THSCC Forums

First, let me say that I didn't work on course at Greenville so I can't comment on that particular situation. From what the officers and designers have said, it sounds to me like safety was taken into consideration there very heavily, though.

THAT SAID, AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART, designers and officers can plan till the cows come home. The people who have the biggest obligation to their safety is THE PEOPLE WORKING. If you feel you are out there working in an unsafe manner, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Radio it in, move, whatever. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO IT. Pay attention, too, for changing conditions. Just because the launch interval right now has you able to watch one side of your body and then the other doesn't mean it might not change for some reason. If that happens and you feel uncomfortable, LET SOMEONE KNOW IMMEDIATELY. We can sit and wax philosophic about it all we want after the fact, but it's up to the people IN THE MOMENT to decide for themselves. Nobody will make you do something you think isn't safe, end of story.

True story: My first time at Nationals I end up working North course in a spot where cars are going pretty close to me on both sides AND where it's somewhat likely that a driver losing it on either side is coming my way. Things were fine, though, as we started the heat because I could watch one side and then turn to see the other side in time. Unfortunately, even though they SAY this isn't an issue, I believe the launch interval was sped up in "competition" with finishing ahead of the other course for the day. That put me in the middle of two cars at the same time. So I moved. And when a cone got hit, I could barely get there and get out of the way again in time. So the chief of course radioed out there for me to move back to where I was. I flatly refused saying I had cars on both sides of me and they had to drop the launch interval back by at least five seconds before I would move back. They dropped the launch interval back, and I moved.


--Donnie

Conspiracy Brother knew that you would do that to Undercover Brother.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Some kind of worker addendum to the driver meeting is warranted. The chitchat, cell phones, and bunching of the workers can be a problem. You almopst need to be sure to good buddies don't work the same station. I worked start at GV and a couple of times I sent a car out about a half second before a worker noticed the car that had passed twenty seconds earlier had knocked a cone over. I tried to make sure everything was clear but it is hard to check every cone and I had (maybe wrongly) an expectation that workers would be alert to keep the course set up and then the starter could focus on making sure the course was clear of workers and getting cars lined up

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RedLanternRacing, builders of the fastest cars in last place.
Success is not an option.
1981 Scirocco, "Vera"

Funny you would mention not sending buddies out together. When I was Work Nazi I specificly broke buddy teams up, for just that reason. And besides you get to know your fellow club members better when your broken out from your circle of friends. Thats in addition to doing what your supposed to, watch the cars, cones and protect yourself.

I appreciate the discussion about safety. There were a lot of excellent points made. We do need to guard against becoming over confident because of our safety record. I know it will make me more aware.

We had a serious discussion about that middle worker station and decided it was the lesser of evils. Maybe we were wrong, but we decided it would be OK if we made sure there was at least one experienced person manning it.

IMHO parking lots don't make good autocross sites. Greensboro makes me nervous sometimes. I much prefer airports, especially ones with low grass and a smooth transition onto the dirt.

I think the Camaro was more than sideways - more like 180!
What kind of Redneck would bring a car like that to a parking lot autocross??

Seriously. Once I know the car is gone, I don't try to save it. It is both feet in. That is good advice and it is given at every THSCC event.

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Rubbin' is Racin'

Yep. Been there too Donnie. Never feel like you can't say " I don't feel in this situation", it doesn't matter if you're at a local event or nationals. The same goes if you see an unsafe situation for others.

When I got the Evo list email all I could think of was thank God no kids were walking through there, or anyone else for that matter; ...like Eric said...no one was (physically) hurt. I feel especially bad for the spectators' cars that I heard were damaged. We all (should) know as participants that something can happen, but I imagine the people there to watch weren't prepared for such an occurance, assuming what I heard is correct. We want more spectators but less of these situations for autocross. Not that anyone wanted this one. It's going to be a tough road for some. I hope it all produces some good in the long run.

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GO FOR IT! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

Actually, we do cover cell phone usage (and sitting down in chair) It may have not been emphasized enough (Like driving and texting, you would think some things would not have to be taught) I'll make sure that Dan and I remove all cell phones.

Back in the day, Mike Dishman made sure to conduct the novice walks. During those walks, he did not talk about lines or being behind cones, he stressed safety. What to do in the event of a spin, your responsibilities working the course, conduct in the pits, etc. I still remember my novice course walk.

The other key factor, always pairing the novice up with a "vet". Yes, the "vet" should conduct him or herself properly as they are the mentors.

Waiting till the drivers meeting or when you are sending people out to work is too late. IMO

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

Take a minute to watch Danville and Sanford...a high speed off on those sites will send workers running. And there is no where to hide. And when a car hits that grass....look out. It happens all the time at those sites.

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

Dan and I (and I think that Bernie and Chris before us) have not purposely put novices together and paired them up with each other.

In light of everything, maybe an officer position needs to be augmented or created that acts as the safety steward. Granted, I think the GM acts in this fashion now, but it would need to be someone who can read a course and it's worker layouts in order to minimize the risk.

Granted, no risk can be eliminated, but it can be minimized.

A perfect example was the first Viper School Event. We had someone slide off the pavement down the grass and into the mud at Sanford. The car was being driven by a girlfriend of the Viper owner, who seemed concerned for the car (more so than his girlfriend ) Fortunately, there was zero damage. The course was designed as such to elminate this from happening, but I think she got confused with the go pedal and the slow pedal These things happen. - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

You were intimately familiar with that off as I remember Yeah, we didn't design that element to be that troubling