Jim Clark rally accident

[TAITSIE]

My son called me earlier to tell me about a bad accident at the Jim Clark in the borders , a car left the road hitting some spectators and first reports are that two people have been killed.
He was at service so not anywhere near it, but it brings back memories of two years ago when he had both legs crushed at a rally near Aberdeen.
I really feel for the families of these involved

 

[BrokenBiker]

not a good thing when a car leaves the road at any point in a rally but when it happens at a spectator point its even worse

 

[TAITSIE]

BBC just updated now saying three killed , so sad

 

[DrNik]

It always worries me about the close proximity of people and cars, whilst I'm sure it's very exciting, I've never been and I'd be cowering behind the biggest oak tree I could find as the cars came by

 

[the snooper]

its about time they made safe viewing points with some sort of defence aginst this, its happened before and will happen again if something isnt sorted

 

[brightspark]

i cant work it out the crowd all stand by the corners where the accidents are going to happen then they try and jump out of the way when a car comes there way. its bad enough on a race track with barriers and safety nets. i had a wheel come of my car when racing and someone hit it and it flew up cleared the net and went in to the crowd and clipped someone thats bad enough

 

[TAITSIE]

My son just phoned and he said it was two separate incidents

 

[BrokenBiker]

bbc news have just said 3 fatalities and 5 critical I think, couldn't hear it properly as swmbo was moaning about something

 

[Robotstar5]

its about time they made safe viewing points with some sort of defence aginst this, its happened before and will happen again if something isnt sorted

Even the safe viewing points aren't always. I was on Otterburn stages a few years ago when a family was standing on the inside of a corner (usually safe) 'til a car hit a gravel bank before the corner and ended up inverted on top of them. An 8 year old lad lost his life, his 5 year old brother and grandfather seriously injured and 2 more adults with broken bones, every rescue ambulance on the event attended the incident.

 

[the snooper]

there should be crash barriers set back from the road protecting people hay bails, sand pits, we all know accidents happen but if we know one could happen at a certain point then we can take steps to protect spectators at those points should one occur

 

[Robotstar5]

Unfortunately there's no way to protect spectators at stage rallies short of making them stay 100's metres from the "action" due to the terrain they are run in, forests, etc.

The organisers do there best by taping off danger areas, but "Motorsport is dangerous"

 

[the snooper]

Unfortunately there's no way to protect spectators at stage rallies short of making them stay 100's metres from the "action" due to the terrain they are run in, forests, etc.

The organisers do there best by taping off danger areas, but "Motorsport is dangerous"

i agree but its simply not worth people losing their lives when all they expect is to watch the rally

 

[Bobtail4x4]

I used to marshal a few 4x4 events, I marshalled on a rally one, only once, the crowd were intent on standing in the most dangerous place possible, you move them, and 30 secs later they are back.

 

[TAITSIE]

To the best of my knowledge in the area of yesterdays accident people had been asked four times to move .

 

[BrokenBiker]

it has just been on the news that the spectators that were hit had been told to move in the previous race 3 times and told before that race started not to stand there.

im all for making motor sport safer but there does come a point where people will always think they know best and will not listen to you, until something like this happens

 

[the snooper]

oh well you cant fix stupid

 

[Robotstar5]

Must have only been at one place as the safety car (runs before the main field starts) has the power to cancel the stage if too many spectator problems.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Must have only been at one place as the safety car (runs before the main field starts) has the power to cancel the stage if too many spectator problems.

that is all well and good but that doesn't stop people moving to the corners to get a better view when the race has started

 

[Robotstar5]

I've attended a number of incidents over the years with the rescue ambulance and the majority have been spectators who do not appreciate the risks involved.

All spectators will have passed a sign warning motorsport can be dangerous and you are present at your own risk.

 

[AndyStobbs]

I feel it for those who have sadly died, and their families, but rally is such a great thing to watch, no other motorsport allows one so close to the action, and I don't mind admitting completly ignoring the marshalled zones at wrc gb in favour of finding a spot 6 feet or less from the track.

Very unfortunate for those people in a reasonably safe zone to be crashed into.