Thread: Go cart death

Have to agree with you that religion has nothing to do with it - the loss of life is a tragedy regardless of who it is.

However it has to be asked - would a young white mother be as likely to refuse to remove her scarf if requested to do so for safety reasons - or play the "prejudice" card if told that she could not use the go-kart while wearing a loose scarf ? I think not.

I have no problems with Muslim women wearing whatever articles of clothing they like, whether dictated by their religion or not. I have as very close friends a couple who are members of this religion, and she wears this type of clothing most (not all) of the time. However, there are times when common sense and safety, or other considerations like security etc. must take precedence over a religious edict - anyone who believes otherwise is a fool. I once had occasion to refuse to employ an Indian gentleman in a position in mining which required, for his own safety, that he wear a hard hat. This gentleman refused to wear a hard hat in place of his traditional head gear. Was I wrong ? I don't think so and I'd do it again. But I can understand some people, particularly teenagers, being intimidated in these circumstances.

Anyway - this is all pretty immaterial until an investigation is conducted and the real facts are made known. Until then, we are all guessing with no real knowledge of the facts.

Well said Terry. No one should die on a day out go-karting.

Years ago I worked at a very busy go kart centre on the gold coast - repairing broken karts and generally sponging off the owner... Whilst the punters have a responsibility to be dressed properly, the track-dudes are also supposed to make sure they are. Plenty of young girls had to be given sneakers to wear because they showed up in thongs etc... but rules are rules and the track-dudes always made sure people were good to go before sending them out on the track. I would think that the insurance people would require that kind of oversight, especially these days.

Making inflamatory statements about hypothetical situations that may have led to the incident is the job of ACA and TT - especially where the opportunity for racial sterotyping is present.

Cheers,

Adam

I really wasn't going to get into this, but....

It looks like the owners were not particularly concerned with the rules or their resonsibilities.
Fatal go-kart park running illegally | The Daily Telegraph

I think they'll probably be in a fair bit of strife over this. As a few have said now, the customers are not expected to be experts in the safety aspects of the activity. The operators ARE.

Thank you for responding BMKal and making the point you do.

The point you made about you not employing the Indian (more then likely Sikh) gentleman because of his religous head dress and how it would have had a safety impact in the work environment he was applying for is exactly the same as my point that she should not have been allowed to drive the kart because of safety concerns with the hijab, as it ended up being.

Regarding your comments about ..."However it has to be asked - would a young white mother be as likely to refuse to remove her scarf if requested to do so for safety reasons - or play the "prejudice" card if told that she could not use the go-kart while wearing a loose scarf ? I think not."

No one has shown that this was the case in this situation either, again this is just a supposition which is unproven but muddies the water of who had ultimate responisibility for allowing her to drive the Kart while wearing unsafe clothing. You acted correctly when you stopped the Idian gentleman from working in the mine because he wouldn't wear a hard hat.

I'll ask you this, whose fault and responsibility would it have been if you had employed him and then allowed him not to wear a hard hat and he had diead because he was hit by a falling object?

Everyone in this mess looses out, a husband lost his wife, two young children lost their mother and the circuit owners will more then likely loose everything they own and possibly go to jail.

Sorry Gaol.

Regards,
Terry O'Neill

Well done on the correct spelling of gaol!

Cant believe how this subject has gone south so quickly

Everyone is entitled to any belief they choose and should not be judged on those beliefs

but by there actions

And this persons beliefs had nothing to do with her accident it could have been a scarf a tie or even a fluffy dress

Originally Posted by DDdisco

I really wasn't going to get into this, but....

It looks like the owners were not particularly concerned with the rules or their resonsibilities.
Fatal go-kart park running illegally | The Daily Telegraph

I think they'll probably be in a fair bit of strife over this. As a few have said now, the customers are not expected to be experts in the safety aspects of the activity. The operators ARE.

Perhaps you can be accused of drawing conclusions. It seems they've been operating for 10 years without previous problems. It is possible they didn't know they had to be registered for amusement devices.

Ron,

I'd be surprised if they did do this on purpose but that is still no excuse for what happened.

I was told by a circuit owner only a few days before this accident that a go kart track owner in Victoria recently was fined 1.2 million dollars and received a goal term for allowing a patron to not wear a seat belt because it didn't fit. The patron then went out crashed the kart and was killed.

In NSW's unlike in Victoria and all other states around the country there are various acts of parliament that cover motorsport and activities like go karting etc.

Courts are usually not very understanding towards people who run / own businesses that break laws that cause other peoples death even if they were ignorant of the law.

Regards,
Terry O'Neill