National Safety Conference

The inaugural NASR National Safety Conference was held in Adelaide on June 17 and 18, 2006 with a vision to unite the various competitor groups in the area of improving safety in speedway. It was the first time such large gathering of competitor group members were in the same room at the same time, which was a pleasing result.

Many issues were raised and discussed with competitor groups agreeing to two main initiatives. The first being adoption of both the FIA and SFI Foundation International Safety Standards and the second, formation of a Speedway Safety Advisory Committee (SSAC) to make recommendations on safety improvements.

The Conference has become an annual event for competitor representatives from all divisions to discuss the latest safety issues for the benefit of the SSAC and the entire speedway community. Hopefully future conferences also be attended by track operators and officials.

2007 NASR National Safety Conference Outcomes

The second annual NASR National Safety Conference was held in Adelaide recently and was attended by representatives from Formula 500s, Junior Quarter Midgets, Junior Sedans, Late Models, Litre Sprints, Mini Sprints, Modified Production Sedans, Production Sedans, Speedcars, Speedway Karts, Open Sportsman, Sprintcars, Street Stocks, Super Sedans, V8 Dirt Modifieds and the Vintage/Classic movement.

NASR General Manager Tim McAvaney opened the conference, “NASR has a duty to make speedway racing as safe as possible, we have a big family of around 10,000 members which equates to around 5000 drivers and 5000 officials/mechanics.

“First of all we have an obligation to ensure our family is not hurt and everyone goes out and enjoys their racing in the safest possible environment.

“The second part is to do that at a reasonable financial cost and part of that are the compliance and insurance costs,” said McAvaney.

He then shared a claims summary report that illustrated a downward trend in the total number of liability claims each year, which in turn reduces premiums and increases benefits. This is due to NASR managing the sport with very good policies, procedures and initiatives, such as the Safety Conference and the SSAC (Speedway Safety Advisory Committee).

McAvaney also summarised last years conference outcomes, highlighting the initiatives which have already been implemented such as the adoption of internationally recognised and tested FIA and SFI safety standards, the adoption of Australian Occupational Health and Safety Standard 4360, and the formation of the SSAC.

Others outcomes are works in progress, such as forming a board of inquiry to investigate accidents and report back to the SSAC and the introduction of minimum fire fighting standards with assistance from track operators.

NASR Competition Manager Paul Trengove presented an overview of SSAC activities over the last twelve months. The SSAC includes members that cover a wide spread of expertise, skill and experience within the industry. Member profiles can be found on the NASR web site.

The SSAC meets to discuss safety issues in speedway racing including issues raised at the National Safety Conference, to liaise closely with National and International technical associations such as the SFI and FIA, to research and develop safety and risk management policies and to form recommendations which are then communicated to the NASR Board for endorsement.

A major challenge the SSAC faced was identifying all divisions and then preparing and communicating a separate safety standard for each. So the SSAC decided to align standards with the existing licence categories and what they have proposed can be found on the NASR web site under the heading Safety, then Safety Apparel or Head & Neck Restraints.

Please be aware that these specifications are only a minimum standard and NASR together with the SSAC recommend drivers purchase the best possible safety equipment their budget allows.

The reason the SSAC went down this path is because when the various divisions’ rulebooks were compared at the first conference it highlighted the number of myths and quirky comments they contained. Safety standards have now been simplified and unified across the industry.

Confusing lingo such as, ‘it must be a three layered suit made from fire retardant material’ has been replaced with a minimum internationally recognised and tested standard. Many delegates of the 2006 conference will remember Dale Rodgers, from Revolution Racegear and now a member of the SSAC, handed around six pieces of material. Three of which were cotton and three of which were fire proof, and no one could tell the difference.

Now scrutineers just need to look for the appropriate SFI or FIA symbol to know if the safety apparel is approved and safe. It has taken a lot of the ambiguity out of the equation. This equipment is readily available at all retail outlets in Australia and overseas and in fact most competitors are wearing apparel of this level already, however now it will be recognised.

There are race suits in Australia that are effectively compliant but only have an ASCF tag on the back as manufacturers Revolution Racegear and Aussie Track Wear provided ASCF approved race suits. All competitors need to do is take their suit to the approved manufacturer that sold them the suit (i.e. Revolution Racegear and Aussie Track Wear), and they will be able to verify its compliance and re-badge the suit for a small fee, it does not have to be trashed. Of course some gear will be past its used by date by age or deterioration.

Also the suit needs to be independent to the underwear and underwear must be long johns e.g. no short sleeves to offer proper protection. It is a myth that a third layer in a suit is underwear.

The lower standard for helmets (must comply with the AS1698 standard) has a 5-year limit from the date of manufacturer (please check the manufacturer date prior to purchase) because they are not as strong as the Snell rated helmets which can have a manufacturer date as far back as 2000.

Head and neck restraints are now used and trusted by major motor sport organisations worldwide and were also discussed at the conference. They have been mandatory in Australian Sprintcar competition since 2004 and will become mandatory for AA, A open wheeled and ASCF Super Sedans license categories from the 1st of July 2008.
Only SFI 38.1 (approved by the SFI Foundation) head and neck restraints will be allowed after 1 July 2008 in line with the Speedway Safety Advisory Committee (SSAC) recommendations ratified by the NASR Board.
NASR has written to all head and neck restraint device manufacturers advising of this rule so they have the opportunity to have their product tested by the SFI prior to the July 2008. Be alert and make sure you purchase a SFI 38.1 approved head and neck restraint so you are not forced to outlay more money next year.
The next challenge facing the SSAC is recommendations on seatbelt life and mounting, as a wide variety of mounting methods exist in speedway. Belts must go from the mounting point, over the shoulders and not be interrupted.

