Everything under control.. Björn Eskelund one of the Safety Group founders.

The Safety Group organization was founded in Sweden late in 2007 by Björn Eskelund and Jouko Sjöstedt. They quickly recruited Michael Schriever and Jörgen Hult. From the outset they decided to run SG differently from the traditional club model, which had previously been shown to be less efficient to manage. SG is now a non-profit organization. In 2009, Thomas Andersson was added as a new member. The five mentioned above today form The Safety Group.


Jörgen Hult and Christoffer Holm

SG’s work is based on two foundations: competence and a uniform working method within the sport.

1. Competence.
Do we have what it takes? We continually ask ourselves that question. And when we first considered the question in the cold light of day, we weren’t sure. Many of us have extensive experience within the sport, plenty of thorough training and specialized skills in different areas. But we didn’t think that was enough.

Were we (and others in similar positions) just continuing to follow old habits? The fact is that technical developments in our sport continue at a rapid pace. There are new technical solutions, structures and safety features emerging all the time. And don’t forget ever-increasing speeds and their accompanying hazards. At
the risk of sounding pessimistic, we believe that every day and every event that passes without incident brings us closer to a major accident.
 

The other Safety Group founder - Jouko Sjöstedt

The only purpose of this way of thinking is to focus us on our goal. We do NOT intend to find ourselves one day regretting our failure to meet the standards we claim for ourselves simply because we hadn’t trained enough or kept abreast of the latest developments!



For us there are two important factors in this area: exercise and information gathering. By “exercise”, we mean being as efficient as we can with our equipment and as comfortable as possible in its handling. That encompasses everything
from personal equipment to different fire-fighting products, cutting tools and so on; practice sessions and refresher courses take place regularly. By “information gathering”, we mean the way in which we keep ourselves continuously updated on technical developments, irrespective of category or type of vehicle. We
want to know what has been added and what’s new from year to year, how it functions and how it will affect
our work.

Fast facts;
- SG is an independent non-profit organization which works according to the rules of the sanctioning body SBF.

- During 2010 SG has participated in 18 racing events. Most were drag races with the addition of some circuit races and a rally event.


Demonstrating for real - here with Pro Mod driver Mats Eriksson acting as the victim

Jörgen Hult and Micke Schriever at Mantorp Park one of the many organizers that trust the Safety Group

2. Uniform working method.
Throughout the years that we have worked in the sport (since the mid-1970s for some of us), we have also had the privilege of travelling around Sweden to serve with other safety and track preparation teams. It has
been a common theme over the years that almost all organizers and clubs have their own ”best way” of doing things. Everybody of course follows the sanctioning body’s basic rules and guidance, but everything surrounding that is handled differently. Track preparation is a good example. You know it's a good thing to
spray Track Bite and to scrape rubber behind a tractor, but this can be done in many different ways with varying results. So we think that you as a competitor should encounter the same standards of race procedure and methods of working by track staff regardless of what part of the country you happen to be in or at what level you compete. You should always feel you are in a safe and familiar situation. We have reason to believe that this is not always the case. 


This is the main reason we began to cooperate with other clubs and organizations in matters of safety, something that has also taken us outside Sweden. We certainly have no intention on forcing anyone to do it ”our way”; it’s simply a good method of getting to know each other, learning from each other and trading experiences. Our vision is that this cooperation will, in time, automatically standardize the way of working. In the same way that we interact with different clubs within Sweden, we also interact with clubs in different countries.


Since 2006 we have had the pleasure of participating at the European Championship events in England; we have also been to Denmark and, this year, travelled to Finland to work with FHRA at their European Championship event and the NDRS Finals. It is also worth mentioning that, during this year’s Swedish European Championship event, SG operated with staff from Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Next year we look forward to staff joining us from England too. Everything under the same motto: learn and share!


Thomas Andersson - the extrication expert.

Some more general information:
The main reason for SG having just five permanent members is that we want to keep a tight-knit group with streamlined communication channels. We also want to retain the concept’s original idea, working as a guidance group and a knowledge bank for any organizer. After many years performing a variety roles in the sport, we have acquired a wide range of contacts with many different proficiencies (fire fighting, track preparation, medical assistance, race control, tech crew and so on). This means that any organizer, big or small, who engages SG has the opportunity to choose anything from a small reinforcement for an existing safety crew to hiring SG to provide a total solution. We can hand-pick the most suitable people from any club to fill the different positions. An example is the Veidec Festival, where the safety crew consists of 16 individuals from five or six clubs. As soon as the crew completes its work on Sunday night, SG reverts once more to its core five members. This is the fundamental way we work.

The year 2010 brought us into circuit racing as well. Our member Thomas Andersson has his roots there and SG’s reputation has spread to circuit racing organizers too. During the year several circuit racing events had SG staff on site to provide reinforcement and know-how. A further reason is that Thomas is also responsible for a specially trained extrication group, even more valuable in circuit racing owing to its particular characteristics. Once again SG has acquired a new strand of
knowledge which has been incorporated in our group since the start of this year.

Website: www.safetygroup.info

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