injured from gate failure Options

[UniBmx]

Carson, Man that sucks, Sorry to hear that, Glad you didn't loose any fingers,

Man that is alot of force to come down on you . Get well soon and hope to see ya at a track soon

Bernie U

[Stromania]

Sorry to hear this. I know this isn't the case, but it upsets me when the gate operator has no clue on how to stop the gate if need be. It seems like they are always taught how to raise and drop the gate, but not how to stop it if there is an emergency.

I wish you a speedy recovery

[Shelley B]

I think in all of my years I have only heard of 2 people getting caught under a misfired gate, you're the 3rd, it is rare but when it happens it is brutal.

My family must be snake bitten or lucky. My daughter had the gate fall on her leg several years ago. Same thing it was a practice gate. The gate did not drop she flipped, then it dropped. The parent running the gate felt horrible. I was not mad or upset w/ the parent I could have just as easily been running that gate. Luckily she just got a bad bruise. This particular gate was old and heavy the starting hill was wood.

This year at a SQR my husband was on a gate that dropped half way, stopped, he unclipped, caught himself before going over. However, the gate was not a solid front gate there were open sections between each lane. He put his foot down on the ground between the lane. The gate then fell the rest of the way across his toes, then he fell. Needless to say he did not race that day but, we were lucky, he did not break anything just a bad bruise. This time the malfunction happened because someone plugged their trailer into the building which happen to be on the same breaker as the gate. When they turned something on in the trailer it caused the electricity to the gate to stop when they cut it off the electricty came back causing the gate to stop half way down. (not sure I explained that correctly or used the right technical terms) Once again this was a freak thing the T.O.,volunteers or visiting trailer owner had no idea these 2 things were connected to each other.

We were very lucky in both cases.

Considering how many gates are dropped daily around the country this is rare but if there is away we can increase safety I think it is something we need to look at.

It seems like they are always taught how to raise and drop the gate, but not how to stop it if there is an emergency

How do you do that once the 2nd part of the cadence has started? I have run gates at the track since we first started racing and I have no idea how to do that.

This post has been edited by Shelley B: Jul 8 2010, 07:53 AM

[Elvis]

Those Pro-Gates they can demonstrate, some quality of the ram, where you can actually put your foot in the way of a dropping gate and not get bit. It'll just stop at that point.

But yeah, gate wrecks suck for whatever reason. The big thing which worries me is when you see a kid fall on the gate and then grab the top of the gate -- and the cadence is going on! It's easy to do, but obviously won't end well, especially if the gate falls into a paved recess.

[Bikemonkeys]

How do you do that once the 2nd part of the cadence has started? I have run gates at the track since we first started racing and I have no idea how to do that.

You can't. I tell people running the gate that once they hit the go button it's going, so please pay attention to what is going on on the gate.

I caught a kid once. The same thing that happened to Billy B. but it was the local transformer blowing out. A brand new kid was in the gate next to the kid with his foot stuck, with him and his bike halfway on the gate. I couldn't raise the gate till the kid moved, he was scared and didn't know to move and the stuck kids parent yelling to me to raise the gate. Luckily the kids foot was ok. We since changed the gate/ram/box and don't have empty spaces between the lanes.

[BS]

Carson, so bummed to hear about this. That is crazy that after 30 years a freak thing like this bites you. I wish you the best in your recovery and I'm glad you're going to get back on that pony.

Why don't gates in the US have that area covered so this isn't an issue. I've seen video of the tracks in Europe with the curved backside. Horrible description but I think you have the idea.

Expense

[Elvis]

Expense

Yeah, that was my reaction. It's a good idea, but all the digging and whatnot to get it installed (having to set up drainage and all) looks like it'd be a hassle. And hassles are expensive.

[lumpy]

That Bensink gate is what I was talking about... As far as expense, an ounce of prevention..

Brian

[cjbmx/hex]

You can't. I tell people running the gate that once they hit the go button it's going, so please pay attention to what is going on on the gate.

I caught a kid once. The same thing that happened to Billy B. but it was the local transformer blowing out. A brand new kid was in the gate next to the kid with his foot stuck, with him and his bike halfway on the gate. I couldn't raise the gate till the kid moved, he was scared and didn't know to move and the stuck kids parent yelling to me to raise the gate. Luckily the kids foot was ok. We since changed the gate/ram/box and don't have empty spaces between the lanes.

Actually you can stop the gate by hitting the start button a second time (or reset on the new systems). I was taught to keep my finger ready to do this up until the mid point of the cadance, after that I do not stop (unless its obvious i can without flipping a rider.) I have not messed with the random gate side of things.

Anyway, the different comments above are what I was hoping for, get folks thinking about the systems and make sure things are at least maintained often and considerations made when electric boxes are shared, ect... In a perfect world we would all be able to afford the cool Euro Systems, unfortunately thats not reality for most.

Thanks again for the well wishes, my wife helped me shower and dress for the first time in 26 years, odd.........

Bernie/Brian; miss you guys!

CJ

[dtraceh]

sorry to hear about your accident heres to a quick recovery