Death at the racetrack
Racing spectators do not expect to die when they go to watch their favourite motorsport. But it seems that death and racing go hand in hand; even with safety conditions improving every year, the number of race related deaths are just staggering. There are many reasons why people are killed during races but it seems that the governing bodies of numerous motorsports need to wake up to the fact that too many spectators are being killed every year. Safety standards need to be improved if the sport of motor racing is to improve its fatality record.
Quite recently, a crash took place during a California desert race that killed eight people and injured many more. It was the latest in a long line of fatal accidents that took place on the race track. A study into the crashes that have taken place in racing over the years revealed some startling figures. Since 1990, media reports have suggested that 260 people have died in the sport of racing in America alone. The average comes down to 22 deaths per year and among those that died were 29 spectators and 5 children. In addition to this huge number, 200 drivers and spectators were injured while racing. This is probably the highest number of deaths per year in any sport out there.
One of the worst crashes to ever occur in motorsports took place in 1955. The Le Mans 24 hour race of that year was fully under way and a horrendous pile up led to 83 spectators and drivers dying in the worst tragedy ever to hit motorsports. The problem was that a lot of cars were running on old drum brakes while a few of the cars had newer disc brakes. The newer disc brakes allowed some of the cars to grind to a halt and avoid a crash but then the cars on slower reacting drum brakes could not stop in time and ploughed into the back of the stopped cars and caused a massive pile up. Some of the cars went flying through the air and landed into the crowd and some broke apart and the debris went into the crowd as well. The rescue teams were slow to respond and mistakenly thought they could put water on magnesium which exploded into flames. As a result of this incident, Mercedes Benz banned itself from racing until the 1980’s and disc brakes became the standard safety feature in all race cars.
Many fatal deaths occur in the world of racing for a number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons why crashes occur and deaths happen in the crowd is because of uneven safety fence heights. In some places around a track, the height of a fence is a mere 9 feet while at others it is 22 feet. Spectators are allowed to sit in high risk areas, those that are only protected by 9 foot fences and even children are allowed to sit there. The other major safety concern is the fact that safety crews and rescue teams are not properly trained or are not on hand when an accident occurs. During the recent disaster that occurred during the California desert race where 8 people died, the location of the race was so remote that it took rescue teams more than half an hour to get there. Another big factor in racing deaths is the fact that sometimes organisers of races allow drivers who are unfit to drive, the chance to race very powerful cars around a track full of spectators. No one ever expects to have a crash at a race but they do occur and they have been occurring regularly for a number of years. It is high time someone stood up and said that they were not going to allow anymore deaths to occur during their racing event. The emphasis has always been about making the cars go faster; maybe it is time for the cars to become safer as well.
It is a very sad fact that fatalities and racing go hand in hand. Spectators should be able to come to watch their favourite sport and not be fear for their lives. Hopefully in the future we will see more initiatives taking place that will see greater safety in racing; safer cars, better trained safety crews and better safety for the spectators. Without these measures, racing is just going to continue to be a very bloody sport.
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