5/10 Ambulance ride for another kid

[Phil Jacques]

Right or wrong it is about the cost, and most places are barely keeping their heads below water. Robert Hart told me that he has lost money on the racetrack for the last several years and I believe him. So, to put it in perspective business wise, here's one of the more wealthy track operators who OWNS the place outright (I assume) and has what has been agreed upon in this thread as one of the safest tracks. So how is someone who leases or rents to own suppose to come up with another 2500 a night when they're not making much, if any and in my opinion do it for the love of the sport just as we all do.
I'm not saying they shouldn't have to and of course it would be ideal and I don't think that anyone can argue that it wouldn't be safer to have a fully functioning and staffed ambulance, that can transport, onsite. But what do you propose the track owners do to fund it? To move this issue forward takes money, so what do you propose?
In my native, inbred, opinion Osmosis is right that what WE can do is make sure WE have the best of everything in personal protective equipment. By the way, it wasn't always this way "down here", there used to be fully stocked and staffed ambulances at most tracks.

My former Boss utilized one of those ambulances many years ago after going out of the ballpark at NSS back in the late 80s in his Sportsman so I know they have been there in the past. Osmosis is 100% right, we as racers can do a big part by making sure we have all the best personal safety equipment possible. As I said earlier, I have my Lajoie seat, Halon fire system, Hans, Collapsible Column etc. I wouldn't have it any other way. There are a lot of guys who are "old school" also and I get that. That's their choice. They don't want to believe in the modern stuff because they feel restricted in the car. There's an argument to every side of that one haha!

The biggest deal above all else is having all the proper safety equipment and properly trained staff on site if they can not afford the ambulance being there. I know OSW has this. A point was made to me that I agree with in part... MOST tracks are within 5-10 minutes of a station. It would normally take 5-10 minutes for properly trained staff to stabilize a patient if the situation should arise, so what good does the ambulance do at that point? I agree with that much of it (though I would still love to see one on site at every track), maybe the focus could be more on making sure every track has every possible item they can have to make sure the patient has what they need while waiting for transport. That might be a more reasonable angle to take on this matter, no? To me it's all about driver safety and all I am trying to get out is how to ensure our drivers can be tended to as quickly and best as possible. I wouldn't even want my worst enemy to get hurt, just now how my brain operates I guess lol

[Phil Jacques]

What I am saying is that Daytona Homestead Sebring and Gainesville would be able to provide proper safety and rescue equipment if legislation was enacted addressing all of the wants and wishes we have covered. Ergo the local track is doomed.

That depends on how it is approached by local tracks. If they could put together a separate sponsor package together to help offset some or all of the cost of it, that could be huge. It's always a crap shoot with sponsorship packages though so that can not be depended on. Just thinking out loud with that.

[egspeedway]

To summarize where I am on this, I would get a "warm and fuzzy" if I could be assured that tracks are at least providing what their insurer requires. I have asked on at least 4 prior occasions if tracks are required to have ambulances. To date not a single track has come on line to respond. While I am not a conspiracy theorist, I am beginning to have some doubts as to whether the tracks are taking safety as serious as the people on this thread . It does not begin and end with a signed release. Racers unfortunately feel for the most part that all of this is about the other guy.

[Phil Jacques]

To summarize where I am on this, I would get a "warm and fuzzy" if I could be assured that tracks are at least providing what their insurer requires. I have asked on at least 4 prior occasions if tracks are required to have ambulances. To date not a single track has come on line to respond. While I am not a conspiracy theorist, I am beginning to have some doubts as to whether the tracks are taking safety as serious as the people on this thread . It does not begin and end with a signed release. Racers unfortunately feel for the most part that all of this is about the other guy.

I am digging in to try and find out what I can do to make sure every track is properly equipped for any situation that may arise with or without an ambulance on scene. If anyone wants to help, it's your ass on the line when you are on track. Message me. Safety needs to be taken seriously by all, there is no arguing that.

