From: Rob Graham .....--... Re: Engine End Cases
on 07/02/2008 at 03:53 PM
You do like taking a simple statement and going off on a rant, don't you. I'll give it ago...
Here in backwater SA a few years ago the Premier set up a Volunteers Protection Act. This provides an additional level of protection for volunteer officials, over that already in place by clubs and associations like MA. This Act was put in place to counter rediculous statements like saying that officials will end up in jail or lose their houses for doing their jobs. People should be encouraged to become officials, not threatened, or the sport is doomed. With the cover we have through sporting associations and other Acts, if you end up in jail these days, you've probably done something clearly insane by anyone's interpretation. Misinterpreting a poorly worded rule is highly unlikely get you there.
Instead of claiming that club racing is unsafe, has anyone reviewed the safety of the ASCs? There's certained lots of crashes. Are there more or less crashes and injuries at the ASCs compared to club meetings? Is ranting about end cases and putting wet tyres on Superstock bikes admitting that you were negligent last year sending bikes out to crash all over each other in the wet on unsuitable tyres with poor quality end cases? I witnessed a nasty crash a few years ago where a rider highsided on fluid that wasn't caught by the fitted belly pans. There was a lot of discussion by experienced locals suggesting that a certain additional track vehicle used at that particular meeting continually sprayed stones on the track which holed bikes' radiators. I haven't seen anything like that at a club meeting.
I think discussions of sensible safety improvements are better than threats of jail.
I took the time to explain what I'd witnessed personally first hand but if I'm wrong then I'll shut up and considering there is an act in S.A that will look after you even if you decide to knowingly break the rules and that breach can be attributed to causing injuries then good luck, I guess that could mean volunteer officials in S.A don't have to pay attention to anything they don't really want to.
Personally I wouldn't want to be standing in court telling the judge that as a volunteer official I'm immune from being negligent because the Governement will protect me. I wonder if there are any similar acts of parliement in the other States that protect people who knowingly decide to act negligently no matter what happens because of those actions?
Anyway I have a series to run and I'm sure your busy to.
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Re: Engine End Cases 
Re: Volunteers protection (Rob Graham) 02/07 03:53 PM 