Let me first define pit riding, I'm talking riding to sign up or to the starting grid or trackside for viewing. Possibly cruising up for a snack but not wheelies and reckless riding, 1st gear mellow riding only.
In our local series we have always been allowed to ride in the pits with no requirements. Earlier this year we noticed a huge uptick in kids on One Wheels without helmets, so the organization instituted a rule where if you were on a motorized device like that you had to be wearing a helmet. Other vehicles were not required and if you wanted to take a quad up to the edge of the track you were ok.
At our Hare Scramble we just had our club went all the way and made it a requirement that anyone on anything with a motor had to be wearing a helmet. The only exclusions were UTV's and golf carts.
Everyone in the club as well as officials of our series was tasked with enforcing it at our race and with the exception of a few people it was fairly well received. I had a couple dudes get unruly and pissed at me but they were dealt with calmly and we only had one major issue. I put the poll for what your local race series does but I'm also curious of people's opinion on the rules or what they think is right. I remember years ago we used to have to push to the starting line and I'd hate that.
You are supposed to be +18, helmet, under 10mph. It's loosely enforced. The 9 year old should not be handling a jacked up golf cart while drunk dad tells tales of his glory days and mom is cracking open another white claw. This subject gets me worked up, thanks. lol
We've got absolutely no rules here in MB and there are 12 y/os on pit bikes ripping 3rd gear tapped everywhere, no helmets in sight. Had a kid on a 50 get completely cleaned out by a full size bike last year.
Super annoying at harescrambles especially where parking is tight, trying to park and you have not only racers from earlier races going to and from the pits on race bikes you also have everyone riding their pitbikes around to go sign up at the sign up trailer thats probably 100 feet from their truck. Then when you are trying to get down to the line for your race you are once again dodging pit bikes everywhere.
I think there should be fairly little pit riding. 1st gear only, 5MPH, helmets required, mostly to and from the track. If you have a SxS or golf cart, that's fine to use helmetless, but maintain the 5MPH rule. The pits are not a place to be riding for fun or practice; that belongs on the track.
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The most annoying part of the race weekend is the out of control pit riding. More dangerous than being on track. One of the reasons we ditched the toyhauler and hotel it now. Need a break from the idiots. Some of the adults are worse than the kids and coincidently they’re the slowest on the actual track.
It has gotten a little out of hand in MB. I have seen people bring full size moto bikes to the track only to cruise the pits rev the bikes to the limiter. Drives me crazy
Dealing with all the people who don't want to follow the basic rules always makes me want to quit volunteering to organize events. But for some reason I keep coming back.
What’s a slide?
I’m fine with pit riding no helmet in first gear as long as everyone else respects it.
How'd the mechanic get to the start ....BRO
The Grismers were dead serious about those pit rules. Being strict on enforcement made things safe
Great thread. Brett Downey Foundation has the blueprint for safe tracks. One of the smartest things they ask for is a separate track entrance and track exit. The smallest details can yield huge dividends since common sense is so lacking in our sport IE. equipment on the track or next to the track, open practice sessions with wide variety of skills levels all on the track at the same time.
We have to do better especially as long as we've been at it. It's not rocket science.
Slide is breaking the rear tire loose I would guess.
1st gear rule doesn’t mean top out first gear, pull the clutch in to coast and repeatedly rev the shit out of your bike until you need to speed up again. I don’t know why but it seems like 90% of people do this and it drives me nuts!
Insurance rules here forced a local track to improve their fence around the track so that no one can enter except track staff. Spectators are restricted to specific areas unlike before (except 50 parents cause one of the fun things in moto is watching them chase and pick up riders all over the place!). Pit riding is policed and helmets are required. No one seems to mind or complain because we want to keep the track open. Many volunteered $$$ and labor to put up the fencing. Glad we have no wheelie boys or Bro goons here. Ya'll can keep them.
It's funny because one of my go-tos is the AC move. I think it was Millville where he ran off the track and took a hand off the bar. I cruise around one handed to show from a distance I'm not on the gas. Stupid I know but it seems to be a natural reaction.
I guess this is a bit of a tangent. But I was out at Hangtown on a normal practice day a few years ago and there was this group of young guys just doing wheelies and riding back in the parking lot making a huge cloud of dust. I don’t know that they even went out on the track. It was beyond irritating.
I kid you not. One of them finally looped out and got hurt. The ambulance had to come and everything.
I voted to just ride your bike to the gate with no other riding. It was 20 years ago but I remember all the local tracks banned riding in the pits completely from too many dumbasses being stupid. The quickest way around the pits was to ride your BMX bike. One track even forced you to jump off your bike immediately after you got off the track. I got a major ear full once for riding back to my van after I totally shit the bed during a race and was super angry. I didn't speed at all just didn't want to push my bike and wanted to get to the van asap but hey I broke the rules and got punished. I screwed up.
Pit Row
Ehh the side by sides are just as bad as the quads and pit bikes. If not worse imo.
Those are also a big point of consternation in our organization.
Slight tangent: One of the cool things about our sport is how kids learn to operate machinery at a young age, it's cool when you see a competent kid driving a golf cart or side by side around and you can tell that the family has some land and it isn't just something the kid does at the races. Most kids his age will still have the training wheels on their bicycle if they even get off of Tik Tok long enough to ride a bicycle. That being said a crowded pit is not the place for a 10 year old to be wheeling around a hot rod UTV.
Would be better if this were the case but....
most tracks have little to no rules.
Yep, fast in the pits equals slow on the track.
Ah makes sense, thanks. I honestly can’t fathom squidding in the pits. Just…. Why? Ruins it for everyone.
Every track I ride at has a first gear, dead slow rule in the pits. Every track I ride at also has hoons ripping through on the regular on their back wheel rev bombing the shit out of the thing and jumping anything that can put air under the wheels. These are often the same idiots who ride the slower track and brake check and roost kids on 110's. Drives me nuts. Efforts by onlookers (often me) to have the behavior dealt with by owners and organizers usually get shrugged shoulders in response and paints the complainant as a rabble rouser and a nuisance, nobody likes a buzzkill after all. This sport is going to kill itself.
We have the same issues here in the UK, pit racer goons giving it the biggun in the pits, then getting lapped in the C class race.
Majority of UK tracks have a strict no riding in the pits rule, but most tracks have dedicated lanes taped out that allow riding to the gate and from the track. This works well and is a good middle ground that's both safe and convinent.
The main problem with the rule is at some of our tracks that have huge pit areas on steep and/or ridge and furrow fields that are pretty much impossible to push a bike on. It's then down to rider discretion to ride slow and sensibly with a helmet on, 90% of people do but you always get a few arse holes riding around wide open.
E-bikes and scooters are banned at pretty much all tracks now too. You can't even hear those things coming!
I made my son push his bike back to the truck one day after I saw him rip his 50 to the truck after a bad race and he was pissed. It only took him doing it once to curb that behavior. Now he putts to and from the track.
And that's how you raise a kid. Good job pops!!!
Having a good return road after a race has completed and having a good to gate road helps cut down excessive pit riding as well and less of a traffic jam.
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