Crossing a live track.

[Dave Brand]

This comment was made in the thread on marshalling standards in China, but I believe it merits its own thread:

Originally Posted by scorch

As has been pointed out you are told at training days, never to cross the circuit. however i have crossed the circuit many times with a fire extinguisher, and come to think of it in a fire tender, under racing conditions. I have told many trainees not to cross the circuit but i think as a more experenced marshall i consider it acceptable if required.

As far as I'm concerned, crossing a live track with a bottle is a definite no-no!

I don't care how experienced you are......all the experience in the world doesn't give you immunity from slipping on a patch of oil, tripping over a piece of debris, dropping the bottle etc. What would be the consequences of a car hitting a marshal or a bottle?

I'm not happy with marshals crosssing a live track under any circumstances, but I accept that with the low manning levels we have at some meetings it may be necessary; I do, however, believe that it should only be done with the approval of, & a signal from, the observer. Even if there are not enough marshals to cover both sides of the circuit, bottles can, at most of the posts I've worked on, be left ready for incidents on the unmanned sides.

The first rule of marshalling is personal safety......maybe there's a reason why we're told at training days never to cross a live track carrying a bottle?