The Weather Channel criticizes Daytona International Speedway for "ignoring" weather warnings

dpkimmel2001 said:
Probably a dumb question but where do you put 150,000 people for safety? Say you have an hour warning. They can't clear the parking lot out in an hour. So cars wouldn't be an option. You can send them all out on foot to where I don't know. There's a lot of logistics involved that kind of a crowd in and out of a facility.
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Again, we're talking about an hour. The best option is for people to get to their cars or to some nearby building. An hour, that's possible. Five minutes too late, that's not an option. Saying they shouldn't do anything because of logistics is about as stupid as it gets. Logistics can be worked out much easier in an hour instead vs. five minutes after a Tornado Warning is issued. Personally, I'm shocked they didn't have any sort of a contingency plan in place after what happened at Pocono three years ago.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Saying they shouldn't do anything because of logistics is about as stupid as it gets.
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If that's what you read into my post then you're having a problem with comprehension today.

What I asked was what do you do with 150,000 people? It's one thing to sit there and say NASCAR should have done something. It's entirely different to come up with a plan. I have not been to any Cup event that can be cleared out in an hour. What are the options here for NASCAR?
 
Greg said:
On second thought Nascar probably only allows a Sprint signal on the track grounds. If so that should be prohibited due to safety issues.
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Greg has a point. I go to the Martinsville three or four times a year and my signal is blacked out during the Cup races. I get perfect signal up to an hour before the race and immediately after the race but, during the race, I don't get any service at all - can't even send or receive text messages. The only time I get anything is when I'm connected to ISC's WiFi in the infield and you can't reach that from the stands.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
If that's what you read into my post then you're having a problem with comprehension today.

What I asked was what do you do with 150,000 people? It's one thing to sit there and say NASCAR should have done something. It's entirely different to come up with a plan. I have not been to any Cup event that can be cleared out in an hour. What are the options here for NASCAR?
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They should have a contingency plan. They don't.

Fans were told, after the evacuation order, to get in their cars and put their seat belts on. In Florida, you're taught that your car is the safest place to be in a storm. If someone's parked a mile away from the track, that's not an option when the storm is already there.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
They should have a contingency plan. They don't.

Fans were told, after the evacuation order, to get in their cars and put their seat belts on. In Florida, you're taught that your car is the safest place to be in a storm. If someone's parked a mile away from the track, that's not an option when the storm is already there.
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dpkimmel2001 said:
Again, no answers. Good enough.
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Your "Answer" is above.

Daytona had more than enough time to warn fans that a storm was coming and tell them to get to a building (if they can) or to their vehicles. They chose not to.

/thread.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Your "Answer" is above.

Daytona had more than enough time to warn fans that a storm was coming and tell them to get to a building (if they can) or to their vehicles. They chose not to.

/thread.
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Do you fill your gas up before it gets too low, or do you completely ignore the obvious until your car dings at you to fill it up?

If you chose the latter, you had more than enough time to fill the tank and it's your own fault if you run out of gas. If you chose the first option, your argument for people having to be told what to do all the time is invalid since you obviously have enough common sense to recognize the signs before it was too late.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Do you fill your gas up before it gets too low, or do you completely ignore the obvious until your car dings at you to fill it up?

If you chose the latter, you had more than enough time to fill the tank and it's your own fault if you run out of gas. If you chose the first option, your argument for people having to be told what to do all the time is invalid since you obviously have enough common sense to recognize the signs before it was too late.
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Greg has a point about phone service though.
 
The signal decreases at race time because of the available bandwidth. Nobody's turning it off on you at the track. The same thing happens at other large non NASCAR sporting events.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Greg has a point. I go to the Martinsville three or four times a year and my signal is blacked out during the Cup races. I get perfect signal up to an hour before the race and immediately after the race but, during the race, I don't get any service at all - can't even send or receive text messages. The only time I get anything is when I'm connected to ISC's WiFi in the infield and you can't reach that from the stands.
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That's interesting, because I went to Martinsville a couple of years ago and I had signal every time I pulled out my phone. Granted, that wasn't a constant thing, but still...I did check my phone several times. That's how I communicate with the people I'm with because you can't hear a thing.
 
