KENNEWICK, Wash. – Everyone loves to have fun at the boat races, but it’s necessary to slow down and remember that hydroplane racing is a dangerous sport. That’s why safety professionals are always on standby at each race.
“Drivers are generally more interested in making their boats go faster than working on their safety gear,” H1 Unlimited Director of Water Safety Dave White said. “So we like to try to remind them that it’s important.”
The preparations begin long before the race. One of the main focuses of H1’s safety training is to teach drivers how to escape a sinking boat after a crash.
H1 requires every driver to complete capsule training and do a safety inspection on all of their gear. White told me that broken air masks are the most common issue along with outdated equipment.
During the races, H1 has a lot of resources on standby for rescue.
“The H1 rescue boat is in the center of the racecourse and we have Jaws of Life, we have firefighting equipment, we have medics, we have divers. We’ve got a landing craft-style boat so we can load the patients on the boat,” White said.
Visit the H1 website to learn more about their safety preparations.
