| " Whether we like to admit it or not,
motor sport is dangerous, it's all part of the thrill
and one of the reasons why so many of us go out in the
wind and rain to watch cars hurtling through a forest on the 'edge'.
Sometimes drivers get it wrong losing it big time and end up either in a
ditch or hitting something. Anyone who has an 'off' in the forest will tell
you, trees don't move when you hit them.
This is why every rally organiser has to take safety very seriously and
in legal terms, has a 'duty of care' to all competitors, officials, and
spectators. They must take the necessary precautions to try and make sure
that when these accidents happen the risk of injury to people on the inside
and outside the car is as small as possible.
The MSA
(Motors Sport Association) is the governing body for motorsport in
the UK and in order for an event to run, it must operate to a series of
strict regulations and guidelines. Whilst these rules were initially aimed
at sporting aspects of events, over the years with competitors going faster
and faster, their focus has changed very clearly towards safety.
Months before an event every organiser is required to produce a 'Safety
Plan', a document showing the MSA that the people running the rally have
made the necessary plans and taken steps to try and prevent injury to
competitors, officials and spectators.
However, no matter what an organiser plans or does on the day,
competitors will still have accidents, sometimes leaving the road at high
speeds; this is a fact of life in modern day rallying. The aim of the Safety
Plan is to make sure that when it happens, the likelihood of injury to
spectators and officials is greatly reduced and all the elements required to
make sure that the competitors get medical attention quickly, are in place.
On every special stage there must be an ambulance,
rescue vehicle, doctor (or Paramedic) and a
recovery vehicle in place at the start of the
stage ready to move in the case of an accident. On stages that are more than
9 miles long, there has to be similar services available at some point
approximately half way through.
Before any competitor attempts a stage, organisers are obliged to send
through two safety cars, sometimes known as zero cars, whose job it is to
check everything is ready and warn spectators that rally cars are on their
way. |
If they are not happy with anything, spectators in a
dangerous position or any number of other reasons, the crew will advise the
Clerk of the Course who is obliged to either fix it before the first
competitor starts or cancel the stage. One of the biggest problems facing
a rally organiser is keeping track of where each competitor is on a special
stage once they leave the start, which may at first appear to be a fairly
straight forward task, however in practice it is far from simple,
particularly if you don't have the budget for a
high-tech GPS tracking system.
Located at regular intervals, usually every three miles along a special
stage, are 'radio points', which basically means that you have a person with
a radio. Every time a competitor passes their
location, the person on the radio transmits the
car number and the time the competitor passed to the stage start. If for any
reason a competitors fails to reach one of the radio
points, you know the car has stopped somewhere on the stage either due to an
accident or mechanical problems.
So now you know that a competitor has stopped on the stage, the only
problem is to find out whether or not they need medical help. Before the
start of an event, each crew is given a small sign with a red 'SOS'
on one side and a green 'OK'
on the other, which they are required to carry with them throughout the
rally. In the event of an accident where no injuries are sustained requiring
immediate medical intervention, competitors are required to show the green 'OK'
sign to the following competitors. Once the following competitors reach the
stage finish, they can report to relevant officials that all is well.
In the case where a competitor needs help and shows the red 'SOS'
sign, the following competitors are required to stop at the scene, get
details of any injuries and report this information immediately to the next
radio point who will in turn summon the relevant
medical help from the stage start.
Rally organisers go to great lengths to try to ensure the sfety and well
being of all those involved, however, we need the help and cooperation of
spectators and the general public to make sure that no one gets hurt. So
next time a Spectator Marshal asks you to stand somewhere else, think twice
before telling them to 'p*** off'."
Adapted from the May 2005 issue of the Kwik-Fit
Pirelli British Rally Championship magazine
http://www.brcweb.co.uk/magazine
produced by
www.justrally.co.uk |
