Air Fence Safety Performance - Research?

[skthecat 90]

One commodity that speedway has a surfeit of is old tyres. Tyres are a carbon nightmare and speedway is very wasteful with them. Wherever you go at speedway the things are everywhere.

Now, whilst I realise that tyres are nasty when burning, is there no way that tyres could be bagged and stacked in such a way as to a) prevent riders sliding beneath them and present a low fire risk? Tyres were often used in road racing and I for one have been grateful for their protection on several occasions.

[Elephantman 196]

There was a whole thread on Air Fences; there is no independent testing to prove they are safer than some current alternatives. I'm surprised the pro air fence crew haven't slaughtered you for having the temerity to raise the issue again. They are also not compulsory unless you are running FIM events; that hasn't stopped the some members of the BSPA railroading them through as a compulsory requirement.

[Tsunami 10,219]

There was a whole thread on Air Fences; there is no independent testing to prove they are safer than some current alternatives. I'm surprised the pro air fence crew haven't slaughtered you for having the temerity to raise the issue again. They are also not compulsory unless you are running FIM events; that hasn't stopped the some members of the BSPA railroading them through as a compulsory requirement.

So they are compulsory. Thought so.

In the absence of the independent testing data, let's try this. Which would you prefer. Being pushed headfirst into a solid or mesh fence, or an air fence. You decide.(said in a Sunderland accent).

[Vince 9,458]

.

In the absence of the independent testing data, let's try this. Which would you prefer. Being pushed headfirst into a solid or mesh fence, or an air fence. You decide.(said in a Sunderland accent).

 

Depends whether the air fence stays there or decides to jump out of the way and reveal some sharp objects pointing in my direction!

[oldace 1,678]

So they are compulsory. Thought so.

In the absence of the independent testing data, let's try this. Which would you prefer. Being pushed headfirst into a solid or mesh fence, or an air fence. You decide.(said in a Sunderland accent).

 

 

I think you have just taken us full circle there. That was pretty much my first response to this post three months ago.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Elephantman 196]

So they are compulsory. Thought so.

In the absence of the independent testing data, let's try this. Which would you prefer. Being pushed headfirst into a solid or mesh fence, or an air fence. You decide.(said in a Sunderland accent).

1. They are only compulsory for FIM events not all Speedway Events

2. The BSPA have decided that all UK tracks must have them (some of these promoters may or may not have a financial interest in selling air fences)

3. All tracks are different

4. Safety is not "one size fits all"

5. At some tracks other forms of safety fence will be safer than Air Fences

6. The Air Fences have not been independently tested and (as far as I am aware) do not meet any EU (or any other) safety standards

7. There have been a number of incidents where the way air fences have been installed has led to injury to riders, that is because:

7a There has been no independent testing to verify in what circumstances the Air Fences will improve safety

7b There has been little consideration of how they should be fitted; so at some tracks they have been installed in a dangerous manner

 

The development of Air Fences has been trial and error; undoubtedly at some tracks they have improved safety but at others they have not and have and will in future exacerbate injury.

 

Safety is too important for the cavalier approach of trial and error.

 

And by the way there are many different forms of mesh fence some patently safer than Air Fences. So I'll make my decision based on the independent scientific testing please...... oh sorry there isn't any!

Edited December 5, 2013 by Elephantman

[f-s-p 832]

8. They lose their FIM homologation stamp after 5 years of use. After an inspection they can be given two years more. After seven years it's for the bin.

[FTM 146]

Iv,e read with much interest the pro,s and con,s from many fans about the Air Fences but IMO there is one major design fault with the instillation of all fences .I was trackman at Coventry when they were first introduced although they were trialled the latter part of the year before .I think if there was a trench dug the width of the air bag about 2 feet deep around the edge of the fence the full length of both bends( the bags have their height increased by two feet to allow them to be within the FIM rule book) if the bags are then secured in the trench below the surface of the track I honestly don,t believe we would have had so many serious injuries in the time since they were introduced .The main cause of injuries is as most fans acknowledge the bag lifting and rider following bike under fence if the bike hits the bag halfway up the side there is no reason for it to lift.I saw Chris Louis get his serious leg injuries at Coventry when he hit the Stock Car gate cos his bike lifted the fence ,he went straight into the bottom girder on the gate which is obviously heavy duty to resist impacts from Cars.We never had anywhere near as many serious injuries when we had the wooden fence in situe.The Cov fixing is IMO one of the best in the country because we have the Armco barrier and eyelets are screwed into this and metal cables run through the eyelet loops tightened both ends of the corners and all the bags have strong fabric loops and clips fitted to this cable. It has consistently passed the FIM and British League speedway,s inspection but because they sit on top of the track surface a bike going at 60mph + is always going to kick it up hence the Chris Louis and latterly Chris Holder injuries.As a comedic end to just to enforce how much they should be fixed down when we were setting them up the first ever season we had a fair length of bags connected together on the top bend but not fixed down and the wind started to pick up, before we could get from the pits to the bend we lost 12 bags over the top corner of the track ,dog track fence and corner of the stand we had to hire a cherry picker to get two back from up a large tree needless to say we fixed everything down after that one at a time.

