Race ace Dario: From 200mph crash to safety expert ... for driverless cars

HIS stellar career as a racing driver was ended by a horrific high-speed crash that left him fighting for his life.

Now Dario Franchitti has found a new role – not quite behind the wheel – as safety adviser for a company developing driverless cars.

The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner has signed up as a test ‘driver’ for a Californian firm.

The 44-year-old Scot quit racing after suffering severe injuries when his car crashed at around 200mph at the Houston Grand Prix in Texas five years ago.

Divorced from Hollywood star Ashley Judd, he has remarried and become a father to Sofia, three.

Franchitti, one of Britain’s most successful drivers, has built a new career as a race commentator for the all-electric Formula E on Channel 5, and as an adviser to his former team Chip Ganassi Racing.

He will also coach Coast Autonomous on handling and safety for their vehicles.

Originally from Bathgate, West Lothian, Franchitti said: ‘Being a winning race car driver involves many attributes including precision, attention to detail, continuous risk assessment and a constant effort to improve. But above all else, safety comes first.

‘Everything I do in a car is subconscious after years of profes- sional driving. I watch the slightest movement of a driver’s head or the twitch of a wheel, so I know when and how a vehicle is going to change direction before it does. I will teach these skills to the engineers.’

Traffic jams and congestion are said to cost Britain more than £35 billion a year, money which some believe could be saved if driverless cars were introduced.

Google, Apple and Tesla are competing with conventional car manufacturers

‘The way he drives is completely different’

to exploit new techniques to produce vehicles that use cameras and sensors to identify hazards on the road.

Waymo – formerly part of Google – claims its self-driving cars have driven 3.5 million miles on public roads, with only a handful of reported accidents.

The Scottish Government is committed to phasing out new petrol and diesel cars by 2032.

Pasadena-based Coast Autonomous operates self-driving coaches at theme parks and airports and is expanding into zeroemission, self-driving cars.

It is using Franchitti’s experience to improve robotics and artificial intelligence algorithms to devise a system with better safety and a smoother ride.

Managing director Adrian Sussmann said: ‘Sitting in a car with Dario at the wheel is like taking a master class in driving. The way he