Yet another article in the Bay of Plenty Times.
www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3793638&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=Baypark safety checks slack, claim drivers14.01.2009
by Michele McPherson
"A demolition derby driver who competed at Baypark on Saturday night claimed safety checks were the slackest he had seen.
Baypark promoter Willie Kay said officials would investigate how Speedway NZ rules were implemented on Saturday. More thorough checks were likely for the March 7 meeting, he said.
Before the event, another driver, Tauranga man Louis MacDonald, 26, removed his cotton overalls and received serious burns to his arms when the engine of his car caught fire. He is now in a stable condition in Waikato Hospital.
The driver, one of two whospoke to the Bay of Plenty Times on the condition they remained anonymous, said he had competed in two previous demolition derbies and safety checks before Saturday's event were not as thorough as he had experienced.
"Usually they check you when you get in the car, they didn't this year," he said. "To be honest they were pretty slack."
A second driver, who has raced in four previous derbies at Baypark, Huntly and Rotorua, said Saturday was the first time the drivers had not been individually checked while they sat in their cars in the dummy blocks, before entering the track.
"Every other demolition derby I've been in, a scrutineer's come running down the dummy grid and grabbed our harness," he said.
As a more experienced driver in his mid-20s, he said this final check was important.
"For my peace of mind too, because there's a bunch of amateurs out on the track. People don't understand how dangerous racing is," he said.
Both drivers admitted they had ``had a few' drinks before the event but did not see any random breath testing being carried out, something at least one of them had seen at other demolition derby events.
Both said the only reason they knew their cars had been checked by scrutineers was that mirrors had been removed or smashed. No glass is allowed on the track.
One of the drivers installed his harness into the car after it had been checked.
At previous events one of the drivers said there had been a piece of paper attached to the car, stating whether it had passed or not, or in some cases he had been required to be near the vehicle during the checking process.
Mr Kay said the Baypark team of staff and volunteers would meet to look at how the rules and regulations were being implemented. He said the team would look at any ``gaps' in the procedure and ``how to save people from their own stupidity'.
Mr Kay said there would be "far more stringent checks in place", at the next event of this type at Baypark on March 7.
Speedway New Zealand chief executive Tim Savell said the rules of demolition derby racing were clearly stated on the organisation's website and it was up to each individual track to enforce these rules.
He said drinking and driving was illegal under Speedway New Zealand regulations."
