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Thread: Tragedy in Malaysia's own Formula Competition

  1. #1

    Tragedy in Malaysia's own Formula Competition

    I have not been posting here in a while, but i had to share this with everybody on the recent tragedy in Malaysia where a student built race car ram through a barrier and killed a father and his 4 year old. It's a reminder for us all that safety is not to be taken for granted.

    A couple of links i'm providing below of the news and video of the crash:

    https://www.facebook.com/ummu.balqis...52?pnref=story

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdbMfDd7_oM

    http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma...ce-killing-two

    EIMARace is Malaysia's version of FSAE.
    RiNaZ

  2. #2
    This has to stop right now. I think SAE India allows the same wheel-to-wheel action for their competitions too.
    Sheridan Motorsports troll (2012-2014)
    Cubicle troll (2015 - God knows when)

  3. #3
    This is horrible.

    Please everyone, don't be part of such stupid stuff.
    I don't know what we can do to prevent this, so I can just urge everyone to be just careful and THINK about competing in such horrific competitions.

    Condolences to the victims.
    -------------------------------------------
    Alumnus
    AMZ Racing
    ETH Zürich

    2010-2011: Suspension
    2012: Aerodynamics
    2013: Technical Lead

    2014: FSA Engineering Design Judge

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    Coarse Safety

    So who approved the use of plastic barrier blocks? Those should be 1 or 2 ton reinforced concrete slabs with anchor pins. I would not blame the driver(s) or the fans or the series. This is a venue screwup.

  5. #5
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    A Preventable Tragedy!

    A tragedy which should have never happened!

    These cars should not have been 'racing'. A proper student engineering competition allows for demonstration of a student built vehicle's performance while on the track BY ITSELF, separated from other vehicles by a safe distance.

    Multiple cars, at speed, on the track at the same time, with the potential to contact each other simply CANNOT BE ALLOWED!

    The event sponsors should NOT have had multiple cars on the track so close to each other. They should have had the cars separated, and they should have included safe passing zones in the track layout, which virtually eliminates the possibility of wheel to wheel contact between competitors.

    The plastic barriers did not appear to be sand or water filled as they should have been. The empty barriers clearly afforded little to no protection to spectators.

    The plastic barriers were not linked together as they were designed to be. There appears to be a 1/2 meter gap between barriers, separating cars at speed from spectators.

    The spectators were not pushed back from the cars by a safe enough distance. 2 meters separation from the (empty) plastic barriers is simply not a safe enough distance.

    NO responsible organizer of a FSAE/FS event would ever consider or condone the type of flagrant safety violations which are clearly evident in this video. There are other student engineering competitions in other countries trying to pass themselves off as legitimate FSAE/FS competitions which allow exactly this type of wheel to wheel 'racing'. I have personally pleaded with the organizers to NOT ALLOW THIS. Yet they continue to this day. Perhaps it is up to us as consumers of these types of events to put our collective feet down, and demand safety be put ahead of greed. If you know of a competition in your country which does not strictly adhere to worldwide FSAE/FS safety standards, boycott the event until the organizers get the message.

    My deepest condolences go out to the family of the victims. I sincerely hope that the family(s) of those affected are supremely compensated for their loss, due to the gross negligence on the part of the organizers.

    I can also guarantee you that the life of the driver of this car has now been changed forever. Put yourself in his (her) shoes...

    If you are a student competitor, you should NOT register for a competition like this which does not adhere to international FSAE/FS safety standards! It is simple. Either they adhere to FSAE/FS safety standards, or they do not. Be a smart student competitor. Learn from this tragedy. DO NOT be a part of the next preventable tragedy!

    Sadly submitted this morning...
    Steve Fox
    FSAE-MI Chief Design Judge
    Formula Bharat Chief Design Judge (Coming in 2017!)
    FS-India Chief Design Judge (NO further association)
    FSG Chief Design Judge (ret.)
    FSA Chief Design Judge (ret.)
    FSAE-VIR Design Event Captain (ret.)
    SAE Industrial Lecturer
    http://students.sae.org/chapters/lec.../lecturers.htm

  6. #6
    Junior Member
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    Very sad news - my thoughts go out to those impacted.

    I've heard of no affiliation between this event and the first Formula SAE ASEAN (http://fsae-asean.com.my - which is the upcoming event that will be run with strict adherence to the FSAE rules).

  7. #7
    Senior Member
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    Rinaz,

    Thank you for bringing this to the forum.

    ...

    It is horrible to see the loss of life caused by poor safety standards. Entirely preventable. I cannot imagine how devastating this must be to their families.

    We need to stay vigilant when competing in or organising these competitions. There have been incidents in FSAE/Student history that have led to injury, and some that could have taken lives. This is despite following safe practices.

    It is not the responsibility or right of SAE to dictate how to run non-related events in other countries, but an incident like this casts a shadow on student formula competitions.

    Kev

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