Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - EU Says Race Car Owners are to be Held Responsible for Deaths of Drivers

archer2371 · 02-08-2004, 05:36 PM

Quote:

F1 to boycott European races?
20/01/04
F1 could boycott races in Europe because of EU rules relating to deaths on the track.

The dire scenario is being threatened by team bosses because of rules which stipulate that arrest warrants could be issued against them or other team personnel should any fatalities occur. The team bosses are insisting on an exemption.

The new European Arrest Warrants (EAW) rule has already been ratified by eight EU member states, with a further seven set to do so by March.

"This is a matter of serious concern," Max Mosley told the BBC. "We will continue to talk with the various EU governments and the European Commission to try and resolve it."

The FIA president has already written a letter on behalf of the the teams to the bosses of the sporting bodies in European countries hosting races expressing their fears over the EAW. It's thought that, in the letter, team bosses warn they will only race in countries whose governments have provided a legally enforceable undertaking not to use the warrant against team personnel following any incidents on the track.

Unsurprisingly, the team bosses are keen on avoiding a repeat of the prolonged legal probes into the death of Ayrton Senna, which resulted in Williams' Patrick Head and Adrian Newey being accused of manslaughter.

Now to me, this is just plain bullcrap. The EU has seriously stepped over the line here. These drivers know they can be killed, because they're going over 200 miles per hour (in the case of Formula One) and they take that risk willingly. However, this does mean more visits to the American continents and other great tracks. Think about it, Long Beach Formula One Racing... mmmmmmmm. Thanks for drawing Formula One to the United States, European Union, I'm sure they won't miss you.