This past weekend the Kuwait Mile event was held where around 500 cars signed up to race down a mile long strip of the highway. The event was a success with lots of interest but sadly there were two accidents (which I am aware of) that took place that day. Accidents at a racing event are absolutely normal but what I was surprised with was the lack of safety barriers between the track and the crowd.
In the video on top of one of the accidents, the car loses control and luckily crashes into the barrier on the left. If the car had headed to the right instead then there might have been some serious injuries since there was only a metal fence separating the viewers from the track (check the screen grab above).
After I found out about the accident I started checking out photos and videos of the event and noticed a fire truck parked on the side of the track. I quietly thought to myself that can’t be safe for the driver if his car crashes into it and I thought of the Jules Bianchi crash in Suzuka this past year. Later on in the day a car crashed hard into the fire truck and luckily missed some firemen who were standing next to the truck as well.
It’s pretty cool that more motorsporting events are taking place in Kuwait but a catastrophic incident at one event would end up setting us back a very long time.
8 replies on “Kuwait Mile and crowd safety”
These are simple to remedy. Even with that first accident had it gone over the t barrier all those people and cars on the left are screwed. Monster Truck and Motocross events in the states put up barriers and have a buffer zone between the crowd and the vehicles…Haha at the fire department. These guys never learn. Two Words. IFSTA STANDARDS!!!
Morons utter morons! When will we ever see professional events in Kuwait!?
This should be named ‘So you think you can drive’ just because you drive fast on the highway and make circles next to your dad’s house doesn’t make you a real driver. I wonder who will pay for the damage those crashes caused?
can you stop complaining just for the sake of complaining? the fact these guys are being given space to race/speed/whatever with their cars in a safe environment is a great thing. How are you going to learn and get better without making mistakes?
Complaining? No, kudos to them for gathering, they have been doing it for years but I beg to differ about it being a safe environment when they could have easily killed 20 people in one pop.
That’s not the fault of the drivers but the organizers
two very unfortunate accidents that could have easily been avoided with better buffer zones.
“It’s pretty cool that more motorsporting events are taking place in Kuwait but a catastrophic incident at one event would end up setting us back a very long time.” exactly my thoughts
I really know you can’t blame the drivers, but they could have been… less ambitious.
This is a top speed event so the guy in the R34 could have taken it easier at the launch.
First clip clearly shows the car was actually heading towards the crowd but the driver over corrected and crashed into the barrier.
The second video… makes me wonder… who is going to pay for repairing the fire truck?