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Racing licenses vary on this subject though. Paul Drayson is blind in one eye and as a result cannot get a UK MSA license. He runs under an American license though where they do allow those that disability to gain a license.

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To stand on it and get a better view!

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I think you should do what you want.

It's your forum and I paid the bills this year..

and if people don't like it they shouldComplain here

Simple oversight probably, bet it didn't even occur to anybody it might happen, or naivety, inexperience, won't happen to us syndrome - take your pick - I don't ever remember this happening before (unless you count me walking into a Ferrari one at Brands in the 80's), and it'll probably never happen again.

Either that or tail lifts weren't listed on the Health & Safety form (if you've ever deal with H&S people you'll know what I mean, some of them are so pre-occupied with ticking the boxes on a form that common sense goes out the window, you could have a Samaria sword sitting bolt upright in fresh butter and they wouldn't even notice it if there wasn't a section on the form to tell them to check it).

Well one eye or blind in one eye is the same effect, and American racing licenses allow that. Paul Drayson raced Le Mans whilst blind in 1 eye. Short of F1, I think he can legally drive any series with that license.

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Didn't Derek Daly's brother race while blind in one eye? If I remember correctly he was only allowed to up until a certain level.

"Complacently" Gaara, that's the word I was thinking of. If you've worked round racing cars for any length of time, you build up a kind of sixth sense about these things (either that or you learn the hard way), often there are so many thing in a paddock to avoid like ramps, silent cars, engine hoists, trailer ramps etc. you get used to them and it comes as second nature to avoid them. If you're new or a guest, you either don't venture into those parts cos your shit scared, or someone is with you to look after you. You'd probably never look at something and think, "oh if the throttle sticks on a car that's going in x-y-z direction, they could impale themselves on that, best move it" due to the complacently you build up.

In 20+ years around paddocks here, I only ever saw two accidents like this, one was where the tail lift broke and dropped the car on the mechanics, and another one was a googly eyed girl who'd never been to a track before, got into the assembly area at Brands and got a very hard lesson in why you never change direction when walking without looking and as a FFord drove past her she stepped into the space between the front and rear wheels, that was a pretty nasty one.

Reading through the last comments sounds like she died....
I think we should be happy that she actualy survived that accident, just looking at the photos make it look like a miracle.

Can't say till we know the extent of injuries but I guess it depends on your view; if the injuries are permanent and debilitating enough, surviving isn't necessarily a blessing.

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Exactly. I'd much rather die in a crash instantly or within a few hours rather then to live in a coma for 10 years with my family being forced to look after me, for example.

Sorry but I don't feel I can be happy with a lost eye. Relieved she's alive, maybe, but not happy.

someone is going to be in trouble over this. Although the truck could not move forward any more.

But you can see in that pic the offending trailer's loading ramp has been dropped to the ground, where it wasn't the other day (presumably or the car would have driven up it, not into it)

The "offending trailer" that she hit as you put it is a catering support truck, not the car transporter, that's the one further back with the bigger loading ramp and black/red section on the tail.

It's very easy for you all to say someone should hang over this, take the blame etc. etc. because that's the way you've been bought up, but if you consider it from the other side, who would have thought an experienced racing driver would forget to engage neutral when coming to a stop...? It's very easy to point fingers and make snap judgements in hindsight.

I'm sorry but you could look at that picture and present many different scenarios where an item, vehicle or something is a place of danger. But that picture probably shows nothing abnormal to a set up of any other straightline test completed before, and straightline tests have been going on for decades.



+1

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Been following the news and this has obviously been a shock to F1 community, albeit I don't think it has much to do with F1 other than that there was F1 car involved. Last 'possible' career ending accident happened to Robert Kubica and that occurred outside the F1 weekend as well. There are no real safety concerns considering e.g. Silverstone weekend where every bit of action is highly controlled by professionals. When drivers leave the race track they're more likely to be injured in car accident than during the driving session. Under more loosely controlled circumstances - like straight-line test - there is a higher risk of human error.
Hoping for a good recovery for Maria.

Agreed with these posts.

Also, if you look at the ramp it appears to be at the height of the back of the truck. If you lowered it she'd have just went under the truck and made contact with the 'bumper bar' at the back. Blunt force to the head could have been even worse.

Crap... I read the news in a TV news banner on tuesday while on travel, but I thought it was an actual racing crash, and that the "serious injury" wouldn't be life-altering...

Freak accidents like this have a cruel way of reminding us that danger does not always lurk where you think it will be. Wishing all the courage to her for the future.

No, I think the bumper bar is low enough that the car probably wouldn't go underneath it, or it would at least have slowed it to a stop. Besides, it's not as sharp as the edge of the ramp is and the helmet most likely would stand up better.

Bike/bicycle riders, are you also afraid as hell from these ramps on parked trucks? I will even more now.

They usually put a cone or a sign for protection, but I can't help shivering whenever I ride past one as they are razor-sharp and sometimes elevated at exactly eye or throat-level for goods loading/unloading.

The helmet wasn't the problem, though, it was the visor.

Maybe it's worth looking at visors to see what could be done, if anything, as opposed to another canopy debate.

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Dan Wheldon ¦ 1978-2011
Marco Simoncelli ¦ 1987-2011
Jules Bianchi ¦ 1989-2015
Justin Wilson ¦ 1978-2015

Yeah, I know he's mad and I don't care. I do not care. I did not care then. I do not care now. I'm here to race him.