Monster trucks

[Roderick]

Following the recent monster truck accident in the Netherlands Daily Mail there is a lot of talk about "international Monster Truck Racing Association" regulations about safety.

So far I have only found details about the safety of the trucks, nothing about safety of the spectators.

Can someone point me in the right direction 'cause I'd like to know what, if any, regulations there are.

And if not, why not.

[Junior8]

A video of the incident posted on the net shows that the spectators are much further away from the display than some press shots suggested - those used in the UK papers were quite severely foreshortened making it look as if the crowds were only feet away. In actual fact on the video they looked at a pretty standard distance for the average arena attraction. That being said, I agree that with this sort of tackle on the move one wonders what a safe distance is.

[kerry davies]

There was talk after the Mexican fatality, Roderick but I haven't heard anything.

 

I will argue with Roger on several points. The truck starts off right next to audience members including children who don't even have an ineffective pedestrian barrier, just a piece of rope.

No motorised event should take place in an arena, or part of one, smaller than the turning circle of the vehicles as this one most definitely is.

Ped barriers are worse than useless when the truck wheels are twice as tall. With tyres that size even Armco is pretty much a waste of space.

These events draw children who, because they are shorter than their parents, always end up in the front rows. That means a Risk Assessment geared toward excitable kids being most at risk.

 

At major events in the US they build seating tiers then keep them empty up to the height of the tallest trucks, about 10 rows or more. At Millennium Stadium a safe distance is upstairs but if you look carefully the arena edge is marked in white, about 8 metres inside the advertising boards and THEN they empty the lower tiers. The "end stops" are huge water filled barriers and other trucks parked to prevent overshoot.

 

Needless to say the MTRA is decidedly miffed and it might be worth dropping them a line, Roderick.

[Roderick]

Looking at Google Earth the parking lot they used was way too small for this event.

The two main areas of failure as far as I can see is that:

A - there are people in line with the direction the truck is going, something that shouldn't have happened

B - those people are way to close, 10 - 15 metres if you are lucky

 

Interestingly, the permit issued by Council Vergunning only mentions a distance of 10 metres (where did that come from) and the use of 'dranghekken', basic crowd barriers.

 

Stay tuned, we have to learn from this and how to prevent a repeat.

[Junior8]

I wouldn't disagree with anything Kerry says but the fact remains that I have seen such attractions presented in arenas with few if any of the safety precautions he mentions beyond either crowd barriers or Heras. A quick image search on Google will confirm this. Indeed one major entertainment contractor in the UK simply specifies "ideal arena size 100m x 80m with safety barriers" nothing more. (Which might partly explain your point above Rofderick) Not exactly massive when one considers that these shows are usually presented end to end and taking into account that a vehicle travelling at 30 kph covers 8.3 metres a second.