although the suggested retail of these models is $200, the normal street price is in the $180 range.  Adding a good idiot proof charger such as a MRC Super Brain $50-$75, and a couple 7.2V 6 cell battery packs for about $30-$50 each sounds like a lot of money stacking up.  However when you consider that RC will easily outlast any big box store RC, the investment is minimal.  Consider also that you would typically still need to purchase batteries and a charger for any RC and a good charger and set of rechargeable batteries will pay for themselves very quickly.

For general backyard use and jumping the Stampede is hard to beat and moves pretty well in grass.  If you or the intended user would like to attempt racing at some point a Rustler is a good choice and by simply adding some big tires like Masher 2000s or Moabs will get you to the utility of the Stampede all in one vehicle.  For those people that want to get into rock crawling "Crawling", the Axial's RTR and AX10 Scorpion or HPI's Wheelie King are great options to have a little higher speed bashing fun before launching into the whole crawling thing.

Kinetic Energy
This is probably the most important part of this entire article simply because it is probably the least respected and least thought of part of R/C'ing. It also has the highest probably of personal and property injury on a regular basis.

I am going to skip the physics class lesson and throw out some comparisons of what kind of power we are wielding with our R/Cs.  Just as you wouldn’t want to stand in the way of a pro pitcher’s 100MPH fast ball, you also want to assure you are out of the way of a Traxxas Stampede at full speed as they deliver about the same foot lbs of energy. The Traxxas Jato at full gallop carries seven times the energy of the Stampede and is basically the same as being run over by a kid on a skateboard moving along at a decent clip.  The speed combined with the weight of our R/Cs can do some serous damage to you, bystanders, and personal property.  My 15lb Hot Bodies GTX can hit well over 50MPH and I don't want to even think about getting hit with that thing.

In this class of RC’s we are way past the cuteness of “look how little Johnny is bumping into my ankle.”  If your ankle gets whacked with a Stampede you may be making a trip to the emergency room for a possible break or fracture.  If you are hit with a Jato hitting a jump wrong you may be going to the emergency room in an ambulance or worse.   

My advice here is to realize that you can really hurt yourself, someone or break personal property pretty quickly.  So be cautious as to your surroundings and others in the area as you operate.

Where to Play
Now with the knowledge that you are driving something that can do serious harm, I encourage everyone to use some common sense on picking where and when to run their RC vehicles.   I have now made it a practice to steer clear of public parks to run my R/Cs unless there are large open spaces where no one else is or is likely to be. I personally have had just too many problems and close calls with little kids starting to run after or in the way of my vehicles.  The last thing any of us want is a lawsuit or to hurt someone else due to the fact that we started tearing it up in the middle of a crowded park. 

There have been quite a few times where I have decided to abandon a planned bashing mission because a park or the planned play area was simply too crowded.  Additionally there were times where the local track was packed to the point where it severely limited the enjoyment of driving and would have simply been and exercise in survival.  I take additional care to be safe on public areas such as parks that currently allow RC vehicles, as they may suddenly prohibit it if someone gets hurt.  Some residential covenants may prohibit nitro/gas RC’s due to noise, so check before running your vehicle around the neighborhood or the housing association may be paying you a visit or issuing you a cease and desist order.

Assuming you are not sitting on 100+ acres of prime RC bashing land with a Bobcat at your ready to build your track.  Here are some ideas for possible driving ranges:

• Back/Front Yard – This is a great place for lots of convenient fun.  Flower beds and landscaping is great until someone catches you.

• Local RC Track – Most outdoor tracks are free during non-race times.

• After-hours or Weekend Parking Lots – Often a huge office, school, or recently closed mega mart lot.  This has been a favorite for quite a while because you can literally have an entire parking lot to yourself and can set up temporary ramps, jumps, cones and the like.  Typically gas/nitro cars are not a noise issue because of these locations.

• Skateboard parks and Local BMX tracks – Some tracks have certain days or areas that RC’ers are allowed.

