Cameras may not be mounted to competitors’ helmets.

OH NOEZ! My sponsorship chances have just been torpedoed! DAMN YOU RALLY AMERICA!!!! My whole come back sponsorship plan was going to be based on a Video Blog wearing a head mounted cam 24/7 for the whole rebuild of the car up to and thru the first season.

Oh well, back to square one.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Scenario.
Someone has a helmet mounted camera in a side impact.
They have a hard impact and the camera hits the side of their winged seat or padded bar for non-winged seat. The camera basically creates a single point of loading where it mounts to the helmet causing the helmet to essentially fail and occupant receives a head trauma.
The other safety equipment was not allowed to perform as designed due to the introduction of extraneous equipment.

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Grant Hughes

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webkris

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tipo158
Maybe everyone will decide that POV from a helmet cam in a rally car sucks and no one will ever use one again.

To my point - Rally America has already made that decision for us. No more everyone deciding.

Because RA is the only sanctioning body?

Because no one will create a helmet-mounted camera that doesn't have the safety issues that the currents ones have?

alan

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tipo158
Common sense? If common sense were common enough here, a rule would not be needed.

alan

Common sense? Did you forget that this is Rally Anarchy?

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Don Kennedy

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john vanlandingham

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Gravel Spray
Does anyone (in the pnw) remember the mageta XR4Ti with the "aquraium cam" on the roof???

What was that lunitics name?? Nigel?

No it was "oh no fuckin Nigel"

...yeah that guy. I seem to remember he had a old school VHS shoulderboxcam thing bolted to the roof and then a 20gal aquarium over it duct taped to the roof as "water proofing"


Hey Alan, you guys really sit around and dream up this shit?

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Gravel Spray
Hey Alan, you guys really sit around and dream up this shit?

Yep. That's all we do.

Except this one. Turns out that this one came about after observation of competitors and resulting concerns.

If you have some ideas that we should have been dreaming up instead, let me know. You have my e-mail.

alan

Yeah, this seems like a no brainer rule. Good job Alan! Personally think it is bullshit of you guys to argue this one. ANYTHING attached to the helmet other than safety devices should be illegal.

It's just arguing to be arguing...

Sean and Alan are right.

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

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Dazed_Driver
It's just arguing to be arguing...

Sean and Alan are right.

obviously its common sense, but to actually write it into a rule book?

Fortunately hydration equipment hasn't been banned, yet.

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

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Gravel Spray

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Dazed_Driver
It's just arguing to be arguing...

Sean and Alan are right.

obviously its common sense, but to actually write it into a rule book?

As I wrote earlier, common sense isn't always common. Remember Wimpey and his flip-flops? I haven't seen helmet cams used in a rally car, but Mike has.

alan

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tipo158

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Gravel Spray

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Dazed_Driver
It's just arguing to be arguing...

Sean and Alan are right.

obviously its common sense, but to actually write it into a rule book?

As I wrote earlier, common sense isn't always common. Remember Wimpey and his flip-flops? I haven't seen helmet cams used in a rally car, but Mike has.

alan

No tell us about the flip flops.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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tipo158
As I wrote earlier, common sense isn't always common. Remember Wimpey and his flip-flops?

Ha! Yeah, and the horrible horrible injuries he sustained! When will the flip-flop related rally injuries come to an end!!! Think of the children!

I think that Jeremy Wimpey, with 70+ rallies under his belt, whose experience in actual stage conditions far exceeds anyone in this thread, is an excellent example of a very informed competitor. That certainly wouldn't make his sense "common", he's tied for fifth as the most active competitor in the country in the last decade. I can't remember right now if he has a Phd or "just" a masters degree in some kind of statistical biology, but I'm pretty sure of one thing: I think he's capable of evaluating his experience and picking out his shoes come the morning of the rally.

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phlat65
ANYTHING attached to the helmet other than safety devices should be illegal.

I think you just made most of the open face rally helmets in this country illegal. I see lots of terraphone and peltor intercoms installed on the outsides of helments.

Terraphone mounting block is 25mm x 25mm. (plus a couple for the sticky mount)
Replay XD lipstick camera: 28 mm diameter. (oh, plus a few for the mount too, I'm sure)

One of these is has been used by rally drivers for decades and appears to be allowed by everyone, even though it has a cord well placed to wrap around your neck at a metal barb less than an inch from your face. The other has caused no injuries that I know of, and is entirely self contained with no cords or pointy pieces, but is so clearly dangerous it needs to be outlawed, at least after watching some YouTube videos.

If you want common sense, ask the average person. The trouble is, the average rally driver has done just a few events. I think one would get further asking an uncommonly experienced competitor for their thoughts.

But rest easy America. At least in one small corner of the world, there will be no flip flops or helmet cams. All is well.

Anders

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Grassroots rally. It's what I think about.

Anders....don't make me put my mean Daddy voice on! (my girls burst out in laughter when I say that, I've taught them good)
TELL US ABOUT THE FLIP FLOPS or its spankie time for YOU!

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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NoCoast
Dear Rally-America.
Thank you greatly from a viewer of onboard videos. Helmet cam in a rally car is simply retarded and is a novelty and more likely to nauseate a viewer then inspire envy or envoke a desire to get involved with rallying from any perspective.
Furthermore I believe internal operations manuals and press agreements should stipulate that any video being produced under RA media guidelines are required to utilize either interior shots with audio or exterior shots only with an additional microphone for audio inside the cabin.

Rationale: I am continuously amazed at how the 1995 WRC review has epically better onboard video than what is in use in productions today. After much review it was determined that there were two primary differences between these videos. 1995 had a fairly standard camera angle with fairly low resolution but decent audio captured both from in the cabin (lots of engine, gearbox, and gravel spray sounds) and a mixed but not overwhelmingly loud (ie. no clipping) of the WRC intercom system. The videos of recent times, specifically those filmed on Go Pro and other 'wearable' cameras, result in high quality high resolution video and an audio stream that is best described as piss poor garbage. This level of footage does not belong in a professional production. Successful videos such as Ken Block's Gymkhana series may have utilized these small high resolution cameras for video capture, but audio capture and professional mastering was done seperately. Out of car video with just wind sounds is possibly the worst. See Lestage onboard from Rally in the 100AW 2012 at 4:20 for example.
http://www.youtube

YES YES YES. I even get pissed off if I can't get the in-car audio with my video. Why I didn't even bother with my Sno*Drift videos because I have to manually edit all the in-car audio onto the GoPro footage. But now there are the additions to retrofit older GoPro models with a mic-in and the new Hero2 has a line input as well.

I just find no interest watching all the external and internal shots with no in-car to go with it.