Open letter from the MSA - Spectator safety in stage rallies

[RyanTank]

I received this in my inbox an hour ago. Not yet seen the pictures from MN. But being an active Marshal on all levels of rallying events I think I can guess the type of behaviour he's talkig about. People seem to have forgotten that it was also spectator tragedies that saw the end of the 'glory days of rallying'. And if things keep up history is going to repeat itself.

Motorsports Association
Colnbrook, Thursday 19 February 2015

An open letter from the MSA Chief Executive regarding spectator safety on UK stage rallies

This weekend marks the second anniversary of the tragic death of a spectator on the Snowman Rally, and of course on the Jim Clark Rally in 2014 three more spectators lost their lives in equally tragic circumstances.

As a result the Scottish Government, following an emergency debate in the Scottish Parliament, commissioned a major review of safety on stage rallies. This Scottish Government Motorsport Event Safety Review published its final report in January, and the MSA has since gone on record confirming its commitment to the implementation of the report’s recommendations, not only in Scotland but throughout the UK.

Clearly, there is going to be a period of transition while everyone concerned works as hard as possible to introduce the recommended changes. In the interim, I need to remind all spectators of the fact that they are ultimately responsible for their own personal safety.

I say this because despite these well-publicised tragedies, and despite the sport being well aware of the changes being brought about by the Scottish Review, I am astonished and dismayed that an irresponsible minority – and I stress minority – of spectators continue to display a wanton disregard for their own personal well-being.

This was brought home to me when viewing YouTube clips of last weekend’s Wyedean Forest Rally, and also from the truly shocking photograph from the same rally in yesterday’s Motorsport News (18 February, page 34) of a ‘spectator’ lying flat on the ground on the edge of the forest track, apparently taking a photograph extremely close to a competing vehicle.

This behaviour not only shows a complete disregard for personal safety but in addition places other spectators, officials and competing crews in danger. It also undermines the considerable efforts of the dedicated rally organisers, officials and marshals, who do all they can to ensure that events run as safely as possible.

The MSA is currently working on a daily basis with all other stakeholders in rallying, particularly the Forestry Commission, and I can confirm from discussions within the last few days that unless these few idiotic spectators concerned change their attitude immediately and behave responsibly, there will be no future for stage rallying in the UK. I am not talking about next year, or the year after; I am talking about right now. Even in the meantime, this sort of behaviour will mean that stages are cancelled and rallies disrupted or even stopped.

Please, for the sake of rallying in the UK, can all spectators take full responsibility not only for ensuring their own personal safety but also the future of the sport we all love.

Yours in motor sport,


Rob Jones
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

[RyanTank]

Forgot to ad the pdf link should anyone want it

https://www.msauk.org/assets/stagerallysafetylette...

[RyanTank]

Max_Torque said:

TBH, it's just a reflection of modern times, where apparently, personal responsibility has taken a back seat to, well, everything else.


And, without being there, it's quite difficult to actually identify how "risky" lying in that particular position is, all we can say is that it is more risky than standing in that particular position, as it would take longer to move out of the way. I suspect, that looking at the lay of the land, with a tightish RH bend just up the track, vehicles will be accelerating out of that bend at relatively low speed, and loss of control is unlikely.

The issue is where you draw the line. If you don't want to be injured or killed spectating on a rally, don't go. That is the ONLY way to avoid the risk completely. IMO, if you do go, assuming someone hasn't forced you to go at gun point, you then are responsible for your own safety.

You've not seen the current crop of 4wd rally cars accelerating on gravel these days I'd assume? or some of the top 2wd for that fact.
Its not that easy to tell what type of corner it is just before, but regardless of any of those factors, lying in the grass on the side of a rally stage is just down right moronic.


As an active marshal I deal with this type of moronic behaviour most weekends. and more often than not its not the casual spectators at blame but the regulars, comments like "I've been doing this a lot longer than you sonny, I know what to do" are regular.
Sadly, marshal numbers are at rock bottom for most events run these days so its just not possible to have a stage fully manned in all locations. and the current mood is, as long as they are out of my sight they are not my problem exists. Spectators seem to forget that they are still responsible for their own safety in the forests, or over military ranges. Its not uncommon for an event to be delayed on Epynt due to moronic parking blocking access to the emergency vehicles to a stage, or to have our rescue and recovery team deal with an incident involving a spectator car leaving the road or striking a sheep.

Spectators also fail to realise that delays to a stage caused by spectator issues are out of the organisers and marshals control, but that doesn't stop them from having a go, as "they've paid to watch this" unlike the marshals, who are there 3 hrs before the cars & spectators, but never mind that these people have paid so they have a right to have a go

[RyanTank]

velocemitch said:

I once saw a yellow clad 'media' person laid prone on the kerb on the outside of a 90 right in the middle of Duns town centre. in the full view of the whole crowd.
How to influence people!!!, I know who the safety officer was that year too and he didn't do anything despite being present.
the Sport doesn't help itself sometimes.

the handling of media can be tricky, for events like Wales Rally, they sign on at the start of an event/stage as us marshals do, and do so with the understanding that they will abide by the rules of the stage commander/media marshals and WRC media observers, and remain in safe locations at all times, just like the marshals.
The difficulty then being that they know they are allowed to go pretty much anywhere they want, but if a marshal deems their location to be to risky they can ask them to move, failure to do so is then the following procedure - Get their tabbard/pass media number - radio it through to the Stage Commander - then watch the individual answer his/her phone (if they get signal) to be informed by Rally HQ that their media accreditation has been revoked with immediate effect and they are to surrender their tabbard and pass to the nearest marshal/radio car.


I've dealt with one on WRGB 2-3 years ago and despite politely asking him to get out of the head-tyre level ditch he was currently camped in he blatantly refused, I asked his media number and he refused to provide it, I asked again and radio'd to my section commander who told me to flag down the next passing officials car, I did this and who should be sat in the back, but none other than Michele Mouton, a quick chat with her and he quickly left my location to bother someone else I imagined.

The other difficulty with media is that the spectators fancying themselves as photographers then move to the media's location thinking he knows where to get the best shot from, causing him to take up a different location that probably isn't as safe.

On most national rounds officials and media teams know each other well so there's a bit more leniency towards where they are stood, safe or not quite as.