Having read both of these similar threads, and being that I grew up with two handicapped brothers, I feel like I can see and have experienced both sides of the discussion - but it disappoints me when it turns into a one-sided argument or ends with rash claims of discrimination.
One of the first rules I learned as a child (and enforced by my parents) was that nothing in life is fair all the time for everyone, and just because you want something some way doesn't mean it's everyone else's responsibility to make it so.
What this reminds me of is going to the beach, which has public access, and expecting wheelchair access across the soft sand to water's edge. Something that would be wonderful, and right in a totally righteous world, but as my mother used to say, "if the world were righteous your brothers wouldn't be handicapped."
Yes, we now all live in a modern time with many modern conveniences, and handicap access provided at most all public facilities (and funded by taxpayer dollars), but at the same time I think some of us are overlooking that we're all still involved with a rather small segment of the population in a smaller-yet hobby and dealing with clubs and organizations that have terribly limited funding and racing at facilities not funded with taxpayer dollars.
So it really hurts my feelings when I see references about "discrimination" when I don't think that was ever the intent of the event or club organizers, because it wasn't like there was a sign that said "no wheelchairs." True discrimination in this case would have been if they'd set aside a pit area specifically for you at the furthest spot away from the track, or insisting you do your marshal duty in your chair.
Instead this seems to be more a matter that wheelchair users need to be more aware of their own special needs and be prepared to provide for themselves too, instead of just relying or making demands on the organizers.
So whether that means they arrive early so they get a pit spot close to the track (since it is first come, first served, for everyone else too), or they bring their own "substitute marshal" (instead of making it someone else's responsiblity), or they get an actual "lift chair" (like someone I know that races rc cars) - we have to remember that what we're doing can't reasonably be treated like everything else out there, where there are wheelchair ramps into (some, not all) buildings or handicapped parking spaces in front of stores. Expecting as much is not only impractical, but not cost effective unless we're going to discuss drastically increasing entry fees for everyone to pay for these things, or maybe looking into public funding to pay for these accomodations.
It's been my experience at larger events that the organizers really don't have the time to talk to anyone, about anything, as they're up to their ears just keeping up with keeping the event moving forward. They're not being rude, and I doubt they were in this instance, but overburdened with all their other responsibilities.
- Pit space: Them stopping everything, and getting them to force someone to move their tent to give you their space is kind of over-the-top.
- Marshalling (or pit-man duties) replacement needs: regarding your request to be placed in a seperate heat from your friend, it seems you're not looking at the bigger picture. First, it's my guess that all you have to do is roll out there for marshal duty once, and the race announcer would be calling for a volunteer. But second, what is going to happen when/if you and your friend end up qualifying for the same finals? Who is going to pit your car for you then? Realistically, it doesn't matter if it happens once or it happens all event, you need to be making your own plans instead of expecting others to make special accomdations. Seems that in both scenarios you're not making good enough plans for your own support system, as in bringing another friend or family member to assist you.
If you were a "regular participant" at National events, I would guess they would be more expecting the associated problems and probably more cognizant of your needs, but as a first-time (or occassional) participant I don't think it fair for them to have things in place just in case you show up.
Relative to the driver's stand - something else to consider is a indoor track I visited, that because one of the owner's close friends was wheelchair bound, the owner installed a special ramp and drivers stand to accomodate him, with a low railing for him to be able to see over and everything. Nice, for sure, but there were two problems: 1) he told me it cost him more to build the special accomodations than it did for the rest of the driver's stand, and 2) once the building inspector came by he received a code violation because the "special" railing section was too low for everyone else and his insurance company wouldn't cover his liability if anything happened to anyone that fell over the low railing. He was forced to scrap it, just to save the facility.
As far as the "receiver pack explosion" mentioned above, other than saying I'm sorry it happened, I'm not quite clear that it's the organization's insurance or liability to pay for what you (for all intents and purposes) did to yourself, no more so than I'd expect them to pay to fix my broken leg if I jumped off the roof of the driver's stand. Batteries are one of those gray areas of "assumed risk" on our part, just like the handling of dangerous nitro fuel, and there's no way the organization or their insurance carrier can be expected to cover damages for something so dangerous if not handled properly or something there's no way to prove either way if you precipitated (or not) the explosion, any more than you'd have a claim against the battery or charger's manufacturer. Again, I'm sorry for you pain and suffering, but I don't think it's the club's liability when I had a pack explode two years ago and it left a very nasty bruise or when I stabbed myself this year with a screwdriver. IMHO, that's what personal injury insurance is for - not the track's.
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