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+--- Thread: Red covers for the air safety fence (/showthread.php?tid=5172)
Red covers for the air safety fence - DCLUCIE - 27-04-2007
Hi All,
On everyones travels round the course I was wondering what people thought of the red air fence covers. Went round the other day and I have to say that they are very distracting and may cause problems especially where they are close to or right beside marshal or flag positions. EG coming into Greeba Castle on the left. (just one of many)
With the riders traveling so fast in certain sections I would of thought a neutral colour would have been more of an advantage, or one that didn't look like a flag colour at least. Could this cause more confusion about flags this year and raise more calls of riders ignoring flags because the carn't tell the difference?
This is just a thought and I do hope that there are going to be covers put on the red ones that cover poles or lamp posts at least, just to save confusion. Wonder if this colour was mentioned in the safety cert for the course licence.
- beepee - 27-04-2007
Blimey,if a rider can't tell the difference between a red bag round a pole and a marshal waving a flag then the eyesight test must have failed
- Anonymous - 27-04-2007
Dont forget, on the TT course you can very often see for a long, long distance in front of you, sometimes a mile or more. When I last did the Manx there was a yellow sign at the side of the road near the Highlander which, from a distance looked just like a yellow flag, until you got close enough to see exactly what it really was. Anything at the side of the road on a road race course which is yellow or red and could, from a distance, be mistaken for a flag is, in my opinion, a bl**dy stupid idea, and just shows the lack of any practical experience on the part of the organisers etc (the majority of whom I would very much doubt have ever cocked a leg over a racing bike in their lives) whos idea it was to put these colours on these things.
ammo ,rider, eyesight 6/6 uncorrected, 6/5 corrected (for the benefit of beepee) :roll: :roll: :roll:
- Joe Stephens - 28-04-2007
I can imagine this causing a problem to. I was watching the Pre TT last year and I had a red coat on stood by the walls at church bends and a marshall asked me to either remove it or turn it inside out as a rider may see it as a red flag, I apprecated this and removed my coat and thought it showed a high standard of marshall.
- Anonymous - 28-04-2007
Its very similar to the "Black numbers on blue plates" fiasco of(I think) 4 years ago. Surely even someone with only half a brain would realise that you'd never see black numbers on blue plates on a bike going past at 160mph+, but, no this lot didnt. Imagine if a marshal holding a red flag ( which means the race/practice has been stopped because of an incident which may or may not be just round the next corner that youre approaching)was doing so stood in front of a red safety fence, do you think anybody would see the flag?
Answers (in red writing on a red postcard) to:
Neil ( Im the man in charge) Hanson
Clerk of the Course
MMCC Offices
The Grandstand
Glencrutchery Road
IOM
IM2 6DA
If I remember right, I think Ive also been asked to remove a red or yellow coat/jumper at a race meeting for the same reason, Joe.
- Hilary M - 29-04-2007
They actually look just like red post boxes,and there is a row of them approaching Ballaugh.Personally,I think they are a little distracting,as they are so brightly coloured
- GriffMuss - 01-05-2007
Blimey,if a rider can't tell the difference between a red bag round a pole and a marshal waving a flag then the eyesight test must have failed.
Beepee, it's not the case but they are distracting !
Do you race ? Or have you done the TT course at speeds of over 170mph ?
- cargo - 01-05-2007
Interesting topic this.
I suggested some time ago on another forum that seeing something red or yellow out of the corner of your eye could be distracting. I think at the time it was someone in a red shirt that I'd seen.
I got completely flamed for suggesting that people should consider carefully what they are wearing to watch at a race meeting.
I've even seen red/yellow striped umbrellas that at a distance that looked like an oil flag.
Stuff like that has always caught my eye don't ask me why.
We constantly hear of camera flashes being distracting but they have never bothered me. Then again not many are trying to take my picture
I did once make the mistake of using a spectator (he was wearing a bright blue coat) as a braking marker at the Steam Packet races about 10 years ago. All race he was there until the last lap I ran into the bales :roll: trying to get stopped
- DCLUCIE - 01-05-2007
Maybe we could get rid of flag men all together and just ask the people wearing red or yellow to jump up and down a little to let the riders know.
:wink: (kidding for those with no scence of humour)I think that there is a valid reason for these things to be covered. For years riders have been saying that they didn't see flags and have been panned for not slowing down (I am not starting that topic again), but their normal excuse is that they just didn't see the flag. Which is the reason I asked why the colour of these new air fence wraps for the poles and lamp posts or even the airfencing themselves was red. As Ammo said the chance of seeing something red on a red background is nil. If it was only one or two I don't think there would be a problem as the riders would get to know where they are, but since there is so many there is the chance that riders will start to ignore anything that remotely looks the same colour, as Cargo and GriffMuss says it is distracting and riders will start to ignore those distractions. This could easily lead to them ignoreing flags of the same colour.
Surely if we are trying to improve things for the riders the best way for them to see flags of vairried colours is to make sure that they don't have the chance of mistaking them for something else. I know for a fact that the air fencing costs a shed load of cash to buy and I honestly believe that Paul has done the right thing by getting this sort of safety device for the TT. I do hope that they can get some more to make the TT a safer experiance for the riders, but just maybe a different colour than red. I am sure it wouldn't cost that much to get covers for them and maybe there is an opportunity for companies to sponsor the covers.
Out of the mouth of kids... - ian huntly - 01-05-2007
What are all the post boxes for, Daddy ??
This from a friends son !!!
- beepee - 01-05-2007
Griffmuss yes I have
Re: Red covers for the air safety fence - Paul Phillips - 02-05-2007
DCLUCIE Wrote:Wonder if this colour was mentioned in the safety cert for the course licence.
I'm not an expert on the Circuit Set Up being honest. My input is to work hard to secure the funding for this top quality product. To answer the point above though, yes the fencing, pole protectors and their colours are in the circuit cert. The vast majority (red, white and blue) will also be covered by sponsorship branding come TT time as well.
Paul
- Anonymous - 03-05-2007
"To answer the point above though, yes the fencing, pole protectors and their colours are in the circuit cert."
And the Course Certificate ( to give it its proper name, Paul) is issued by :?:
the very same people who approved the "black numbers on blue plates"in the regs for the 2004 TT :!: :!: :!: :!: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
Que sera, sera
Re: Red covers for the air safety fence - DCLUCIE - 03-05-2007
Paul Phillips Wrote:I'm not an expert on the Circuit Set Up being honest. My input is to work hard to secure the funding for this top quality product. To answer the point above though, yes the fencing, pole protectors and their colours are in the circuit cert. The vast majority (red, white and blue) will also be covered by sponsorship branding come TT time as well.
Paul
Thats great news then if all of them are going to be covered. Thanks for your reply Paul.