• Unsold residential lots – I would suggest requesting permission from the division developer however I have never found anyone that cared as long as you do actually reside in the division otherwise it may be considered trespassing.

• Open Non-Secured Construction Areas – Obviously lots of common sense should be used when in these areas – carry a cell phone and never go alone. 

• Parks – Don’t be surprised if most parks limit RC use to electrics only, some even ban RC vehicles all together.  Parks bans can usually be tracked to an RC related injury/damage or noise complaints.

• After-hours Golf Courses –– This is a pretty gray area that should only be attempted with electrics and with consent.  You can really piss off a huge amount of people in a hurry with this especially if you are running on the well-manicured “green” and during golfing hours.  I have been lucky that I live on a golf course and have after hour’s rights of use.

• Roads – I hesitate on this one as a last resort simply because it really depends on the traffic of your road.  One idiot driver or some smart aleck and your RC is ripped to shreds.  The other side of the coin is that unintentional or otherwise you may end up causing an accident, which could be very expensive for everyone.

• Road Hazards - Now this hazard I didn't expect, but I will share the quick story with you.  Aside from the occasional butt wipe attempting to run down my car in the road until seeing my 250lb body staring back, to help them think twice, I had little worries of using the private quiet little road in front of my house as my own personal play area.  There I am doing speed trials with my Castle Creations Mamba Max systems and the receiver glitched and the servo steered right, right into a storm drain. Gulp, swallowing the Ultra-Rusty whole like me eating a pretzel.   Let me tell you it is not fun to be face down in the road with your right arm fishing around in the bowels of a storm drain with who knows what for a $500+ modified R/C car. Lesson learned, stay clear of the storm drains.

General RC Precautions
OK we have covered what to buy, the it can hurt people and stuff part, and safe places to operate.  Next on the list is how to be safe while maintaining and operating your vehicle.

Dealing with The General Public, Neighbors and the Like
You will get a lot of requests to drive your RC, from relatives, friends, neighbors, and perfect strangers so you need to do some thinking on how you are going to handle the request in advance.  Remember they do not have the some respect from a safety and cost perspective as you and may think its funny to run it into a crowd of people or some other expensive object with your vehicle.  OR maybe they want to drive your crawler and sit there for 5 minutes with the servo burning up and the ESC smoking becuase they don't know what they are doing. Unless you know the mentality, skill of the person, and know they will and can ($$) replace what they break, the answer is always NO.  This may seem selfish, but keeping in mind this is one big expensive toy you have (that in many cases is the cost of a real car)  that can do some damage, you have a responsibility to assure you are not letting just anyone drive your RC. My rule unless you are someone like Mike from RC-Monster.com or Jim from Tekin who actually know what brushless power is, you are not driving my rigs - most are way faster than anyone ever expects... and way more expensive than anyone thinks.

Pick an excuse.  “My batteries are running low right now”, “No, I don’t let anyone drive it, its race tuned”, “Sorry, my mom/dad say I can’t”,  “Its just too expensive to let everyone drive and you might break something”, “Dude, a normal breakage is $50-$100, are your ready to back that up or more if necessary?”… you get the idea.  If you do decide to let them give it a spin, go through some basic safety guidelines, training (how to steer, brake, stop), what NOT to do, and drop it in training mode (if it has that feature like the Traxxas Stampede and Rustlers) before they drive it. DO NOT just hand over the remote or you may be sorry.  For close responsible friends and relatives, take the time to train them, drive and go over potential hazards and safety issues – if done properly you may end up with an RC buddy to hang out with.

Noise
Noise is also another factor where I may seem a little anti-nitro RC for the beginner, but from my experience there are good reasons.  Gas cars are loud, nitro stinks when it burns, the noise will attract attention, and are prohibited in a lot of areas - sometimes even your own neighborhood.  If you have a neighbor that is not the nicest, you may even get the cops called for noise every time start up your nitro RC vehicle.  If confronted with the police and assuming you are playing where you are supposed to, using the excuse that it’s no louder than a weed whacker or chainsaw and you are operating during a non-quite time will usually put you in the clear. 