[Winger]

We are spending a lot of time talking about the drivers needing the services of emergency care and they must assume responsibility for themselves. I don't think anyone disputes that. However, I believe an ambulance is needed for transport more often for spectators and pit crew members. Over the years I've been going to races, I've seen more spectators and crew people transported, than I have drivers. So let's not focus just on the racers.
Next, I coached high school soccer in NY state. All schools were required to have AED's at all athletic events. Their presence have saved lives. Where I lived in NY, it was primarily volunteer EMS, although advanced. However, it's time consuming to be dispatched and rush to the ambulance and then go to the scene. Some parts of our district were a good 15 minute drive to the scene. Hospitals were a half hour to 45 minutes away. We didn't have the luxury of having an ambulance only a few minutes away. So AED's were mandated by the state for school events. They're relatively inexpensive and easy enough for anyone to use, although I actually had a hard time letting a machine make decisions that I'd been making myself for years. LOL
FYI, Jake Perkins has set up an organization to address race safety. It's just getting off the ground and has yet to meet. It's been difficult getting everyone together. If this works out, it will be done on a national level and will work with drivers, tracks, etc. to improve safety. It wants to work with everyone, not try to mandate or force anyone to do something. There is potential for this to be something great. We pretty much know what's needed. Now we need to get that information to the people who don't know. We need to work with the tracks to see what they can do to help. I just hope we can make it work. I'd encourage everyone to continue discussing this topic. Try to focus on what can be done, how it can be done, and not on what's not being done.
For anyone interested, Bobby Rahal has a great safety site on the internet with some great information, particularly for young drivers. There are quite a few videos with professionals who know what they're talking about. I'd recommend going to the site and spending some time going through it. Check it out at: http://safeisfast.com/

[Phil Jacques]

We are spending a lot of time talking about the drivers needing the services of emergency care and they must assume responsibility for themselves. I don't think anyone disputes that. However, I believe an ambulance is needed for transport more often for spectators and pit crew members. Over the years I've been going to races, I've seen more spectators and crew people transported, than I have drivers. So let's not focus just on the racers.
Next, I coached high school soccer in NY state. All schools were required to have AED's at all athletic events. Their presence have saved lives. Where I lived in NY, it was primarily volunteer EMS, although advanced. However, it's time consuming to be dispatched and rush to the ambulance and then go to the scene. Some parts of our district were a good 15 minute drive to the scene. Hospitals were a half hour to 45 minutes away. We didn't have the luxury of having an ambulance only a few minutes away. So AED's were mandated by the state for school events. They're relatively inexpensive and easy enough for anyone to use, although I actually had a hard time letting a machine make decisions that I'd been making myself for years. LOL
FYI, Jake Perkins has set up an organization to address race safety. It's just getting off the ground and has yet to meet. It's been difficult getting everyone together. If this works out, it will be done on a national level and will work with drivers, tracks, etc. to improve safety. It wants to work with everyone, not try to mandate or force anyone to do something. There is potential for this to be something great. We pretty much know what's needed. Now we need to get that information to the people who don't know. We need to work with the tracks to see what they can do to help. I just hope we can make it work. I'd encourage everyone to continue discussing this topic. Try to focus on what can be done, how it can be done, and not on what's not being done.
For anyone interested, Bobby Rahal has a great safety site on the internet with some great information, particularly for young drivers. There are quite a few videos with professionals who know what they're talking about. I'd recommend going to the site and spending some time going through it. Check it out at: http://safeisfast.com/

Yeah, I think I mentioned crews and fans but definitely not trying to leave them out at all. I think for the most part, the drivers are higher risk thats kind of why I focused on them. I have definitely seen things happen in the stands or pits before too. Just 2 weeks ago, we had to have a red flag at the track because a woman went into labor in the stands. They delivered the baby right in the back of the ambulance at the track. It can happen at any time anywhere to anyone at the track for sure.

I have spoken to two tracks so far. Both have given me a very well similarly equipped list of what they have on site including their own ambulances (which cannot transport) Jaws of Life, AED, backboards etc etc. Both are also within 3-5 minutes of at least one ambulance dispatch point and have designated areas where helicopters can land if needed. I would feel comfortable at those two tracks. I have emails out to many others to find out what exactly they are equipped with and what their procedures are.

I still just can't understand why even if a track owns it's own ambulance, it cannot transport. It's no different than hopping in your own vehicle and taking someone to the hospital to me, but maybe there is more to it I guess...