During our last race held June 6th, we had a multiple car accident take place in the shutdown area. Per our insurance company we must have 2 EMT’s at each event. Safety is a major concern for us, so we staff 6-8 EMT’s on large events and 3-4 EMT’s on regular events in case of an incident like this or accidents in the pit area. We had 8 EMT’s respond to the accident. The scene can be and was dangerous with flammable liquids and sharp objects all over the area. While our team was taking care of the racers, we had a lot of interference from racers, crew and family. Anytime there is an accident we (and any track I have ever been to) announce for everyone to stay back and keep the area clear. The rules below are from the 2008 IHRA Rule Book and were violated during the accident.
Page 138 INTERFERENCE: In the event of an accident, crew or family members, or other drivers, etc. may not interfere with the Safety crew. Interference will result in fines, loss of points, suspension, which may be levied per person.
Page 138: All participants are considered to be responsible for their personal conduct and must behave in a professional manner at all times. Any participant who verbally or physically threatens another person or behaves in a manner determined by IHRA to be detrimental to the event or sport may be suspended at any time.Any action or behavior deemed detrimental by IHRA towards IHRA will result in disciplinary action and/or suspension or monetary fines. Driver is responsible for the actions of his or her crew.
Page 138: Any driver and/or pit crew member found to be under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs regardless of the amount, will be barred from the meet and this shall be considered sufficient cause for suspension and/or revocation of their competition privileges.
Page 138: Driver is responsible for the actions of his or her crew.
Page 142 listing of grounds for disqualification and rank of worst offenses:
Use of alcoholic beverages by driver, owner or crewman.
Unsportsmanlike conduct, improper language or conduct detrimental to racing.
In an accident situation, we need to be focused on the patients involved, not on outsiders. We will absolutely not tolerate our employees being assaulted while trying to do their job. Most crew and family want us to focus on the patient and are very respectful. As a matter of fact we generally get post to our message board and emails after an accident from the crew and family thanking us for taking such good care of them. It is much easier to do when the above mentioned infractions are not an issue.
On another note we are in the process of reorganizing the system for pit parking access, each driver will get a vehicle pass and X amount of pit parking passes for their crew. We have numerous complaints from racers on the amount of cars in the pit area driving around and parking in their pit area. Anyone that is not part of a crew receiving a pit parking pass will have the option of paying a fee for pit parking or parking on the spectator side. This will help keep an overload of cars out of the pits. We are trying to better accommodate our racers and crew with this system.
We have had a problem with the golf carts blocking the return road next to the track. In the same area, we have had, people standing along the starting line walls which is unsafe. We need access to that road at all times. The amount of people that come up with the carts and hang out on the starting line is unacceptable. That is a dangerous area. Plus they are blocking the view of the fans in the stands and the VIP Tower. We are asking the teams to keep their carts in the staging lanes to help avoid these problems. After your car/bike makes their run, you can drive down the return road or go back through the staging lanes to return to the pits. No parking will be allowed on or near the return road. All teams with golf carts should have their class and car number on them.
This event is similar to a multiday event but we are doing it in hours. You ladies and gentlemen do some great driving. Your cars are awesome to see. The local fans are thrilled with the show. We just need to work together so we can have a safe race, and keep our sponsors, racers and fans happy. As always, if you have any questions or input we are glad to hear from you.
We look forward to seeing you at the next race July 11, 2008.
from milan dragway today.