Telling your neighbors to let you know if it bothers them up front will usually score your some neighborly points and allow you a little more leeway – sometimes we all want a little quiet. 

The more noise the more spectators will likely show up and potentially more problems – I.e. kids and people you do not know or have experience with.  Electric cars are pretty quiet and allow you to clandestinely have fun without ticking off the neighbors or drawing an audience from a three-block radius.  Also if you gradually ease your neighbors into your hobby with electrics, it won’t be a big shock when you RC start making more noise.

Potential Battery and Gas Hazards
Stuff gets hot, so always be careful and don’t just grab something on your RC.  On electrics searing heat can be generated by the speed control, motor, and battery on a regular basis with normal use, but the occasional electrical short may also heat up other wires to solder melting temperatures as well.  Batteries can go bad and can visually “vent” gas and then cause a pack meltdown generating very high temperatures and noxious fumes. When this occurs the battery pack should be thrown away in an environmentally safe manner or repaired if you possess the skills to re-build/repair battery packs.  LiPo packs are not for the beginner, but a battery charger setup from A123 is probably the safest battery system you can ever run.

On gas/nitro models, lots of things can heat up due to the fact they are small combustion engines.  In addition to servo and receiver battery pack care, caution should also be used when handling the extremely flammable and potentially explosive nitro-gas.  I recommend at the very least wearing safety goggles when refilling and starting the vehicle.  On occasion a motor will blow up during the startup phase - it probably won't go off like a granade. 

Modification Safety
Most modifications or break and fix repairs only require a screw driver or a simple tool, however more advanced modifications utilizing a cutter, Dremel tool, saw, drill, or even simple soldering iron should ONLY be performed with safety goggles/glasses in place. 

I have had to replace four sets of good quality polycarbonate safety glasses from all the material that has hit them over the years including some molten plastic and some solder that burned my glasses instead of my eye.  If I am working at my hobby table the safety glass are always on.  This was something 30+ years ago my father always insisted on as a chemist while teaching and even at home in the shop – that has stayed with me to this day and prevented many eye injuries. In my opinion this is the best investment you can make in the hobby when you begin modifications and the new sunglass styles won’t make you look like a dork. 

Extreme care should be used when operating any mechanized tool, saws, drills, and Dremel tools.  Aside from the obvious risks such as drill into your hand (which I have done - it hurts), cutting a finger (that too), there are some hidden risks. As the one R/C'er figured out while cutting out a shock tower from a graphite sheet the graphite dust was explosive. 

The next thing you should have handy, if you don’t already, is a fire extinguisher – yes something else I have used at least once but not for an RC related fire.

A good quality First Aid Kit that can easily travel with you to the track is a must.  The kit should have burn creams, Tylenol, lots of Band-Aids, triple-antibiotic ointment, hydrogen peroxide, and some gauze as a minimum.  You will at some point burn, cut, or impale yourself and a first aid kit at hand will get you back up and going with minimal downtime.  This is an item even required by ROAR rules if you intend to compete.

A set of heavy leather gloves.  These are needed when stuff gets too hot to handle and your need to yank a battery out of your vehicle if it starts a meltdown, or to handle some hot or sharp objects, or when soldering. A set of pliers to pull connectors apart when they get to hot to handle are also handy.

Are Remote Control Vehicles Dangerous?
Parents do not worry, its safer than bike riding and skateboarding.  Like anything out there that is any fun, you have to use some common sense, be careful, take some precautions, and everything will be just great.  Supervision is recommended for the first month or two, you never know, you may find that you want to get involved in R/Cs also. Although I definitely have some burns, scrapes, and cuts from the hobby, all can be traced back to some more advanced modification projects or plain and simple stupidity.  For parents I recommend getting involved, there are some parent and kid track teams out there that are just invincible and even if you are not planning on racing a day spent together it time well spent.  For us older kids (in some cases much older), this hobby can be your stress escape and welcome distraction from the daily grind that is adult life.

Have fun and be safe.

Stampede Project