This page is the result of discussions at various training days concerning the worrying trend for undermanning and the (too often) requirement for flag marshals to flag on their own, or worse flag and observe on their own.
The
question, what considerations do you have when you are asked to A: flag on your
own. B: when you are asked to observe as well.
Obviously
the first response to both questions was concerning personal
safety.
However
the main considerations were in relation to communication. Having reviewed my
scrawlings from the days and looked logically at the points raised it would
appear that communication at the right time i.e. before the commencement of play
was very important to the participants.
Considering
situation A when the flag marshal is asked to flag on their own the consensus
was that firstly the observer on the post, and those either side should be
informed of the situation, and if possible urged to be of assistance. This would
in turn be communicated to the nearest flag marshals (marshal?).
Another
strongly held view that surfaced on the days was that through the chief flag
marshal the clerk of the course should be informed so that he can take account
of the manning situation, and perhaps more importantly communicate the situation
to the drivers at their briefing. This would warn them of the fact that they
will not be getting much assistance in the way of blue flags, and that in a
situation requiring two or more flags presentation might not be at it’s best.
In
the unenviable situation presented in question B i.e flagging and observing on
your own, similar thoughts were expressed with the added condition that the
marshal should establish the ground rules with the nearest observer on either
side of the post. Some quotes were “if I am flagging please phone it in for
me”, “alert me to anything of which I may be unaware”. Then it is
important to establish the rules with race control.
The
overwhelming conclusion was that if clubs, organizers or circuits are going to
be asking marshals to work on their own, then the
marshals MUST be issued with RADIOS ON A DEDICATED FREQUENCY WITH A SUITABLE
HEADSET ARRANGEMENT.
There
were other ideas such as mobile phones, personal radios, scanners Etc. (some
clubs request that scanners are not used at their meetings), but all
were agreed that radios would be the only practical means of doing a half decent
job when trying to do so many things at once.
When
the question of cost was mentioned the general response was that it would be
less expensive than abandoning the meeting, or worse, the cost of something
tragic occurring.
On
a more practical level, it was agreed that personal safety is paramount, there
were some good ideas on ensuring this. When flagging on your own for the safety
of the drivers you should concentrate on the yellow flag, if there are enough
E.S. personnel on the post the flag marshal or observer should try to co-opt
them to help, delegating if possible. This is particularly important with regard
to watching your back. Another suggestion was not to be afraid to move slightly
from the normal flagging position if there is somewhere that affords extra
personal protection, (debris fencing Etc.). Standing at an angle to give some
wide angle vision in both directions can also work, at some posts on corners
flagging on your own can be relatively easy.
It
was universally agreed that the yellow flag is the priority, but problems with
other flags that perhaps originate from “behind” the post, such as the red and sometimes the green.
This
is where all posts become “adjacent” posts.
To
put it more simply “the first people that need to see the flag are the next
post” as one person put it. Another quote was “it is the responsibility of
each post to ensure that the next post is aware, starting at post 1”. It was
agreed that we (unfortunately) would have to put aside our dislike of whistles
to do the job. Red flags are not such a problem as they can come from both
directions, or from lights.
There
were also several suggestions regarding “multi flag” or safety car
situations, these ranged from hanging the flag from a
convenient part of the post, to engaging the help of other personnel, if
there are any.
The
main conclusion of the days was that communication at all levels is vital, and
radios in these situations are essential.