Recovery Buffoons
Discussion
Now that the season is over I'm musing on the recovery people that attend UK circuits.
I've had two incidents this year that have cost me quite a bit and I'm still quietly seething.
Firstly, after stacking my car in qually into a barrier at Snetterton, a recovery lorry arrived and decided to lift the car onto the back. The recovery chap then cheerfully dropped the steel boom onto the roof and effectively wrote the car off - the front end damage was repairable but a new roof skin and four new doors tipped the rebuild costs into the 'start again' category.
Secondly, in the penultimate race of the season I was punted off into the gravel at turn one at Silverstone - only a foot or so into the trap but I was stuck. The first recovery chap rocked up, attached the tow line to the front (fabric) tow strap, and then drove off at lightning speed (rather than taking up the slack first) and promptly snapped the tow strap. I stayed in the car to steer it out and the second recovery chap ignored the fully-functioning rear strap and attached the tow line to the rear link arm, bending it like a boomerang.
First incident effectively cost me over £1,000, and the second about £150.
Has anyone else had this kind of stuff? I feel some education for the recovery people might be useful.......
I've had two incidents this year that have cost me quite a bit and I'm still quietly seething.
Firstly, after stacking my car in qually into a barrier at Snetterton, a recovery lorry arrived and decided to lift the car onto the back. The recovery chap then cheerfully dropped the steel boom onto the roof and effectively wrote the car off - the front end damage was repairable but a new roof skin and four new doors tipped the rebuild costs into the 'start again' category.
Secondly, in the penultimate race of the season I was punted off into the gravel at turn one at Silverstone - only a foot or so into the trap but I was stuck. The first recovery chap rocked up, attached the tow line to the front (fabric) tow strap, and then drove off at lightning speed (rather than taking up the slack first) and promptly snapped the tow strap. I stayed in the car to steer it out and the second recovery chap ignored the fully-functioning rear strap and attached the tow line to the rear link arm, bending it like a boomerang.
First incident effectively cost me over £1,000, and the second about £150.
Has anyone else had this kind of stuff? I feel some education for the recovery people might be useful.......
Just to be clear, I've no beef whatsoever with the marshals, they're excellent and indeed told the recovery driver in the second instance to take up the slack carefully 
It's the recovery chaps. They get paid to do it and should really know better. Imagine if a recovery driver dropped a boom onto your road car....you'd be extremely angry I expect...but because it's on circuit it seems like we are just supposed to accept it.
I don't know what training days recovery drivers go on....I suspect it's none though.
It's the recovery chaps. They get paid to do it and should really know better. Imagine if a recovery driver dropped a boom onto your road car....you'd be extremely angry I expect...but because it's on circuit it seems like we are just supposed to accept it.
I don't know what training days recovery drivers go on....I suspect it's none though.
Although I'm horrified at some of the bills, I'm reassured in a way that I'm not alone.
These people are paid professionals and should do a better job. If my road car was being lifted and the boom dropped onto it, because the operator didn't attach it correctly, I'd be apoplectic with rage.
It's not right.
These people are paid professionals and should do a better job. If my road car was being lifted and the boom dropped onto it, because the operator didn't attach it correctly, I'd be apoplectic with rage.
It's not right.
mcdjl said:
I agree it is, which is why I originally was careful to say that someone and not necessarily the driver, had been a buffoon.
In answer to bqf, no they're not all due to incompetence. Some are due to people making mistakes, some to mechanical failure. Some drivers and mechanics may be less than competent contributing to these mistakes/failures (most spectators can spot these drivers- they're not always the ones being rescued unfortunately). Some driver mistakes will be the result of race pressure.
A question for bqf: do you think that all damage done by marshals/recovery buffoons is due to incompetence? Do you think that some of it could be mistakes? Sometimes caused by the pressure of circuit directors wanting the circuit to go live again? Or a fear of how much the drivers haven't slowed down under yellow flags? Do you think that drivers could do more to help (where they can- being sent off to the medics does limit their ability to do so) to relieve the pressure of sometimes one or two people trying to recover a car?
