Personal Injury Blog

California Off-Road Accident Report Says Bureau of Land Management Failed to Follow Procedures

November 23rd, 2010
Bureau of Land Management

Is the Bureau of Land Managment at fault?

The Bureau of Land Management is taking some of the blame for the deadly off-road race accident which occurred in Southern California last August. According to the federal agency, it failed to follow some of its own safety procedures during the race, and will treat this fatal accident as a wake-up call.

The accident, which occurred on August 14 in Johnson Valley near San Bernardino, killed eight people and left nine people injured. The victims were spectators at the off-road race, and were watching the cars whizzing by when one of the pickup trucks in the race crashed into a group of spectators.

After the accident, the Bureau of Land Management faced severe criticism from California car accident attorneys for the lax safety regulations at the race. The Bureau of Land Management is currently investigating whether the body that sanctioned the race, Mojave Desert Racing failed to improve safety conditions. There is no timetable for the investigation to be completed.

According to Mojave Desert Racing, it warned spectators to stay back at least 100 feet from the course. However, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said that there was no delineation along the course to keep spectators away from the cars as they sped by. In fact, some images taken during the night of the crash plainly show the cars whizzing past just a few feet from the spectators.

The Bureau of Land Management now says that it has the right procedures in place for off-road race events that are held on its property, but these regulations are not always implemented property. According to a statement released by the agency, there was inconsistent adherence to these procedures throughout the five agency field offices in the California Desert.

For instance, no review of procedures was conducted for the off-road race in August. Further, authorities at the Bureau of Land Management failed to make a detailed study of the race operators. Besides, there was just one Ranger on duty on the night of the crash. The Bureau of Land Management admits that a single Ranger at an event attended by hundreds of people was inadequate. However, the agency insists that it is constrained by lack of resources. There are simply not enough Rangers to patrol all events. For instance, the agency only has 38 Rangers, and it is spread very thin.

The report from the Bureau of Land Management now outlines strict procedures for off-road races held on its premises. A few conditions must be met before the races can be held on BLM land. For instance, there must be adequate Bureau of Land Management Rangers present at the race premises. Companies will be required to compensate the Bureau of Land Management for processing and administration of permits. The agency will also require more oversight from the district and state offices to ensure that the operators of the races are in compliance with policies.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of auto accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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