"Motorsport is Dangerous." That is what it says on the back of every ticket, every media credential. As a professional motorsport

photographer, I'm well aware of the risks inherent with my job. I think most of us are. Still, a freak accident could snuff you out on the safest part of the track just as well as it could the most dangerous. And it's these freak accidents that generally generate the knee-jerk reactions from a series'

safety committee.

I've long been a fan of racing and have spent many boring Monday mornings watching funny/crazy/scary crash compilations on YouTube, just as anyone else might.

There have been some mighty close calls over the last few years with regard to photographers being in the line of fire with race cars. But at the end of

the day, no one is out there making us work against our will. It's simply a dangerous job.

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(The spot in the video above, where photographers were standing for Allan McNish's 2011 Le Mans crash, is now a "red [no-go] zone." A car will probably never crash there again. No one was injured).



Watching the Formula 1 race last weekend, we saw a scary incident where Mark Webber was released from a pit stop before his tire was completely attached back onto the car. The result was that the tire went bouncing down the pit lane at some speed and ended up connecting with FOM cameraman Paul Allen. From what I have read, Paul has a broken collar bone and a few broken ribs. He was attended to immediately and appeared to have escaped serious injury.

What surprised me most from the event wasn't the incident itself, but the reaction on Twitter from F1 fans. People instantly called for all media personnel to be kicked out of pit lane as well as improved safety measures all around (i.e., mandating that everyone wear helmets).

In response to the incident, former FIA doctor Gary Hartstein offered this advice yesterday on Twitter:

Never EVER turn your back to oncoming traffic. No matter where one is on the circuit. Know where danger is coming from, and plan escape rts — Gary Hartstein (@former_f1doc)

You're absolutely right, Gary. But it just isn't that easy. Even if Paul had been facing the right way with a camera lens to his eye, the field of view is

so narrow that he might not have ever seen the tire bearing down on him. Most of us shoot with one eye through the viewfinder, and one eye open looking for

danger. But even under the best circumstances, you don't see much around you. It's just something we accept. You learn to use your other senses. Hearing

becomes super important and, eventually, you build a general sense of awareness that becomes your greatest and only ally.

But let's slow down a minute and quit with the knee-jerk reactions. In the history of F1, and for as many pit stops as F1 rolls through each race, we

really don't see very many accidents at all. In fact, considering how often media members travel, we probably have a better chance of being injured in a plane

crash than we do in a pit-lane accident. Formula 1's pit-lane safety record is pretty darn spotless. I've worked in almost every series' pit lane over the last two years (F1, NASCAR, IndyCar, FIA WEC, ALMS, Grand-Am, MotoGP, FIA GT, etc.), and the one I feel the safest in is F1.

So to eliminate some of the grey areas that surrounds motorsport, specifically those rules that help keep the media "safe" in pit lane, I've created a handy user

guide to explain how the different major series monitor and protect members of the press.

NASCAR:

No one—and I mean no one—goes over pit wall. Or on pit wall. Or hangs over pit wall. No fire suit or helmet necessary to be in the team pit box, but you do need to be wearing long pants and closed-toed shoes to work in the garage area. Many tracks (like Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, among others) do not allow photographers to shoot from the outside catch fence. The biggest thing you have to worry about with NASCAR pit stops is staying out of the team's way—and flying lug nuts, which will leave a sizable knot on your head.

IndyCar: During practice sessions, experienced media personnel can work in a hot pit lane (with the proper track approvals). From qualifying onward, however, no media representative can go over the wall. During race mode, you need to have a special sticker on your credential to even go near the pits.

MotoGP: Only photographers with a hard-card vest can work in a hot pit lane. Since they don't do pit stops, it's really not an issue.

American Le Mans Series: Only selected media officials wearing special pit-lane vests can work over the wall. Helmets and fire suits are required. Behind pit wall, you can ditch the helmet. The issue becomes that there are generally quite a few photographers who can work over the wall; and when a famous driver (like Patrick Dempsey) is running, it becomes a bit of a "shit show" with every media rep trying to snag a photo. Seeing as half of these photographers are amateurs (granted, well-connected amateurs), it makes the behind-the-scenes stuff even more chaotic. As my friend James Moy said, they're mostly there to get a photo to hang on their wall or put on Facebook rather than to do a job.