I could imagine though, they get on the intercom and yell "QUICK, RUN TO YOUR CAR! STORMS ARE CLOSING IN!" I feel it's near impossible for everyone to get to safety. Sometimes, you have to park two or more miles from the track. If everyone took off running, many people would trip over each other, which would likely result in injuries that would prevent many from being able to make it to their car. They didn't give them an hour warning, so we don't know what exactly would happen, but that's my take on it. I feel like those who would be smart enough to run for cover did so.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
The signal decreases at race time because of the available bandwidth. Nobody's turning it off on you at the track. The same thing happens at other large non NASCAR sporting events.
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It's great even at Eldora until the afternoon of the race and then nothing.
 
Johali said:
It's great even at Eldora until the afternoon of the race and then nothing.
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When a small city moves into one of these venues that's what happens. In Eldora's case I read sometime recently that they were adding a new tower near that facility. Signal should be increased by the time we are back there in July.
 
Brent said:
That's interesting, because I went to Martinsville a couple of years ago and I had signal every time I pulled out my phone. Granted, that wasn't a constant thing, but still...I did check my phone several times. That's how I communicate with the people I'm with because you can't hear a thing.
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I didn't say NASCAR shuts it off. But now you see why fans might not get a severe weather alert, yes? And please, go ahead and tell me about Martinsville, I only live here.
 
"run to your cars" or "hey race fans, come up with your own plan".

This thread has taken a turn toward the surreal.

I just want to be told of any dangerous weather in the area, then I would have the time to walk down to ground level if I wanted. Saying "We won't warn you because we don't know what to do" is just plan ridiculous.
 
The biggest problem here is that these tracks are way too big. Baseball stadiums, football stadiums, all that concourse is sheltered unlike NASCAR tracks. The tracks just expanded and expanded without stuff like this in mind. I remember when we had a severe storm warning at an Orioles game. You can quickly and easily get to sheltered area between the numerous facilities along the warehouse, the numerous clubhouses and bars at the stadium or in the dining areas inside the stadium.

The way these NASCAR stadiums are built is an absolute comedy. Some of these tracks, it's just tens of thousands of grandstands piled on top of facilities from the 1970s.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
When a small city moves into one of these venues that's what happens. In Eldora's case I read sometime recently that they were adding a new tower near that facility. Signal should be increased by the time we are back there in July.
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That's what I read also.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
When the storm we knew about is already hitting the track... when you're parked two miles away.
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I don't get some of the illogic be applied here. Keeping a dangerous situation a secret some how makes sense to some people. o_O:rolleyes:

Those mentioning personal responsibility seem to think nascar has none at all. Zero. Nada. Zilch. :confused:
 
I don't know any of the "official" details so I think some of it may have had to do with the panic factor which at times can do far more damage and be far more dangerous than the weather, especially when a large quantity of alcohol has been consumed.
 
Johali said:
I don't know any of the "official" details so I think some of it may have had to do with the panic factor which at times can do far more damage and be far more dangerous than the weather, especially when a large quantity of alcohol has been consumed.
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Warned 1 hour in advance = little panic.
Warned by a lightening strike in the stands = lots of panic.
 
FenderBumper said:
I don't get some of the illogic be applied here. Keeping a dangerous situation a secret some how makes sense to some people. o_O:rolleyes:

Those mentioning personal responsibility seem to think nascar has none at all. Zero. Nada. Zilch. :confused:
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I've been to countless sporting events and seen severe weather at numerous events. Even at these rinky dink short tracks I go to, I don't feel like I'm at any risk. The worst case scenario, not the best case scenario, should be "run to your car".
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I've been to countless sporting events and seen severe weather at numerous events. Even at these rinky dink short tracks I go to, I don't feel like I'm at any risk. The worst case scenario, not the best case scenario, should be "run to your car".
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In a place like DIS, it is impossible to see dangerous weather approach from the West until it's right on top of you.
 
