Will Safety Concerns Keep Fans Away from F1 Podium Ceremonies?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 9, 2013

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The podium ceremony following any Formula One race is a special moment.  Thousands of cheering fans surround the platform, clamouring to get as close as possible to their favourite drivers.  But this spectator participation could soon be a thing of the past.

Just after the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix, a volunteer track worker was killed when he was run over by a crane carrying a damaged F1 car.  Last Wednesday, Québec's workplace health and safety commission (CSST) released a report (in French only) on its investigation into the accident.  It points out that the tragedy was preventable, had the volunteers received proper training and had the crane been operated according to the manufacturer's instructions.

One of the contributing factors in the accident was the speed at which the crane was travelling.  The reason for this speed?  The workers were trying to get the car back to the pit lane before hordes of fans poured onto the track, headed for the podium.



F1 teams are understandably nervous about leaving stricken cars abandoned around the circuit.  Each car is worth over $2 million in parts alone.  Add to that the development costs, which are even more of a worry for the teams.  The last thing they want is a fan snapping close-up photos of their latest design innovations and plastering them on the web.

Whether keeping fans off the track would have prevented the accident in Montréal is something that cannot be known.  However, CBC indicated that option is being considered to help ensure an accident like this never happens again.

François Dumontier, the president of Octane Racing Group, the race organizer, told the CBC, "It's a tragedy.  The family lost a son...We're going to work closely with the CSST to make sure that doesn't happen again at our track."

F1 and other high-speed sports are inherent...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Formula 1

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