A few ideas. I should start with a disclaimer that I'm not a competitor. I only have a passion for rally and want to see it survive, grow, and become a popular sport like it deserves to be.
First order of business: address the factors that contributed to the serious accidents in the past (fatalities). It doesn't matter that we can't get information on the settlements that were made - we should still be able to see full reports of exactly what happened on each accident. I have never, ever seen any official infomation on what was found about each of them.
Based on the discussions/rumors/information that we have heard here on the forum regarding past rally fatalities, it seems that the main areas to address would be:
1. Speed of cars on stage.
- 1a. Fast roads: Slow them down, reestablish a maximum average speed rule. Put chicanes on stages that are too fast, rearrange them or get rid of them.
- 1b. Fast cars: Put a limit on them, through whatever technical restrictions are necessary - yes, restrictors or whatever it takes. Perhaps establish Group N or "Proto N" as the top class in US rallying. Australia has done this, now New Zealand is doing the same starting next year, and possibly other countries have done this or are planning to do this.
2. Driver preparation.
- 2a. Require one full day of rally driving instruction in order to qualify for a license.
- 2b. Require that new drivers drive 4 cylinder normally aspirated 2wd cars for their first 10 (or whatever, at least 5 or 6) number of events.
3. Roll cage preparation.
- 3a. Require roll cages that comply with FIA roll cage construction rules only.
- 3b. Require that all installation and particularly welding be done by a roll cage builder certified by the sanctioning body.
- 3c. Make the certification standard for becoming an approved roll cage builder strict, but clear and open to anyone willing to prove their skills in roll cage fabrication. If you want to install your own cage, just go through the process of getting approved.
The three items above were all factors in recent rally deaths, to my knowledge. We could do item 4 below to help the situation:
4. Establish a position of "Safety/Risk Czar" in the new sanctioning body/bodies. It should be someone that researches all this stuff, is in touch with other sanctioning bodies around the world, reports findings to members, and has the power to make final decisions regarding any changes. He or She would be a go to person for competitors and insurance providers alike for any safety/issues.
Now, we have to get really tough and effective on these risk factors, and not be wishy washy and worrying about whether it will upset competitors or organizers. If it does, who cares? If something is not done, we won't have ANY competitors or organizers because there won't be rallying. I have followed rallying and been on these message boards and its precursors for 5 years and people just always go on and on that:
"Our roads are NOT too fast"
"Our cars are NOT too fast"
"Our brand new drivers ARE perfectly prepared to handle 400HP AWD cars"
"It's going to be too expensive"
"Competitors will be upset"
"Organizers will be upset"
Two words: Wake Up!!!