FenderBumper said:
Warned 1 hour in advance = little panic.
Warned by a lightening strike in the stands = lots of panic.
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[quote="Johali, post: 733463, member: 6082"]I don't know any of the "official" details so I think some of it may have had to do with the panic factor which at times can do far more damage and be far more dangerous than the weather, especially when a large quantity of alcohol has been consumed.[/quote]
I reserve judgement.
 
Johali said:
Johali said:
I don't know any of the "official" details so I think some of it may have had to do with the panic factor which at times can do far more damage and be far more dangerous than the weather, especially when a large quantity of alcohol has been consumed.
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I reserve judgement.
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One thing to keep in mind, like the article states, they were "in communication with the National Weather Service". This is the same thing as Georgia being told by the NWS to shut down the state because of an epic ice storm and Georgia refusing to do so - then saying that they didn't because the warnings weren't put out until a certain time. Like Georgia, the NWS is actively in communication with Daytona International Speedway and informing them in advance that this is coming and, instead of using that information and being proactive, Daytona International Speedway waited until the storm warnings were issued to evacuate the track.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
One thing to keep in mind, like the article states, they were "in communication with the National Weather Service". This is the same thing as Georgia being told by the NWS to shut down the state because of an epic ice storm and Georgia refusing to do so - then saying that they didn't because the warnings weren't put out until a certain time. Like Georgia, the NWS is actively in communication with Daytona International Speedway and informing them in advance that this is coming and, instead of using that information and being proactive, Daytona International Speedway waited until the storm warnings were issued to evacuate the track.
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They learned little from Pocono where they ran the race until the dangerous weather was right on top of the fans.
 
FenderBumper said:
They learned little from Pocono where they ran the race until the dangerous weather was right on top of the fans.
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I know IndyCar did. A severe storm was incoming during the Baltimore Grand Prix and they wasted no time telling fans to get to the convention center or to the nearest sheltered location. And seeing as this was in the middle of Baltimore, they had significantly more time to waste that they didn't waste.
 
You're hosting an outdoor party with 100 people. I'm your neighbor. You ask me to call you if there's a storm coming. I call you and tell you there's a storm 15 minutes out and you might want to let your guests know. You ignore my message because you can't see the storm and wait until a minute before the storm hits to try to get your guests to safety. Someone gets struck by lightning trying to get to safety.

Who's fault is it?
A: My fault because I didn't send a text message to everyone informing them of a warning.
B: Your guests' fault because they should've known the weather was coming.
C: Your fault because you didn't tell them of an imminent danger so they had ample time to get to safety.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
You're hosting an outdoor party with 100 people. I call you and tell you there's a storm 15 minutes out and you might want to let your guests know. You ignore my message because you can't see the storm and wait until a minute before the storm hits to try to get your guests to safety. Someone gets struck by lightning trying to get to safety.

Who's fault is it?
A: My fault because I didn't send a text message to everyone informing them of a warning.
B: Your guests' fault because they should've known the weather was coming.
C: Your fault because you didn't tell them of an imminent danger so they had ample time to get to safety.
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Clearly Gods fault. Everyone knows he has the lightening remote.
 
This is an evacuation plan to be proud of.

Chimney Rock008.jpg
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
You're hosting an outdoor party with 100 people. I'm your neighbor. You ask me to call you if there's a storm coming. I call you and tell you there's a storm 15 minutes out and you might want to let your guests know. You ignore my message because you can't see the storm and wait until a minute before the storm hits to try to get your guests to safety. Someone gets struck by lightning trying to get to safety.

Who's fault is it?
A: My fault because I didn't send a text message to everyone informing them of a warning.
B: Your guests' fault because they should've known the weather was coming.
C: Your fault because you didn't tell them of an imminent danger so they had ample time to get to safety.
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It's your fault because everybody has let it go but you. :p
 
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