CMU School of Drama


Monday, December 01, 2025

Riggers and Race Car Drivers

Kayt Lucas: I recently had the pleasure of watching the 2013 movie Life on the Edge about the development of safety standards in F1 racing. It was an exhilarating documentary, featuring uncensored footage of a great many crashes and the stories behind them.

1 comment:

JFleck said...

Unfortunately the norm for anything when you start doing it is considered the one way to do something. At least until the way you are doing something is harmful enough to garner enough attention to change it. This is why a lot of safety regulations are “written in blood”. The regulations that have come about are because of the loss of life in incidents in prior or recent history. People up in the grid have such an ingrained mentality that their current situation is normal and that the freedom without safety harnesses is something that is good enough for them and that it is other people who fall, not them. Thankfully, people in charge of building venues and people in charge of tours are recognizing these faults and are changing their conditions for the better. In counterpoint the industry that uses riggers are protecting them more than the companies for racecar drivers ever did (without a strike).