Grand-Am: No media over the wall. Ever. NASCAR rules apply (which isn't surprising, as NASCAR owns Grand-Am).

FIA World Endurance Championship:

Similar to ALMS. A pit-lane vest, helmet, and fire suit are required for any photographer to be over the wall during a hot session. If you're behind the wall, you can lose the helmet.



My good friend Camden Thrashersporting the "safety" equipment needed for a sports-car pit lane. As you can see, a simple bike helmet is as much safety gear as we need to wear.



Formula One: Prior to this latest incident at the German Grand Prix, pit passes were already hard to come by. A media credential did not automatically mean you received admittance. And in a somewhat backward fashion, a green lanyard denied pit-lane access, while a red lanyard permitted entry.

During practice, there really wasn't a limit as to how many media professionals could be in pit lane so long as everyone had the proper credentials. But for the race, the track only allowed in six still photographers and six FOM cameramen. The still photographers could not be on pit lane itself. They had to stay on the wall.

"Look forward to seeing Horner, Mallya, Montezemolo, and Co wearing their safety helmets on the pit wall. #SafetyForAll #F1 — James Moy (@jamesmoy)"

So, that's basically six videographers on pit lane with the cars. Hardly a gaggle worth worrying about, especially since these men and women were often the most experienced shooters in the business. And Paul Allen (the injured FOM cameraman) is one of them.

(This shot was taken during pre-season testing, so I didn't need to stay on pit wall.)

On Wednesday afternoon, however, the FIA released a statement restricting all camera crews—which I take to mean all media personnel, including still photographers—from accessing pit lane during any Formula 1 session.

Is it a huge deal? No, not really. We'll lose those cool angles from ground level of an F1 pit stop in action from the FOM feed. But other than that, not

much will change. Yet, in our health- and safety-obsessed society, at what point do these protection measures go too far?

While safety is assuredly an important factor, photographers assume the dangers of the job at their own risk. Half of an F1 photographer's time is spent focusing on pit-lane activity. As no one (except team photographers) can access the garages at any time, this restriction severely limits your workable range; with this new restriction, the only opportunity that a photographer has to snap images of the car, driver, and team is suddenly gone. All this because of one incident that has never happened before and may never happen again?

Some people may question why this is such a big deal, seeing as other series' photographers get along just fine without pit-lane access (like in NASCAR and Grand-Am). The main reason is because of the way the F1 pit lanes are designed. With NASCAR tracks (and most Grand-Am tracks, as well), the teams set up their equipment behind a concrete wall; and this equipment generally consists of a canvas tent with a rolling tool cabinet. Anything behind that wall is not technically on pit lane, so you can shoot pit stops over the wall without needing to be in the line of fire, unlike in F1. Also, those drivers are far more accessible than those competing in Formula 1. With the high-profile nature of the F1 series, driver photos are much harder to come by. In fact, photographers and videographers often rely on pit-lane access to ensure they have good portraits and action photos of the drivers working in and around the cars.

The FIA might consider revising these rules at the behest of the teams, who now no longer have images of their drivers near the machines, but I doubt it. While I will not be in Hungary for the next race, I will be speaking to many of my colleagues who work in the series to find out how badly things have changed. But at this juncture, I find the FIA's decision to be an unbelievable overreaction to something relatively minor.

I know that my job as a photographer has become a lot more difficult over the last few years simply because of how many safety barriers, catch fences, and runoff we have to shoot over just to get a shot of a vehicle on track. And all for our own "protection." It's kind of why I love covering Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. I sign a waiver releasing the organizers of liability, and I get to shoot in spots that would make most people cringe at the perceived level of danger involved (seeing as there are no safety nets). It's just me, a mountain, and a race car. Kind of the way it used to be.

My decisions are my own responsibility. I understand that my profession is dangerous. I use common sense and hope for a

little luck, and so far, I've come home without a scratch. And maybe this post will be read at my early funeral, but somehow I think I'll be just

fine.

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