Earlier today the
Sheriff presiding over the Fatal Accident Inquiry published his 'Determination'
following the conclusion of the formal FAI process and it's there for all to
see, so there is no need for the likes of me to pass comment.
However, a word or two of caution. When
you are watching, listening to or reading reports in the wider media following
publication of this document, please consider the fact that the actual Determination
itself is 171 pages long comprising close on 63,000 words of factual and
detailed content - and that any subsequent press/media reports will be somewhat
shorter than that! Hence the desire to summarise in soundbites or sensational
headlines.
Reporters and Editors will try to encapsulate
such a well written and serious document in a few short sentences. Also, many
of these reporters do not know what a motor rally is nor have they ever been to
one, so it could be argued that the uninformed are preaching to the unaware.
Having said that, some reporters are both intelligent and diligent and will do a
good job, but they are at the mercy of their Editors and/or Producers who will determine
time slots or word counts. Trying to deliver a balanced and acceptable news
package given those constraints can be very difficult.
Already some press outlets are seeking
interviews and or comments from those involved which is a bit ambitious given
the length and complexity of this document. It will take some time to digest it
and understand it, so don't be surprised if the subsequent news reports appear
one-sided.
Although the Sheriff continually uses
the term 'spectators', he makes it quite clear that the circumstances surrounding
the JCR 2014 accident are rather different to what happened on the 2013 Snowman
Rally. That was indeed a most tragic and unfortunate freak accident. What happened
in the Scottish Borders was entirely different, and the Sheriff makes it quite
clear that two of the fatalities were 'signed-on' as media.
The Determination represents a very
thorough and very fair account of both events, and both the sport and its
legions of volunteer helpers are recognised for the amount of work they undertake
and the quality of the duties they carry
out. Indeed the Sheriff was rather surprised at the workload that the
organisation of a rally requires and the fact that so many volunteers are willing
to undertake such prolonged and arduous tasks to provide a 'professionally run'
amateur sport which is mostly free for spectators to watch.
The fact that there is a strong 'paper
trail' within every rally organising team was of considerable help in the FAI
process.
Naturally more can always be done, and
the Sheriff recognises that much has already been done in the past two years to
address issues highlighted by those tragic events.
That learning and improving process will
continue, as it does in every sporting enterprise or workplace endeavour, but
for this to be truly effective, spectators themselves must exercise a greater
degree of regard for their own personal safety.
The Sheriff pulls no punches, which is
only right and fair, and his full Determination is here:
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