Edited December 6, 2013 by FTM

[Elephantman 196]

Great post FTM. That is why you cannot go on people's opinions you must always act on facts.

 

If their is a known installation flaw with these fences, that mean the potential for injury is increased, then somebody can be found liable for the riders injuries. Speedway is inherently dangerous but if you know of anything that has the potential to increase the risks and you are the person responsible for safety; then you are duty bound to do whatever you can to eliminate the cause of that increased risk.

 

I wonder if the BSPA has considered their legal responsibilities before they issued this edict?

 

I wonder who will/is getting sued for poorly fitted Air Fences; it has to be happening somewhere?

[iris123 20,997]

Great post FTM. That is why you cannot go on people's opinions you must always act on facts.

 

 

 

I wonder who will/is getting sued for poorly fitted Air Fences; it has to be happening somewhere?

So can you point us to the facts that air fences are dangerous or aren't better than what was there previously?And also if you only deal in facts,please point us to the lawsuit(s)

[Boobs 140]

When my partner was (much) younger he rode his motor-bike on the roads without a crash helmet.

 

When the law was changed to make helmets compulsory, he tells me there were traditionalists who argued against this law.

 

It is obvious the change was desirable, however much the Luddites claimed things would be better left alone.

 

Same with fences. You know they make sense.

[Elephantman 196]

When my partner was (much) younger he rode his motor-bike on the roads without a crash helmet.

 

When the law was changed to make helmets compulsory, he tells me there were traditionalists who argued against this law.

 

It is obvious the change was desirable, however much the Luddites claimed things would be better left alone.

 

Same with fences. You know they make sense.

So can you point us to the facts that air fences are dangerous or aren't better than what was there previously?And also if you only deal in facts,please point us to the lawsuit(s)

The arrogance of both your posts is quite astonishing. I don't have a problem with the concept of Air Fences whatsoever; I do have a problem that they have not been correctly tested and there appears to be a haphazard methodology for installation. You have a post from a member of the track staff highlighting just one of the issues and you totally ignore the points that are made.

 

So you sit back with your smug complacency and lets all hope that some rider doesn't suffer worse injuries because of poor design and installation of these fences. I do apologise if taking safety seriously causes you people a problem. Speedway truly is made up of the blind leading the blind!

Edited December 6, 2013 by Elephantman

[Vince 9,458]

When my partner was (much) younger he rode his motor-bike on the roads without a crash helmet.

 

When the law was changed to make helmets compulsory, he tells me there were traditionalists who argued against this law.

 

It is obvious the change was desirable, however much the Luddites claimed things would be better left alone.

 

Same with fences. You know they make sense

 

Being old I can remember the helmet law coming in, what I can't remember are examples of riders being badly hurt because they were wearing them rather than the previously accepted safety equipment. That argument could only hold water if there were previously no fences in place. The arguments against introducing helmets were all based on individual freedom, there was never any dispute about them being safer.

However riders like Chris Holder and Luke Priest are there as examples that all is not right with the air fence and both would very likely have received far less serious injuries with a solid or mesh fence. To my mind there is absolutely no doubt that in the majority of cases an air fence provides increased safety for riders, however there are also circumstances where other fences are likely to be at least as safe and quite likely better. Air fences at their best are brilliant, poorly installed they can be bloody dangerous.

[hydrobob 8]

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned. "risk compensation". Stirling Moss has some interesting things to say about this in his views on modern F1 grand prix racing. In a nutshell; reduce the consequences of a mistake and a complacency sets in that results in more risk taking with the result that you have ended up back at square one. I have had motorcycle get offs before and after the helmet law, only difference was with a helmet I was going a hell of a lot faster.

[Tsunami 10,219]

The new fence at Newcastle has straps over the top to the back of the fence, and held onto the existing mesh fence. Similarly, there is straps at the bottom, under the fence and the mesh fence, and again fastened to the original mesh fence. There is a substantial rubber kick board to cover the bottom edge of the fence, and behind that a solid rubber triangular bung to stop riders going under the fence. The original 16in wood kick boards are to remain to give extra support and stiffness to the fence. All gaps between the panel will be covered by a wide velcro strip to maintain the panels adjacent to each other.