Air Fence Safety Performance - Research?

[BWitcher 12,453]

 

 

Correct which is what cycle helmets are designed to protect you from (and why in my opinion you should choose to wear one); however most fatalities on cycles are caused by being hit by a faster moving vehicle (or being crushed by an HGV)so don't kid yourself that wearing a helmet will prevent this.

 

So that begs the question are we all kidding ourselves re air fences?

 

So they reduce fatalities and serious injuries. Job done.

 

 

[Lord Skid 425]

No - we are NOT!!

 

What we ARE doing is reducing the risk of serious injury. NO System on this Planet is infallible and incidents (like Chris Holder's) will ALWAYS happen as long as Riders ride Speedway.

 

As I say - all we can do is to try and MINIMISE that risk - and - THAT we are doing with Air Fences. In my opinion - they are a MUST.

Chris Holder's accident should never have ended as it did, no way should he have gone into the barrier behind, that fence had a major flaw in it, and unfortunately Chris was on the receiving end.

[TheReturn 1,724]

Correct which is what cycle helmets are designed to protect you from (and why in my opinion you should choose to wear one); however most fatalities on cycles are caused by being hit by a faster moving vehicle (or being crushed by an HGV)so don't kid yourself that wearing a helmet will prevent this.

 

So that begs the question are we all kidding ourselves re air fences?

 

Seriously... my glib answer earlier was because I did not think anyopne was so bloody stupid to doubt the benefits of using air fences. Speedway is a dangerous sport, and sadly serious incidents will happen, but watch any crash into an air fence and it is clear to see that serious injury can clearly be overcome hitting aiur oadded rather than hard wood, or in the case of exeter back in the day metal fencing.

[chunky 6,101]

 

but thinking back to the 80s , you had pyeatt, alderton and Kudrna involved in fatal crashes in 1982 alone.

Joe Owen and Per Jonsson were both paralysed after crashing (i'm prety sure) into old style safety fences - could be wrong, but cant think of anyone ho has sustained the same from an airfence.

 

Zdenek Kudrna is not a good example here; he was killed at a grass-track meeting without a solid fence. Many of the tragedies at Hackney were the result of hitting lamp standards, although I'm not sure that Denny Pyeatt did. Even with an air fence, it is possible for a rider to go over the fence.

 

Having witnessed Leif Wahlmann's fatal crash, I certainly feel that an airfence at Saddlebow Rd back then could certainly have prevented that.

 

Steve

[mickthemuppet 976]

I always thought that the old wooden safety at Ipswich was as good as any air fence there.

[Hel'n'Back 146]

This is a genuine question that we need accurate answers for..... Air fences need to be installed correctly so that riders don't go underneath it, even if the bike hits it first, as has happened in some cases, but then a rider could bounce off it and then a rider behind run into him?

[chunky 6,101]

I always thought that the old wooden safety at Ipswich was as good as any air fence there.

 

I always felt the same about the fence at Wimbledon...

 

Steve

[iris123 20,996]

Surely the fact that we often hear riders take more chances as they think airfences are safer is proof enough.Unless people are just saying this and riders don't take more chances as they don't think airfences are safer.Sure i read somewhere that at least Tony Briggs tested his fences personally by riding into them

 

I know when asked about a rider for the PL he told me he wouldn't ride on tracks without an airfence.

Edited September 12, 2013 by iris123

[Vince 9,458]

I think it is a good to question the safety of air fences. Obviously we have all seen some spectacular incidents over the past few years where you immediately think that the air fence has saved a rider from serious injury. However while that may often be the case it is also often the case that you see riders walk away from spectacular crashes involving wooden fences, it is wrong to just assume that every rider who goes into the air fence hard would have been seriously injured had it been another type of fence.

 

There is still a major issue with riders going underneath the fences and this has been a known problem for a number of years and has caused some horrible injuries.

 

My opinion would be that air fences are a very good thing when properly installed and with something solid behind them. However that clearly isn't always the case and there are improvements that really need to be made before it can be automatically considered to be the best option. Again only my opinion that there are other fences, Rye House being my favourite, that are as good if not better than many air fences.

 

Opinions, including mine, are all very well but like the original poster I believe that there needs to be facts to back it up. Just assuming that air fences are the best option because running into a bouncy castle is better than running into a wall is not really common sense at all.

[Leicester Lion 274]

Zdenek Kudrna is not a good example here; he was killed at a grass-track meeting without a solid fence. Many of the tragedies at Hackney were the result of hitting lamp standards, although I'm not sure that Denny Pyeatt did. Even with an air fence, it is possible for a rider to go over the fence.

 

Having witnessed Leif Wahlmann's fatal crash, I certainly feel that an airfence at Saddlebow Rd back then could certainly have prevented that.

