After a tragic accident that killed eight spectators in the Mohave desert, the Interior Department is re-examining its standards for issung permits for off-road racing in the wild, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870486860457543378356
A spokesman for the department’s Bureau of Land Management told The Journal that it would its review would include the federally owned land that it manages in the western United States.
Any change that would help keep spectators safe at an off-road racing event is being considered, officials said.
The review was triggered by the horrific fatal crash Saturday in Southern California’s Lucerne Valley, the Mohave desert, during the annual California 200. A driver lost control of his racing truck and it flew into a crowd of spectators, landing on top of the group. The truck killed eight and injured two others.
This appears to have been a terrible accident, pure and simple, with no alcohol involved. The 28-year-old driver of the truck hasn’t been charged with any offense.
But the California Highway Patrol is probing the accident, according to The Journal.
In a statement the Bureau of Land Management said that in order to get a permit off-road race organizers have to buy insurance, submit a safety plan for spectators and supply proof that their staff has had safety training. And while federal law mandates that racers only travel under 15 mph when they come close to crowds, it’s not a rule that’s easily enforced.
The crowd that showed up for the California 200 was much larger than the 300 people anticipated, and some spectators purposely stood close to an area where trucks often went airborne, according to The Journal. That’s where the accident happened.