A well-equipped safety crew will have what is needed to fight fires, extract drivers and maintain the track when oil or water is spilled. This crew is suited in fire-resistant clothing and ready to come to the aid of drivers.
It is time once again to talk about track safety. None of this will make you faster or help you win races. What it will do is provide you the opportunity to survive your race and be healthy enough to come back next week and have fun. These are ideas provided by a professional safety crew out of Michigan: Kalamazoo Track Services and Jake Steele.
I was privileged to observe many track-safety crews while on the four-year Amsoil-promoted CT Great American Tour of the United States. I can say I saw many wonderful safety programs and some not so wonderful. All we are trying to do with these presentations is wake up the tracks that are not up to par with those who are doing the right thing.
In recent situations this year, we saw in some places that all is not well, even with major series sanctioning bodies, as far as the response to on-track incidences. If you think your track needs to improve its safety program, then refer them to this article or have them call Jake for guidance. He would be pleased to help out in developing the overall safety plan for your track. His team has its own website, just search for it for his contact information.
Be Geared Up
Always be geared up and ready when cars move onto the track. It doesn’t matter if it’s practice, qualifying, or the feature. Put on your helmet, radio, gloves, fire suit, Nomex hood, boots, and eyewear.
During the heat of the summer, many crews are reluctant to wear those heavy suits, but how much time does it take to get all of that on? In a fire in which the fuel tank has ruptured, there is very little time to act.
Race Control and Flagman
Whoever is in control of the cars on-track should always get the safety crew’s approval before turning the cars loose. In reference to the last item, the fire crew might need to remove those heavy coats and pants to cool off between on-track activities and might need a few minutes to get them back on. Good communication would allow that.
If the control center thinks ahead, they can alert the safety crew that cars will be on the track in X minutes and to let them know when you are ready. This keeps everyone on the same page and assures that everyone will be ready to go.
Who Does What
Your crew should all know their roles for each situation that might come along. That includes who goes to driver’s aid, who watches out for fire, who takes care of the track, who watches for and controls traffic, and who calls for EMT backup.
A very serious accident can be extremely confusing. Everyone wants to help out with the victim, but that is the wrong approach. The safety crew must have assigned duties and follow your plan. That way, everyone will first off be safe, and so that the rescue plan goes smoothly.
Know Your Tools
Your crew should know how every tool on the truck works, and everything should be checked at the beginning of each race day. The training has already been done for experienced fire-fighting personnel, but most crews have more inexperienced helpers who will be assisting with extraction, fire suppression, traffic control, and other tasks.
Take the time to go over each and every piece of equipment with those members of your crew who may not be as familiar with the equipment as you are. I have seen volunteer fire fighters forget how to turn on the water supply to the fire hose and waste precious minutes doing so.
Driver Education
Every driver who races at your track should know what you want from them. For instance, “We come out of turn 2 on the outside, and we want the drivers to leave the top groove for us until the wreck is cleared.” Or “Go slow and low when passing emergency vehicles.”
Anything you can think of that the drivers need to know can and should be discussed at the drivers meeting, or preferably at a separate meeting held for each class that runs. That way, the numbers are smaller and you can concentrate on each driver in the group. You probably know certain drivers who need more education than others anyway.
Hand Signals
Sprint Cars Each safety crew probably has several hand signs that can tell the drivers where to go, how to avoid oil or other hazards, when to scuff the ready-dry, when to get high or go low on the track, and other duties.
If a hand’s down motion means stop immediately, and the driver does not know that, someone could get hurt just from the driver not being able to see a hazard. You can refine those signals with the drivers, and they may have opinions as to what is better for different situations.
A race car windshield that has been sprayed with oil during a race is hard to see out of, and if the lights are just right, the glare could further impede their vision. The track crew has to be aware that the driver just might not be able to see in all directions, and they need to be careful and act accordingly.
Never Get Out of Your Car
Well, almost never. Drivers should never get out of their cars after it has been disabled on the track, unless it’s on fire or the track personnel are there and tell them to get out. And don’t unbuckle your belts or take off your helmet until you are absolutely sure the other cars have slowed down for a couple of laps.
The racetracks need to incorporate this item in their rules. And there must be serious penalties with zero tolerance, for breaking that rule. Getting out of the car and confronting another driver on the track is very dangerous and unnecessary. There’s always time back in the pits to talk things over.
Roll Over Procedures
In the event of a rollover, the driver must stay buckled in until the safety crew arrives to assist, if there is no fire. If no one is injured, the standard procedure is to roll them over while they are in car and buckled up using proven techniques that use the wrecker.
This involves rolling the car up on its side, preferably with the driver side towards the ground, attaching a wrecker cable to the underside, and then lowering it slowly to the ground onto the wheels. That way, the driver does not get whiplash, the suspension suffers less damage, and no one gets hurt from the sudden fall.