 

Steve

I remember Leif Wahlmann's crash, his bike suddenly slowed going into turn 1 and he was hit from behind by another rider close to the inside line. I'm not so sure that an air fence caused his head injury, it may have been caused by the initial impact from the other rider or the resulting melee before reaching the fence. Without knowing exactly what the cause of his head injury was, it can only be speculation about whether an air fence would have made any difference.

 

I expect the airfences probably are safer if the riders feel they are, but I think proper research should be carried out. Impact at various angles, different velocities, different materials behind the fence, etc should be scientifically tested to identify any areas for improvement. Even with detailed testing, it would be hard to draw any meaningful comparison with fences from the past as there have been some significant changes (for example, the machinery, the riding style and the racing line) since those days.

[Daniel Smith 5,666]

This is a genuine question that we need accurate answers for..... Air fences need to be installed correctly so that riders don't go underneath it, even if the bike hits it first, as has happened in some cases, but then a rider could bounce off it and then a rider behind run into him?

 

This is the problem. Current Air Fences do have a flaw that would be impossible to fix, simply because they're full of air and their shape alters on impacted.

 

If anyone needs a safety fence for next season please use the more modern version (Like King's Lynn & Berwick) of the PolyFoam. This really is the way forward

[wildcatwillie 0]

There was an article in the Star a couple of years back , where Tony Briggs was developing a new type of barrier. It was very interesting and i'm sure he test it by riding into it. The thing is, air fences and the poly foam fences are great if you hit them right, a lot of the injuries are by the incoming bikes hitting the guys, and a great deal of injuries are result from hitting the ground at speed. Just looking at youtube footage of crashes proves there is a need for air fences in a lot of situations and they definatly have saved lives in my opinion, but I have also seen pretty tame looking crashes where nobody has been any where near the fence end up very bad.

[Grand Central 2,654]

This is the problem. Current Air Fences do have a flaw that would be impossible to fix, simply because they're full of air and their shape alters on impacted.

If anyone needs a safety fence for next season please use the more modern version (Like King's Lynn & Berwick) of the PolyFoam. This really is the way forward

 

This is exemplifies why the original question was justified; and why some of the facetious responses were a little unworthy.

 

There is not just one type of APD just like there was not just one type of wire mesh or one type of board fence.

If we are to progress on to find better and more safe alternatives then work on research into the various types needs to be ongoing.

Statistics need to be collated and analysed; as do accident reports.

 

To just say air fences are safer that seventies death- trap fences doesn't move us forward.

 

My layman's observations are that there is a wide variation in the performance of different APDs at different track upon different types of impact. Some APD seem to bounce into the air quite freely when hit by a machine and the following fallen rider then disappears under it and smashes into whatever is behind.

At other tracks they seem to remain more stable even with multiple impacts and continue to offer protection after the initial hit.

 

Some tracks seem to have attached their APD to a high grade fence that will still 'catch' the rider who goes under the APD whilst others seem to have just hung their's on the lethal-looking Stock Car girders.

 

One of things about H&S is that it needs to be be continually re-evaluated in light of real experience.

Just saying 'we bought an air fence in 2005 so we are sorted' is simply not good enough.

 

.

Edited September 12, 2013 by Grand Central

[The White Knight 9,039]

This is exemplifies why the original question was justified; and why some of the facetious responses were a little unworthy.

 

There is not just one type of APD just like there was not just one type of wire mesh or one type of board fence.

If we are to progress on to find better and more safe alternatives then work on research into the various types needs to be ongoing.

Statistics need to be collated and analysed; as do accident reports.

 

To just say air fences are safer that seventies death- trap fences doesn't move us forward.

 

My layman's observations are that there is a wide variation in the performance of different APDs at different track upon different types of impact. Some APD seem to bounce into the air quite freely when hit by a machine and the following fallen rider then disappears under it and smashes into whatever is behind.

At other tracks they seem to remain more stable even with multiple impacts and continue to offer protection after the initial hit.

 

Some tracks seem to have attached their APD to a high grade fence that will still 'catch' the rider who goes under the APD whilst others seem to have just hung their's on the lethal-looking Stock Car girders.

 

One of things about H&S is that it needs to be be continually re-evaluated in light of real experience.

Just saying 'we bought an air fence in 2005 so we are sorted' is simply not good enough.

 

.

 

Excellent Post Grand Central. I have learned a lot from it.

 

Anything that helps with Rider Safety has to be a good thing. I honestly believe that Air Fences, fitted properly, is the way to go.

[pawel115 251]

There are flaws is air fences that is fact but in my opinion they have saved numerous riders life or serious injuries in my examples it would saved the life of Artur Pawlak that is for sure there was actually article written about it in polish speedway weekly his only injury was severe brain injury sustained when he hit woodden fence at Zielona Gora he sustained no other injuries you can see his crash on YouTube and come to you own conclusion.