Posts
35722
Joined
7/10/2006
Location
Aliso Viejo, CA, USA
Edited Date/Time
1/26/2012 12:51am
This was buried in Pit Bits, but I think it needs some extra attention and discussion. I saw some good flaggers during the day, but also some horrid ones...like this guy who was napping in the middle of the second 250 moto. Who has solutions to offer up?
Personally, I think that while bikes are on the track, they shouldn't be sitting. That's step one.
Here's the caption that went with it...
While improvements have been made in a lot of areas, one that still needs to be addressed is with flaggers. We spotted this guy napping in the middle of the second 250 moto...and promptly went over and woke him up. Unfortunately, we heard he wasn't the only one spotted napping during the day. We know MX Sports is working on improvements for flaggers for the '10 season, but there needs to be substantial forward movement here. Our riders deserve much better than flaggers who can't stay awake during races.
Personally, I think that while bikes are on the track, they shouldn't be sitting. That's step one.
Here's the caption that went with it...
While improvements have been made in a lot of areas, one that still needs to be addressed is with flaggers. We spotted this guy napping in the middle of the second 250 moto...and promptly went over and woke him up. Unfortunately, we heard he wasn't the only one spotted napping during the day. We know MX Sports is working on improvements for flaggers for the '10 season, but there needs to be substantial forward movement here. Our riders deserve much better than flaggers who can't stay awake during races.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Typically, I think they get $100 per day. At some tracks (Hangtown comes to mind) there are quad circulating around to make sure the flaggers have enough water, etc.
We had a Flagger Supervisor on a quad, cruising with Gatorade and water and substituted for lunch breaks, etc.
One guy got fired for lying down at his post and presumably sleeping. His Mom works at our grocery store and for quite a while kept asking me why her son wasn't allowed to flag for us anymore
Here it where track owners can get a free safety flagger dvd:
http://www.mxsafety38.org/
We also don't allow them to text or chat on cell phones.
They have chairs for in between and during inevitable breaks in the action during the day.
Our Head Flagger is cruising the track all day with waters and they all get a break to eat or use the bathroom.
We have sent a few of them home for not being alert or texting etc.
MX Sports should contact all tracks within a certain radius of a national, say 100 miles (roughly a 2 hr drive) and work a deal with all of those tracks to recommend their best couple flaggers to flag at the National, with all the perks and benes that come with it. Make it a contest at each track, this will then also improve and encourage the flaggers on the local level to do a better job to get the honor of flagging a National.
MX Sports should take all of the flaggers early in the morning and walk them from truck to truck to meet and greet with all the riders, giving them all a feeling of familiarity....if you "know the guy" you'll care a bit more. Make the flaggers feel important and indispensable to the racers and the program. They should get the VIP treatment, including but not limited to a tent to rest in during breaks with snacks and lunch during lunch time.
The best solution, but admittedly the most costly, is a travel team of a dozen or so who are employees and attend every race and work as "team leaders" and oversee two maybe three flaggers, rotating the local crew regularly in and out so that they're not beat down by the sun and heat. The sun and heat is what kills these flaggers, it ain't boredom. I will bet you that is why that guy fell asleep. You have to minimize sun exposure.
Speaking of which, each flag stand should have an umbrella. Simple stick in the sand beach umbrella, and yeah, logos can go on them, so it's additional revenue or at the least no cost to MX Sports
FYI, I have flagged races since I was 10....first race was at Amelia Erhart Park in Hialeah, about 1976 or so....flagged tracks all over Florida and done so also as a head flagger.
So, I may know a little on the subject
Pit Row
how many people have been hurt because of poor or no flagging in professional motocross/supercross? i cant really think of any, maybe if there wasnt a flagger in a specific area (like MA's crash last year in the outdoors) but for lack of concentration? unfortunately it will probably take a bad crash and someone sleeping like in the picture that results in injuries that are worse from after-the-crash then the initial fall for the ama and tracks to do something about it.
also, your eyes will become tired more quickly from staring at the same thing all day. possibly moving flaggers around between motos? gets they blood flowing, using their legs, makes them more alert and new sceneary to concentrate on might help.
I wish I had taken a pic of the five year old girl I saw flagging at one local race.
If you sit while flagging on my crew (during a race) you go home.
Someone mentioned moving the flaggers around. I agree they should be allowed to get down, and stretch their legs, but believe the more familiar they are with their corner/obstacle the better they'll be. You start to know what's going to happen before it actually does.
Dave's idea of a traveling "team" of people to oversee the flaggers seems like a good idea.
have the monster girls carry drinks to each individual flagger. would get my blood going for sure
I have flagged many, many times, and it's a very tedious job sometimes. We hoped to have a course marshal program in place for 2009, but that got a little sideways and we ended up letting each track provide most of the flaggers. In this case, it was a guy from our own regular staff at Steel City that fell asleep on the job. For that I am embarrassed and I apologize.
We are already working on 2010 and we are going to soon ramp up an effort to work with more safety experts and tracks promoters around the country, as well as some series sponsors, to come up with good programs and packages for caution flaggers who will get the job done and not let us and the riders down by nodding off like this unfortunate case.
And thanks to all of the flagmen who did their job on Saturday (including Shaner708) and helped us get to the finish line on this season.
DC
MX Sports
No comparison.
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