Could further training help prevent such situations occurring? Yes of course it could, it won't however eliminate the entirely. Don't believe me? Look on youtube for videos of professional tow truck drivers getting it wrong when lifting a car or a tele handler dropping something. These are the same people rescuing your car. Same as every job you get some good, some bad some middle: most of the good ones survive and stay in the job, everyone has their off days
Another non-racer butting in. Go away.In answer to bqf, no they're not all due to incompetence. Some are due to people making mistakes, some to mechanical failure. Some drivers and mechanics may be less than competent contributing to these mistakes/failures (most spectators can spot these drivers- they're not always the ones being rescued unfortunately). Some driver mistakes will be the result of race pressure.
A question for bqf: do you think that all damage done by marshals/recovery buffoons is due to incompetence? Do you think that some of it could be mistakes? Sometimes caused by the pressure of circuit directors wanting the circuit to go live again? Or a fear of how much the drivers haven't slowed down under yellow flags? Do you think that drivers could do more to help (where they can- being sent off to the medics does limit their ability to do so) to relieve the pressure of sometimes one or two people trying to recover a car?
Could further training help prevent such situations occurring? Yes of course it could, it won't however eliminate the entirely. Don't believe me? Look on youtube for videos of professional tow truck drivers getting it wrong when lifting a car or a tele handler dropping something. These are the same people rescuing your car. Same as every job you get some good, some bad some middle: most of the good ones survive and stay in the job, everyone has their off days
AndyAlfa18 said:
Poppycock.
The circuit's PL & EL insurance policies would provide cover - with the Recovery teams covered as either volunteers or sub contractors of the circuit (sorry don't fully know the remuneration arrangements between the two parties). Therefore any "blame", like the phrase "responsibility" more personally, lies with the Recovery Team - but they are protected ultimately by insurance.
As someone who arranges insurances across Europe for race cars (and covered the OP car at Snetterton), IMO the issue is down to a couple of things. Time pressures from the CofC (mentioned elsewhere), particularly for televised events, causing under pressure errors/mistakes - but mainly down to the Recovery teams having no concept of cost of modern day cars, and the effort its taken to get the cars to circuit. The way in which I've seen some £300k GT3 cars hauled about this year is shocking (its common across Europe, not just a UK issue).
Yes drivers should take every measure not to have an incident, but 50% are unavoidable and down to someone else - the training issue lays firmly at the door of the Recovery teams I'm afraid. As a racer myself, I appreciate enormously their giving of time etc, but that's no excuse for shoddy work.
Getting back to the OP initial post, dropping a tow bar on the roof of a car causing a re-shell is disgraceful and has nothing to do with driving training.
I completely agree Andy (as you'd expect) - I genuinely think recovery teams should be taken through a list of do's and don'ts before each season (or maybe meeting?). The circuit's PL & EL insurance policies would provide cover - with the Recovery teams covered as either volunteers or sub contractors of the circuit (sorry don't fully know the remuneration arrangements between the two parties). Therefore any "blame", like the phrase "responsibility" more personally, lies with the Recovery Team - but they are protected ultimately by insurance.
As someone who arranges insurances across Europe for race cars (and covered the OP car at Snetterton), IMO the issue is down to a couple of things. Time pressures from the CofC (mentioned elsewhere), particularly for televised events, causing under pressure errors/mistakes - but mainly down to the Recovery teams having no concept of cost of modern day cars, and the effort its taken to get the cars to circuit. The way in which I've seen some £300k GT3 cars hauled about this year is shocking (its common across Europe, not just a UK issue).
Yes drivers should take every measure not to have an incident, but 50% are unavoidable and down to someone else - the training issue lays firmly at the door of the Recovery teams I'm afraid. As a racer myself, I appreciate enormously their giving of time etc, but that's no excuse for shoddy work.
Getting back to the OP initial post, dropping a tow bar on the roof of a car causing a re-shell is disgraceful and has nothing to do with driving training.
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