8 Dead & 12 Injured in Lucern Valley Offroad Race

[LEADFOOTjosh]

I was out there for the event.. had 3 good friends taken to loma linda.. for multiable broken bones and and other injuries..

I was supposed to be watchin the event with these guys.. but got asked to take a chase truck over to Pit C.. Id like to think that I would of had more common sence not to be so close to the track.. but. .lucky for me.. I didnt have to make that choice..

The owner/driver of the truck.. has been a buddy for 6 or 7 years.. and.. during this bad ACCIDENT.. he killed one of his own friends.. and injuring the 3 other friends I already mentioned plus many others..

The gentlemen that was driving.. is a stand up guy.. and his truck was not a half ass peice.. but a truley fine built machine... I still havent had the chance to talk with him since I am sure he has alot on his mind.. but accidents happen...

I will have him and all the other effected famlies in my prayers..

sad day...

[dirtman13]

Truly a sad day. Thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the driver and the victims.

I think what angers me most is the environmentalist are already using this to attack the off road community. Some of these people are truly pathetic.

"The federal government clearly does not have the manpower to sufficiently organize and regulate these events, and if you don’t have the manpower to do it safely, you shouldn’t be doing it at all.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...itics-say.html

[FishPOET]

Truly a sad day. Thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the driver and the victims.

ditto

I think what angers me most is the environmentalist are already using this to attack the off road community. Some of these people are truly pathetic.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...itics-say.html

The CBD is already weighing in with their rhetoric

People die up there every year, not usually eight at a time, but usually one at a time. This happens every year, said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

In addition to the danger to humans, Suckling said, races take a toll on the fragile desert ecosystem. His organization has three lawsuits against the BLM pending in federal court over off-road racing issues.

"I think the BLM has still not fully turned the corner to recognize what a damaging activity this is," he said.

This does not bode well for the future of MDR...

Documents for MDR's permit indicate that they required racers to travel 15 mph or less when they were within 50 feet of fans, and allowed no more than 300 spectators for the event

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100816/...d_crash_deaths

[Ol Man]

FAST-aid

They are raising money to support those in need as a result of the race on Sat. They have collected over $80,000 so far.

http://www.fast-aid.org/california-200.html

[dirtman13]

The CBD is already weighing in with their rhetoric

And so it begins....

“Our collective failure to rein in excessive off-road vehicle use is not only destroying the ecosystem but killing people."

This does not bode well for the future of MDR...

I don't think this bodes well with any of the off road organizations. MDR, SCORE, MORE, us.

[SAR Jeeper]

8 people died. Sad. Close the desert and no more races. That's what the green people wanted anyhow.

How many hikers per year get lost and die in the wilderness? How many of them are Sierra Club members? Perhaps we should stop spending our tax dollars and stop helping lost hikers. Perhaps we should close the forest to foot travel, since so many people die out there.

[6spdYJ]

This is truly sad. On the political end, I saw on the first news link that I checked that there was a near identical crash that killed 8 people also last year. I believe it was in Arizona. (I'm probably wrong on that) The bad thing for us out here is that we have the hornet's nest of publicity and the alarmists that don't have the understanding that this was an accident. Our prayers go out for the victims' families. And don't forget, the driver is a victim of this crash as well. He did not put the people there.

[Matt2001TJ]

How many hikers per year get lost and die in the wilderness? How many of them are Sierra Club members? Perhaps we should stop spending our tax dollars and stop helping lost hikers. Perhaps we should close the forest to foot travel, since so many people die out there.

It does go both ways,... both sides of the coin yet they do not see it like that....MATT....

[Jerry Bransford]

Sad as this was, it raises a lot of issues beyond pure racing. Like it can't do anything but harm other events like King of the Hammers where high-speed racing is mixed with rock crawling. This has the potential to ruin a lot of the sport and who knows what next year's KOH event will look like after this tragedy.

[inVERt'D]

from what i've seen and heard of this year's KOH, it was getting out of control at times with the crowds. People were just being stupid, and it's fortunate that no one got seriously hurt.

[OU812]

Maybe there should be a boundary. I know it goes against the KOH idea of not closing down the desert. But if it would save lives and protect the future of desert racing why not. I don’t think we need physical barriers but if there was a general rule boundary that said you could not be within 30 feet of the track it would help. I am sure some will not listen but it would be clear to them that they are in a dangerous area.

[Jason]

It is always bad for any extreme sport that has accidents and spectators are hurt or killed.

I'm not sure a general rule boundary will be effective until you can get the general public to rid themselves of their "nothing will happen to me" attitude. Add alcohol and it gets even harder.

[OU812]

Add alcohol and it gets even harder.

It usually works the other way around for me.:cocktail:

[GP4Play]

It is always bad for any extreme sport that has accidents and spectators are hurt or killed.

I'm not sure a general rule boundary will be effective until you can get the general public to rid themselves of their "nothing will happen to me" attitude. Add alcohol and it gets even harder.

Jason,from where we were I didn't see it was alcohol as the problem.There was so many people there that the crowd tended to bulge out trying to see around each other.I've been going to these for the last 5-6 years and have never seen this many people,200-300,here.They really need to rope or tape a boundary at these spots,as Scott said,even though some will ignore it you will know where it's safe to watch.