Prepared November 2007
You can download a pdf file of this safety code which may be easier to read and print than this long web page.
Course measurers should be aware of the hazards associated with measuring road race courses. They should take all necessary steps to adopt a safe method of working and minimise risks to themselves and other users of the roads and paths being measured. This should include consideration of:
Equipment.
Bicycle condition and maintenance.
Protective clothing, including helmet and hi-visibility bib.
Lighting if required.
Traffic
Timing of measurement.
Sequence of working.
Escort vehicles and traffic closures.
Terrain
Rain, frost and ice hazards.
Loose surfaces.
Weather
Clothing suitable for expected conditions.
Precautions against sunburn and dehydration.
Limiting conditions of wind, rain, fog and temperature.
This code contains in a logical order the steps you can use to assess the safety of a course measurement and makes suggestions of how to deal with situations which present a hazard. When measuring along the Shortest Possible Route (SPR) as measurement procedures prescribe, you could depart from usual riding behaviour expected by other road users. You must make this safe for yourself and your escort. If you can't make it safe, don't measure. You can always consult an experienced measurer to advise what further options may be available. This code is not for the safety of the race which is the responsibility of the race director to assess.
Ask whether there are any hazards in measuring the course. If necessary, explain
that you will have to measure along the SPR. Does the race director think that
a police escort will be necessary to protect the measurer, and if so will he
arrange it? Can it be measured at a quiet time? Depending on what he tells
you, warn him that for the measurement you will need to be accompanied by one,
maybe two escorts on bicycles or in vehicles: someone in front to indicate
the route to you, and someone behind to provide a safety warning to overtaking
traffic.
If the race director is new to measuring, you can draw his attention to this
safety code, which may supplement what you tell him and help him understand
what you will expect from the escorts.
Get a large scale map of the route which will give you a preliminary idea
of the bends in the roads. In which direction will you plan to measure? Will
it involve keeping mainly in the left hand lane or are there places where you
would have to cross to the right to follow the SPR on right hand bends?
What is going to be the best time of day to measure? For example if you decide
that there will be least traffic very early on a Sunday morning, perhaps the
summer will be the best time of year to measure because of the long daylight.
Encourage events, which you know will be coming up for measurement, to get
this done at a time of year that will be safest for you. If you are considering
measuring in darkness in the middle of the night, you need to find out if it
will be practical, e.g. will there be street lights; are you going to have
to rely on lighting of the road by escort vehicles so that you can see enough
to determine the SPR?
This initial review of the course map will also enable you to make an estimate
of the amount of time required for the measurement and whether multiple visits
will be required. When you tell the race director, explain that you may need
additional visits, if once you see the course you decide that measurement can
not be safely done according to your preliminary plan.
A few days before the measurement it is a good plan to check that you have all safety equipment ready. You will usually need the following:
Clarify all points about the route and sections of road available to runners.
Drive around the course with the race director (This is optional – it’s
your call. Do it if you think it would be helpful to see difficult points and
to discuss the sections of road available, and assess the safety of the measurement).
Now you are actually at the course and can see the conditions you can complete
your personal safety assessment of your measurement riding
in traffic. Bear in mind the possibility of measuring different pieces of the
course in different directions. For example, if the runners are to run a section
against the traffic in the right hand lane, you may judge it to be much safer
to ride this portion in a reverse direction so you are travelling with the
traffic. This may make it more complicated for you to piece together the different
measurements that make up the whole course and to layout the intermediate distances,
but safety should always be your first consideration.
If you conclude that part of the course is unsafe to measure
along the SPR, you will need to adopt an alternative. It might need to be measured
on another occasion when there is no traffic, or else some alternative measuring
procedure has to be worked out. This may mean that you cannot measure all of
the course on this occasion, and more work will be needed later. Explain the
problem to the race director and offer to measure what you can on this visit.
Perhaps you can make an approximate measurement of the dangerous section (not
along the SPR), which will be good enough to confirm roughly where the start
and finish will be.
If you can't find a suitable time to measure the dangerous section, and can't
get the race director to get a police escort or have the road closed to traffic,
then you may need to resort to advanced measurement and calculation techniques.
If you are not familiar with appropriate surveying techniques, you should consult
your area measurement secretary or some other experienced measurer about such
problems.
Instruct your escort on what is expected of them. The escort behind you should
stay very close to you, so that there is not room for overtaking traffic to
slot in between the escort and yourself, and so you can easily communicate
by shouting. If he is on a cycle, he should frequently look behind for traffic,
and warn you if it is not safe to pull out from the left hand side. He should
also supplement any hand signals you give, maintaining them for as long as
necessary to inform following traffic of your intentions. If you are accompanied
by a motor vehicle, you will need to stop measuring to communicate. You should
indicate your intentions to the following escort vehicle by hand signals and
he should repeat them with his vehicle indicator signals to warn traffic.
The escort in front of you will be primarily to show you the route, and to
enable you to pick out the SPR They should be instructed to ride 50 to 200
m ahead of you (depending on the visibility along the course), checking back
frequently to maintain station with you. Thus they will not normally be directly
helping to maintain your safety. However, they may be helpful if you have to
cross the road close to a blind corner. They may be able to find a position
where they can see round the corner while still able to signal to you that
the road ahead is clear and it is safe for you to proceed. Such manoeuvres
usually need to be discussed and planned carefully to avoid misunderstandings,
and this can only be done if you stop the measurement to carry out the discussion.
During a ride you should stop and consult your escorts about route ahead whenever
necessary. Remember to check they that they are happy with their role and not
becoming tired or cold, or if it is the middle of night too sleepy to continue
safely.
If during a ride you encounter another road user (this includes pedestrians,
horses, cyclists as well as motor vehicles) on the SPR where you need to ride,
you should either stop and let them pass or else stop, note where your front
wheel is in the road and carefully keeping front wheel brake applied, lift
your bike to the side of the road out of the way of the other road user. Resume
your position in the road and continue the measurement once it is safe to do
so.
Pay particular attention to giving pedestrians priority when you have to measure
over pavements. It is usually impossible to measure both safely and accurately
on crowed pavements, these sections will need measuring at a quiet time or
else by exercising considerable patience to find gaps where you can safely
proceed.
When mounting kerbs or passing over other irregularities such as potholes,
pay careful attention to your balance to avoid being tipped off your bicycle.
It may be necessary to slow or to stop riding and wheel the bicycle over the
obstruction.
The safety of runners during the race is not the responsibility of the course measurer but of the race director, who must carry out a safety assessment. However, there will be occasions where the course measurer may make suggestions for a change of course in order to adjust it to the required distance, so it is best only to suggest routes which can be made safe for runners. If the course selected by the race director will obviously be difficult for the race director to make safe, you can certainly point out your concerns. However make sure that as course measurer you do not endorse the safety of the course for the purposes of the race director's safety assessment.
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