7/9/2017 1:53 PM
Edited Date/Time: 7/9/2017 1:54 PM
You guys know that those are hardwood stakes, right? They are cut off close to square.
These are not the old pine stakes that would get a point on them from hammering.
I would venture that repeaters, as much as some of us dislike them, are pretty much a requirement to get the linear feet of signage required to get sponsors to participate.
What would you guys suggest as a realistic alternative, sign panels? Inflattables? Huge fixed billboards? Alternatives are either going to be more dangerous, block viewing, or require more setback.
In the history of the nationals, are there any documented incidents where a rider was injured?
I don't mean a rider at an amateur sx that fell on a sharp pine stake or something you heard about from your buddy's cousin that once cleaned the pool for a former pro rider's lawn guy.
I would bet there are many more riders that have gotten injured by footpegs and sprockets, yet I have seen no calls for peg covers and enclosed sprockets/wheels or shafts drive requirements.
As far as the posts at southwick. Look at them. It appears they are a piece of pvc pipe slipped over a smaller sprinkler line to get it up high enough for the sprinkler to function and support the smaller line and keep it from wobbling. Unless they are buried more than is reasonable to function in that capacity they are pretty much break-aways, and they sure beat the living hell out of metal or wooden posts I have seen used at other tracks over the years.
The wick is open on a regular basis for amateur practice and racing. I bet there are plenty of vital members that have ridden there and perhaps even seen or experienced what happens when they get hit.
I would also bet that the operators of the facility know exactly how they work from fixing them when someone does hit them.
There are so many risks in this sport, and there should certainly be discussion to minimize them but more facts and a dose of reality are helpful as well.