Tragic event in California

That's horrible! RIP

I always thought it was crazy how close the spectators are to the vehicles in those kind of races.

 

Couldn't agree more. A tragedy in any case and my sympathies to those with loved ones involved. Very sad.

 

Rally in the US and Canada do not allow spectators to stand where ever they please. Many hold the routes secret to spectators who are only given directions to designated spectator areas where stage marshals and police enforce safe viewing spots. Stage marshals are also spread out where locals and lost spectators may show up.

Before the first rallycar starts, a series of course opening cars drive the stage and relocate spectators in unsafe or unauthorized locations and if they refuse, the stage is canceled.

A tragic event but also a shame rally is associated and will feel the fallout (possible loss of federal land road permissions).

 

^this is true, a few rallys ive been to have had the same thing. Spectator points and you have to go to those. Unless you get there early and hide. Which is what quite a few people do. However, overall most rally events in the US that im aware of dont always give the spectators the best viewpoint but they are always safe.

 

On the one hand it is tragic and senseless. On the other, how stupid can people be? These trucks are hurtling through the desert and they are standing down field from a huge jump. A five second search on Youtube will show you all manner of trucks landing crossed up, flipping end over end or just being a few feet to the left or right of the last truck in an attempt to avoid the dust plume. You'd be safer standing on a runway at JFK during the morning rush.

That was just Darwin doing his job.

 

+1

Mike

 

+1...

Not certain, but I don't believe "target side" seats are in high demand a shooting events...

Darwin at work.

Still a tragedy,... made worse by being completely avoidable.

RIP

 

Most offroad racers and rally teams are racing on their own dime. While its nice to sometimes sign a spectator autograph for pretend rockstar egos, spectators are really just a liability for them. Few teams have real paying sponsors for which allowing spectators makes any economic sense. With hundreds of miles of roads being raced on, its difficult for event organizers to charge admission fees like most motorsport venues are able to. For the most part, spectators are a liability and controlling them a increased cost to the organizers.

Its times like this that the sport does best by less general public popularity and its just a bunch of guys no one has heard of racing in the woods/desert for their own bragging rights.

 

I didn't mean to, but I chuckled. "Target side" seats...

 

http://jalopnik.com/5614018/this-is-the-california-200-victim-who-saved-his-daughters-life

Puts another side to the story that the OP put up. Very, very sad.

 

It certainly gives face to the tragedy, it also highlights the stupidity. A bunch of 20 somethings putting themselves in danger is one thing but to have a child with you and somehow think that physical placement at that kind of event is appropriate is idiotic. He paid for the idiocy with his life and luckily was able to spare his daughter and another guys kid.

 

After reading and watching all the media coverage of this, I started feeling bad that I disagreed with the overuse of the word "tragedy" to describe this. What happened is very sad--people don't leave home for a sporting event expecting to get killed--but it falls short of a tragedy. Auto racing is not an interactive sport, and placing yourself that close to the action is an unjustifiable risk. Especially a competition like off-road rallying. I hope God has mercy on the father's soul, but shame on him for even placing his 3 year-old daughter in harm's way to begin with. He made a very bad decision, and he paid the ultimate price.

 

Just curious, Did the spectators set up a trap for the racers where the inncident happend.

 

No, just a human guard rail. But from the reports, they DID go after the driver of the crashed vehicle, who was forced to flee.

 

This type of carnage ended the Carrera Panamerica, as well as the Mille Miglia.

A sad, sad day.........

Thoughts and prayers to the victim's families, as well as witnesses and survivors.

They'll live with this the rest of their lives.
Food for thought, whenever we put the hammer down......

 

Wasn't there but thought it was competitor fatalities/safety, not accidents involving spectators, that put the classic Carrera Panamerica on hold.

It was a sanctioned race. The point is to put the hammer down.

 

Natural selection.......it's still going on.........

 

Sanctioned from a little frame house on the east side of town.......no one seems to be home right now....

I really have no problems with it, you can be seriously injured, or even killed at the local indoor kart track....

I have mixed feelings about this, they were standing right in the impact zone, so one could argue it was a lack of foresight. At least the victims families are willing to absolve the driver of blame.

He's still going to have to shave in the mirror every morning....

 

Until scum-sucking lawyers start bombarding them w/ request to represent them and greed takes over. The laws regarding liability, overabundance of attorneys and ease of suing anyone in US really hurts rally racing in the US.

Entry fees to stage rallies were typically $400-500 just ten years ago and there'd be as many as 120 cars entered. Then there was one accident and the event insurance went thru the roof. Domino effect made entry fees go up to over $1000 and sanctioning bodies were forced to increase required safety equipment. That priced many competitors out of the sport and entry #s dropped to average 30-40 entries. Less entries meant less people spreading the evnt costs so entry fees took another hike. Now it cost $1500 to enter, about 3 times the entry fee in Canada.

Laywers and insuance companies ruin all the fun here.

"Back in the day, we didn't have computers and the internet (thanks, Al Gore), but we did have back roads, and little foreign cars and cold beer and we mostly had a lot of fun, for a lot less money and hassle."
- Grandpa Simpson

 

It's all just very, very unfortunate. There was a time when I used to go to track days and occasionally be a passenger in someone elses ride. Well that all ended when that Porsche Carrera GT went off track at Fontana Raceway killing both driver and passenger. That's when I realized how careless, if not downright stupid my actions were and up until that point I thought I was being reasonably careful.

 

"Speed is non negotiable..."
Denny Hulme

We've had some pretty bad carnage, racing 5HP karts!!
One of my drivers took down two SCCA Crash Rescue members.....they have long memories, although I get along with both injured members these days.

There's really no money in this event worth suing for....it does resemble more of a Club Day event among participants, IMO.

I think fatalities on Track days are still a pretty rare occurance, thankfully.