At 06:27 PM 7/12/00 , Phil Ethier wrote:
>
>Too bad this anonymous author or some other knowledgeable autocrosser did
>not approach the organizers with these concerns. If they did, it is too bad
>they were not listened to. I remember once I pointed out an obvious problem
>and was called a crybaby. At least nobody got seriously injured, but a
>Sunbeam Tiger suffered some major front-end damage (concrete light-bases
>will do that). THEN they changed the course. Idiots.
>
I would just like to add, as a newcomer to this sport (less than a year
now), that we all need to be willing to speak up about safety concerns, no
matter how well known we are, or how new we are.
After some of the conversations on this list about safety, I was running an
autocross where I was a complete unknown (my first time there), and I
noticed a slalom offset that I thought was unsafe, as it forced the cars
too close to a curb for my comfort. I mentioned it to the course designer,
and he said something to the affect that "it will be fine, don't worry
about it".. Not really wanting to smack my new wheels into the curb, I
voiced my concerns to the safety steward. He looked at me like I was an
alien or something (most of the guys at this location don't even walk the
course, they do a 'parade lap' and I guess walking is too much effort :),
but he did head off in that direction. During my 2nd walk of the course, I
discovered that the cone I was concerned about was moved to a much safer
position.
The point I'd like to make here, is that it doesn't matter *who* you are,
if you see something that is unsafe, or you think might be unsafe, bring it
to the attention of the appropriate people, and you might be surprised to
find that they actually agree with you, and correct the situation before
anything bad happens.
Unfortunately for the Sunbeam driver.. the folks Phil talked to apparently
weren't as willing to listen to others.
Brian
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