SAFETY
This year, the accident prevention provisions on the rally have been entirely revised. A team has been set up specifically devoted to traffic matters to deal proactively with potential problems. It will be on hand throughout the race to ensure proper information about risks and to enforce the rules, in partnership with the local police authorities.
» Download the road safety campaign (.pdf, 10 Mo)
Identification des risques
Detailed mapping of risk areas has been prepared at all stages in the design of the course. By con-cen-trat-ing on population density – a key factor in determining how dangerous locations are – the zoning study has made it possible to highlight the spots where efforts need to be concentrated. This preliminary work has been carried out during the various reconnaissances of the course, in collaboration with the authorities in each country through which the Rally passes. Particular attention has been paid to the liaison and assistance routes, where accidents are potentially the most dangerous.
Prevention campaign
A campaign of prevention in schools will take place one month before the rally in risk zones.
15,000 copies of a comic strip have been and will be distributed in danger areas:
- to schoolteachers
- village heads
- local authorities
- populations throughout the race itinerary
Prevention prior to the race
Six vehicles (three teams of two) will be dedicated to roadside prevention during the days prior to the crossing of the rally. The teams, comprising African and European safety specialists, will criss-cross the danger areas, after being deployed on the basis of previously identified risks. The vehicles that carry out final reconnaissances at the opening of the rally will also take part in this “prevention assignment”.
Radio messages
Radio messages will be broadcast from the beginning of January on Radio France International as well as local rural radios to increase awareness of the public to the risks of the rally. These messages, in French and local dialects, will remind people of the dates of the rally and the safety measures that need to be respected.
Race safety
A “race safety” bulletin will be distributed to all participants in the bivouac every evening.
Assistance
All vehicles in the assistance category will be equipped with VHF broadcasting equipment which will enable them to warn participants of potential dangers on the race itinerary.
Speed
For assistance vehicles, speed is limited to 90 km/hr for trucks and 120 km/hr for cars. The organisers reserve the right to reduce these limits for certain stages or sections of stages considered dangerous. The speed limit in villages remains 50 km/hr, but depending on the danger of the crossing, this can be reduced to 30 km/hr. Speed controls, applicable both to assistance vehicles and race vehicles, will be more numerous in 2007. Personnel responsible for carrying out speed checks will be doubled. Speed rules also apply to press and organisation vehicles.
Enforcement
A police representative will be on hand with each mobile patrol, authorized to impose punishments under the law of the country being passed through, in the event of any failure to respect the highway code. The patrol members are also able to report infractions of the rules to Rally HQ (speeding, dangerous driving, etc.) so that sporting penalties can be imposed. And finally, the GPS control teams at the end of each leg have been strengthened.
1. Obeying the rules and safety instructions
The assistance courses are sometimes the places with the most risks. The detailed knowledge of the rules to be applied to each category constitutes the base of a responsible and safe way of driving. The specific rules for traffic on the assistance itinerary have to be imperatively respected. They are to be added to those dictated by the normal road rules used in each of the countries visited.
2. Respect of the highway code
All vehicle taking part in the Dakar have to respect at all moments the road rules used in the countries visited that remain a priority reference. The only exception concerns vehicles competing in the race only when they are on the course of a timed special.
Warning: Morocco = 100 kph, Mauritania & Mali = 110 kph, Senegal = 90 kph.
Trucks speed limit = 90 kph on the whole route.
3. Extreme vigilance in populated areas
The density of population and especially of children in some places is so big that security rules have to be adapted to the context. These measures answer both to a requirement of security that guides the rally and a respect of the population. The interest that the spectators have for the rally is a precious link: the passage of the Dakar indeed has to remain a party. That is key for the image of the rally and of the partners who have their brands on the vehicles, but mainly for the security of everyone (populations, spectators, competitors, assistance, organisation).
4. Backup vehicles: in the rally, but not in the race
The mission and contraints that concern the assistance vehicles don’t exempt them from respecting the rule book, especially when it comes to speed. Trying to gain time despite the security rules also means risking the life of others.
5. Gift distribution = stopping
To give out gifts, it is mandatory to stop. First of all for reasons of decency. Secondly for security: even at a slow pace, danger exists for children as well as for the following vehicles.
6. Safe stopping
A danger can hide another. For whatever kind of parking reason, a vehicle must stay clear of the main passage line and respect a distance of five metres with the road of the path. For the security of others, of the population and of yourself.
7. Reporting unrecorded hazards
VHF radios will be set up in the assistance vehicles to allow competitors to mention to others immediate dangers witnessed. The radios must imperatively be switched on at all time.
8. Driving on the bivouac: “dead slow”
In the bivouac or close by, the density of people is very big. The visibility is bad and the competitors are tired: an other reason to be extra careful. Only one pace is authorised: the slowest one.