The RallySafe in the Winter Trial

 

The RallySafe units will be used in the Winter Trial for safety and for timing.

Safety
In case of emergencies, the organization will be able to locate you.
During the Regularity Sections, the unit will warn you for potentially unsafe situations, like a slow car in front of you.
Driving below 30 km/h during a Regularity Section the unit will show a blue “HAZARD?” sign. See below for more information.
After a collision or crash (during a Regularity Section) the unit will warn the organization and fellow competitors in the vicinity.

Timing
Together with the marshals, the RallySafe units will perform the timing of the various controls. On manned controls the unit will be a backup for the manual timing, on the unmanned controls (Logger Starts, Timing Points, Passage Controls, Secret (Speed) Checks etc.) the unit will be the source (with the small GPS Logger as a backup).

The RallySafe will not change anything in the way you did the previous Winter Trials (concerning regulations, procedures, timing and results), but unlike the other devices, the RallySafe has a screen and will show you different information on different moments. Below some explanation.

 

Regularity/Test Starts
Arriving at the start location (within 50 m) of a Regularity Start the unit will give a warning:

Like before, at a Manned Start (or Test Start), follow the instructions of the marshals and drive to the start line when they ask you, and stop at the start line. Start after the countdown of the marshal.
At a Self-Start, your due time is your actual time at the previous control plus a certain number of minutes, as indicated on the Time Card. During the minute before your due time drive to the red flag board at the landmark indicated in the road book and stop. Wait for the start of your due minute (hh:mm:00) and start the section.
At a Logger Start you do the same as at a Self Start, but you can start at any (whole) minute when you are ready (and no other car started in).

The unit will show you the Current Time, top right of the screen. This is the (GPS provided) Rally Time! This time will prevail over any other time on any other device!

Always start at or direct after the whole minute, unless the marshal instructs you different, or you have received 30 seconds extra on the control before the Self Start.
The unit also supports a 30 seconds start, so you will receive a wrong start time if you have to start at the whole minute and don’t do so. Logger Starts will always be rounded down to the whole minute by the results system.

Once started the screen will look like this:

The time since the start is indicated (here 00:17), the actual time, your actual speed, the distance, the distance since the last Reset. The unit is in Stage/Safety mode now and will warn you (and other competitors) for potentially unsafe situations.

In this mode “HAZARD?” shows up if you stop or drive slowly and in case of a real hazard situation, this can be acknowledged by pressing the button below the HAZARD text. More information about Hazard below.

Timing Points
On (unmanned) Timing Points the unit will show you a screen like this for a few seconds:

En route ‘TP 1’ will show like ‘TP 1.2.3’, depending on the Regularity you are in.  The moment this screen will appear is right after the moment you were timed.

On manned Timing Points you will also be timed by the unit, but then there will be no message on the screen. You will see the marshal after they have timed you. Proceed, stop (carefully) at the marshal and they will fill in your Time Card.

 

Rejoin Point
The unit will stay in the Stage/Safety mode until you reach the Re-join Point (RP) of the Regularity Section. This point is indicated in the Road Book and this is where the Regularity Section meets the known route on the map.
This is after the last Timing Point (indicated with a red sign at the marshal/road side) and after the Regularity Finish as (mostly) indicated on the Hand Out.
The unit will switch to ‘Transport Mode’ and will show you the time and distance from the Start to the RP for a while, but they have no meaning for the regularity timing. The unit will show ‘Stage Complete’ on a white background and the number of the RP on the top of the screen.

In most of the Tests we will also use the unit in Stage mode. Your Start Time will be recorded, but the Finish Time will be different from the manned timing, as we use a Stop Astride and not a Flying Finish, like the unit. During the tests, the unit will help us to count the number of your laps.

In Navigation Sections and some parts of the Night Loops, the unit will also be in Stage mode and the acquired Route Checks/PC’s will be shown like the unmanned Timing Points.

Unmanned Passage Controls and Secret (Speed) Checks will also be recorded by the unit, they will not give a big ‘Acquired’ message on the screen, but the name of the last check will show on the top of the screen, like ‘TP4’ below.

 

 

 

 

Hazard

When the Hazard? Question appears you can ignore it and it will disappear as soon as you are driving (faster) again. If something is wrong, or if you want to acknowledge you are OK, you could also push on the button below the blue Hazard? Text.

On the following screen you can indicate something is wrong, like the road is blocked. Push the button below HAZARD? and confirm this with the button below the green OK.

 

You will now see this screen, confirming there is a hazard:

HAZARD on Yellow

If you acknowledged the blue Hazard? question but nothing is wrong, you can cancel it with the 2^nd or 3^rd button and you will return to the first screen.

 

If you, or another competitor near you, is in serious trouble you can push below SOS. But only if you need the Fire Brigade or an ambulance!

 

Hazard or SOS are not meant for calling assistance after breaking down! SOS will stop the rally and direct all crew members to the location.

 

 

 

Tripmeter

As you have seen the screen also shows a (GPS based) tripmeter with two distances. You could use this as a spare or backup for your own tripmeter.

You can reset the first distance with the button below reset and by pressing the button again, you also rest the second distance.

 

Black Screen

If the engine is running but you only see a black screen, push one of the 4 buttons at the bottom of the screen and the screen should light up.

 

Installation

The RallySafe unit needs a reliable power supply, via the ‘yellow cable’. This cable should be connected directly to the battery, or the main/emergency switch and should not be switched by the key. During the day the unit should have permanent power (also during the lunch and waiting for a start).
At night, especially in the covered parking, the unit should not be powered (it could drain your battery searching for satellites).