Carry the Proper Equipment
The KTS crew has two trucks, and they carry a foam-suppression system, the Jaws of Life to cut out drivers who are trapped, four brooms, an oil-dry spreader, three different kinds of fire extinguishers, a Sawz-all, drills, and a complete first-aid medical kit.
What you will need for your crew is your choice. Different tracks might require different equipment, so examine your needs and plan out which tools they might need for any occurrence. Remember that you are the only safety crew on the property, and you might be called on to assist a crewmember or spectator, as well as the drivers.
Local EMS Assistance
Plan ahead with your local EMS (emergency medical services) to have them on standby. They should know when and how you want them to work with you if the need arises. It would be great if the radio communications were coordinated, too. If they are aware you might be needing their services, they might position themselves closer to the track in-between service calls.
When a driver or anyone else at the track is seriously injured, you are required to seek professional medical assistance and transportation for the patient. This could include calling for a life-flight helicopter. If you don’t know how to do that, get with your local emergency provider, and get familiar with the procedure. It’s too late when someone needs to be transported stat from the track.
Another point to make is that many tracks are very far from the nearest hospital. When we attended Atomic Motor Raceway, we were about an hour and a half away from any medical facility. So, in the event of a serious injury, a helicopter transport would have been a must. Your track may be in a similar situation.
Race Car Safety
Every car should have a fuel check valve in the event of rollover. The car should also be equipped with a main power-supply cutoff switch, which should be mounted in all cars in the same general area of the car. That way, the crew can easily find it.
Most rules state that the cutoff switch be located within easy reach of the driver and outside personnel from either side of the car. If the car is lying up against the wall with the driver’s side blocked, the safety crew can still reach in and cut off the power supply, if the driver is unable to do that.
The drivers should all wear neck restraints and other gear that isn’t worn out. Seatbelts, driving suits, gloves, and shoes should all be in good shape and function as intended. These items are not for show. Your track’s safety crew should mingle with the crews before the cars are scheduled to go onto the track to talk about safety and inquire about how each car is equipped.
This also gives the crew a chance to get to know the drivers and talk about any concerns they might have. Some drivers might have special needs or disabilities that the safety crew would need to know about.
How the Track Is Constructed
This item deals with how a racetrack is built and what that layout might do to endanger race drivers. Openings in the track might present a danger to cars by providing the opportunity for a flat wall frontal impact.
If your track has openings located at the entry or exit of the turns, imagine a car blowing a tire or getting bumped at speed, and going into the corner of the opening such that the car would stop immediately. It has happened in the past, and at least once where the driver was wearing a head-and-neck restraint but still died.
These openings need to be cushioned with large tires, barrels of water, or other softening material to mitigate a head-on collision. If the track is laid out this way, and there is no other way to get cars on and off the track, then the layout might have to remain, but there are ways to improve the chance for survival. Talk with your track management about looking into those situations.
Throwing the Red Flag
The flagman should know when you want a red flag thrown without asking. Any hard hit, rollover, or fire would require an automatic red flag without the safety crew having to ask. If the trucks are rolling to a serious event, they are concerned with avoiding other personnel, avoiding the race cars still on the track, and positioning themselves where they can do the most good.
Have a plan beforehand for the flagman to wave the red flag if it appears that immediate and quick response is needed by the safety crew. It never hurts to stop the race cars on the track. And the drivers need to know to stop as quickly as possible where they are and pull to the inside of the track.
The red flag situation also applies if there is a need for medical attention to persons in the pits or the grandstands during a race. The flagman should first wave a yellow, followed by a red flag, so the safety crew can turn their attention to the other situation and away from the race.
Safety Crew Suggestions
When working with Sprint Cars, the most important thing safety crews have learned is, if you are on the track, and the cars are still coming around, stand perfectly still, and they will miss you. The second you move, you stand a higher chance of getting hit.
Always know what fuels the cars are running, so you can take the proper precautions. It is different for a car running alcohol, than for a car running regular gas. Depending on the fuel, you might not be able to see an alcohol fire. So, there are telltale signs you can learn about to identify those kinds of fires.
Make sure there are plenty of lights on your safety trucks, mounted at different angles so the drivers can see no matter which way you park your truck. It is a good idea to carry yellow flags so your helpers can stand up-traffic, alert cars to your position, and make sure they slow down.
Checklists Make for Good Procedures
Jake told me that the last major upgrade they made was to standardize all of their roles on the crew. At the beginning of each day, there are checklists for the main truck and secondary truck, as well as wreckers. The crew is responsible for checking every single piece of equipment on the trucks. Once racing starts, each person follows an “SOG” (Standard Operating Guideline), which is written with different priorities on each spot, allowing for the fastest, most efficient safety that can be provided.
Everyone on the crew is expected to be firefighters with EMS backgrounds and able to fill every single role on any given night. At the end of each shift, there is also a checklist to ensure everything is stored in the proper manner in order to prevent failures in the equipment. Now, that is one fine safety crew.
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