Also on the agenda to be discussed are fire extinguisher minium standards and risks of flammable sew on patches, displaying of track permits, improving sign on procedures, correct wearing of arm restraints, training track officials (identification of Head and Neck restraints, correct apparel/helmets etc.), quad bike riders wearing helmets and wearing long pants on the infield.

Paul Plater spoke at the conference about safety issues facing the vintage movement, delegates were introduced to the Australian Institute for Motor Sport Safety by Dr Rob Nethercote and Rob Chadwick, while David Higgins gave a presentation about new safety team tools.

At the end of the day delegates participated in an open discussion to prioritise the issues raised during the conference. Outcomes included:

• Helmets on quad bikes must be reviewed
• Seat belt life and mounting to be reviewed
• Ambulance requirements/first aid people at a race meeting to be reviewed
• Have a professional OH&S advisor advise the SSAC
• Fire extinguisher minimum standards to be ratified
• Continue to keep personal accident claims down and benefits up
• Minimum medical standards at race meetings to be reviewed
• Junior driver progression to AA categories to be looked at by the NASR National Council
• Breakdown of accident and injuries to be conducted (type of injury/how/car/summary of accidents and past insurance claims)
• Scrutineering - should drivers be sitting in their car wearing race apparel and also should drivers be sitting in the car to check head height?
• Drug and Alcohol Policy to be reviewed (saliva or urine based, random verses target testing)
• Race track shape, chemistry of clay/dirt and eliminating debris guidelines
• Competency test for new drivers
• Communicate the safe practise of using wheel stands under cars and the need for fireproof underwear

NASR Chairman Neil Sayer was pleased to see the speedway industry once again united to improve safety. “It is really fantastic to see the sport has come together and is working as one. The safety committee (SSAC) that has been formed is doing the task and the system is working,” commented Sayer.

The NASR National Safety Conference has become an important annual event where safety issues are raised and discussed amongst competitor groups. These issues are common across all disciplines of speedway and indeed motor sport in general so it is important for everyone to work together.

2006 NASR National Safety Conference Outcomes

Participants at the June 2006 NASR National Safety Conference in Adelaide discussed a range of safety issues resulting in many important outcomes, some of which are already being initiated by NASR. More than 50 representatives and other stakeholders attended the conference from all major racing divisions in the country. It was the first time such large gathering of competitor group members were in the same room at the same time, which was a pleasing result. Terry Shepard, the consultant who facilitated the conference, has prepared a paper outlining the Safety Conference outcomes and the key elements are listed below.

Speedway Safety Advisory Committee
Delegates agreed NASR should set up a Speedway Safety Advisory Committee (SSAC). NASR will distribute resume guidelines for people wishing to apply for a position on the SSAC. The SSAC will provide recommendations to the NASR Board on safety standards, policies, procedures, guidelines and specifications. However, this group will not function as an Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Committee as defined under various State Government legislation.

Board of Inquiry
It was decided the SSAC should recruit a panel of suitably qualified persons to set up a ‘Board of Inquiry’ to investigate specific major accidents and to report their findings back to the SSAC.

Drug and Alcohol Policy
Competitor groups agreed to immediately adopt the NASR Drug and Alcohol policy, which was distributed at the conference. The new SSAC will continually evaluate the implementation of this policy.

Occupational Health and Safety
It was concluded that NASR will adopt the Australian Standard 4360 in regard to implementation of risk management strategies. In addition NASR will communicate and reinforce the Duty of Care responsibilities of all participants in speedway and the responsibility of competitors for their own care and safety, as well as that of others. The SSAC will consolidate existing OH&S policies and develop new ones as required and introduce OH&S policies and procedures training.

Safety Apparel
It was decided that SFI and FIA global safety standards would be adopted uniformly and introduced as mandatory, most likely for the 2007-08 season. Therefore manufacturers supplying equipment to NASR license holders will be required to comply with the above standards. The SSAC will prepare specifications on safety equipment and apparel based on these standards.

Other apparel issues that require follow up include the use of the HANS device and a horse collar at the same time and the fitting of special 2-inch seat belts over the HANS.

Medical and Emergency Services Personnel
It was recognised that speedway racing is under resourced with medical personnel so it was suggested members from competitor groups and state offices visit their local fire or emergency department and invite personal to race meetings. There might be another David Higgins (NASR National Safety Officer) just waiting to be discovered. The appropriate skills and experience required can be identified by the skill set document prepared by Dr John Couper-Smart.

It was also highlighted that NASR and competitor groups need to improve the knowledge of emergency services personnel that attend speedway meetings with regard to speedway machinery and accidents. This can be achieved via communication and education and by routinely inviting local fire, rescue and ambulance teams to NASR Safety Days.

Licensing
It was recommended that drivers’ licenses be checked more regularly at events to ensure drivers are eligible to race, i.e. currently licensed. It was agreed all competitor groups will inform NASR promptly when a driver is suspended and that NASR will draft a proposed notification policy for all competitor groups to inform of any outstanding infringements.

Insurance
It was noted that some speedway officials are concerned about their personal liability when policing safety apparel. A Marsh representative at the Conference confirmed that NASR public liability insurance protects all participants, including any officials who may be checking safety apparel.

Training
The Conference regarded safety training as a very high priority. A ‘Train the Trainer’ program for instructors will be introduced and other accredited safety training programs pursued. NASR will also endeavor to provide training in reporting procedures to encourage more comprehensive reporting of incidents and accidents and then facilitate shared learning of the outcomes from the reports.

Fire Fighting
It was suggested NASR should move to introduce minimum standards for firefighting equipment in the pits and on vehicle transporters. It was recognised that track operators also have an important responsibility to help develop these.