ASN Safety Bulletin #23 Rally Safety Caravan

26 Oct 2022 > Safety Bulletin

Dear Colleagues,

In recent months we have seen a concerning trend of official vehicles being involved in accidents during the closing of the road for the stage, prior to the first competition car.

We draw your attention to Article 5.4.4 of Appendix H to the ISC and to Section 2 of the latest FIA Rally Safety Guidelines regarding Safety Cars and their duties. The latest FIA Rally Safety Guidelines, and many other rally safety resources, can be found here: www.fia.com/rally-safety

The primary function of the Safety Cars is to check the route to ensure compliance with the safety plan and provide this information to Rally Control. It is advisable for all Safety Cars to be able to film each stage for two important purposes:

Provide Rally Control up to date information on the preparation and condition of the stage. Ideally video footage should also be made available to the Safety Delegate before they enter the stage, so they have advance warning of the stage situation and issues that may need to be resolved as they pass through. If possible, the linking of a webcam or dashcam on the front of the 000 car and / or 00 car to both Rally Control and the Safety Delegate can be very effective for this purpose.
These video recordings can also be used as a record and reminder to improve the preparation of the next running of a specific stage, or the next event.

Safety Cars must be driven at an appropriate speed that allows safety issues to be identified. At no time should a Safety Car be driven in a manner that puts the occupants, stage officials or members of the public at risk.

SAFETY CAR CARAVAN TIMETABLE:

In order to have time to solve last-minute safety issues, we recommend using the following timetable for running the Safety Caravan through each stage:

*FCD: First Car Due

We encourage organisers to use a dedicated radio channel to connect the Safety Caravan, Stage Commander and Rally Control together enabling the Safety Cars to render assistance if necessary.

SAFETY CAR GOLDEN RULES:

1. All Safety Cars should be clearly identified, and all Safety Car crew members should also be clearly identifiable as Event Officials when they are out of their vehicles.

2. Where realistic all official Safety Cars & Sweeper Cars should complete the full route according to the road book and maintain a completed time card.

3. Each crew should have a means of communication with the other Safety Cars and with Rally Control/Clerk of the Course, ideally radios with a dedicated channel. A dedicated radio channel enables the Safety Car crews to have an uncluttered and direct line of communication as they work together to get the special stages up and running. Rally Control and the Stage Commanders need to have access to this dedicated channel so that overall event management and stage specific decisions can be made.

4. All Safety Cars should proceed through special stages at a speed suitable to the vehicle being driven and to the prevailing stage condition. At no time should a Safety Car be driven in a manner that puts the occupants, stage officials or members of the public at risk. This is the reason why 000 and 00 should be standard road cars.

5. Safety Cars should not be used to entertain sponsors or to give VIPs a chance to experience, or drive, the stage for marketing and publicity purposes; they have a vital role to play and as such their occupants are there to work.

6. Safety Car crew members should remember that marshals are volunteers and as such, be courteous to them at all times. It may be the case that marshals require reassurance and brief training on their duties.

7. Safety Cars should always keep to their pre-determined time schedule and ensure that they adapt this to compensate for any delays in the running of the event. The closer an event is kept to schedule, the safer it becomes.

8. The Safety Cars must be driven at an appropriate speed that allows issues to be identified and they must be prepared to stop and sort issues if required. It is essential that all crews have a “see it, sort it” attitude for anything they see pertaining to the rally.

9. All Safety Cars (excluding the Zero Car) should have roof lights, sirens and a Public Address (PA) system. The Zero Car may have these or warning lights if the vehicle is suitable, however, sirens are strongly recommended.

10. Safety Cars should normally only use road books and other printed information supplied by the event organisers. Pace notes should not be used.

ALL SAFETY CARS CREWS SHOULD NOTE:

During the event, an informal meeting should be held between loops of stages in order to discuss any issues that may have arisen and could be improved on for the second run.

Spectators should be prohibited from walking on the special stage 30 minutes before the time of the first competitive car by closing the start and finish of the stage.

This message needs to be reinforced by the Public Address (PA) system on the Safety Cars and with the support of the marshals.

The 00 car will be responsible for checking that no spectator is present on the stage.

To enable spectators to adapt to this new measure, it is recommended that the marshals give a prolonged blast on their whistle at the 30 minutes to first car time.

INTERIM SAFETY CARS:

A minimum of 1 additional spare car should be provided to assist the Safety Cars. This car can be inserted into the Safety Car Caravan to deploy additional marshals and equipment should they be needed on the stage.

Interim safety cars do not have to be competition prepared but they MUST have lights, sirens and a PA system which should be used to advise spectators that further cars are to follow.

It is important that provision is made for the crew of this interim Safety Car to engage with and manage any spectators and to confirm to Rally Control that the situation has been resolved.

ZERO CAR:

The Zero Car role is crucial, as it's the last car from the Safety Car Caravan to enter the stage before the first competing car. Whilst they get to travel at a higher speed than the other Safety Cars and to do so in a competition car, it is a very serious and important job. The crew has to monitor the work done by the previous Safety Cars, monitor the stage radio communications and be prepared to stop on the stage to solve any issues they may come across.

ZERO CAR FUNCTIONS:

• To run at 70/80% competitive speed

• To ensure that marshals are prepared for start lights, time cards, spectator zones

• To check for any spectator movement after the Safety Delegate and 00 Cars

• To communicate any concerns immediately to Rally Control

• To be able to stop to resolve any safety issue on stage.

• To indicate to all concerned that the stage is now live.

VIP CARS:

VIP Cars should not form part of the Safety Car Caravan. Point 5 of the Safety Car Golden Rules states that “Safety Cars should not be used to entertain sponsors or to give VIPs a chance to experience, or drive, the stage for marketing and publicity purposes; they have a vital role to play and as such their occupants are there to work."

There is no safe location to place a VIP Car travelling at near competition speeds within the Safety Car Caravan make up.

Social Media Post

(Please feel free to copy and paste this for use on your social media channels)

In recent months we have seen a concerning trend of official vehicles being involved in accidents during the closing of the road for the stage, prior to the first competition car.

Safety Cars must be driven at an appropriate speed that allows issues to be identified. At no time should a Safety Car be driven in a manner that puts the occupants, stage officials or members of the public at risk.

In order to have time to solve last-minute safety issues, we recommend using the timetable for running the Safety Caravan through each stage, and following the safety car golden rules.

#FIASafety #FIAVisionZero

Best regards,

FIA Safety Department

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