・Introduct

  Compared with decades ago, there are many articles about people with disabilities recently, and social recognition and attention degree for them have been rising.

   The number of active players who have disabilities has been increasing in sports, the number of opportunities that people pay attention has also increased, and the number of companies to support them has also increased.

   In current motor sports, however, people with disabilities are hardly known. The fact is that the environment for them with “barrier-free” is not set. They have faced the difficulty of not only taking part in the official races by JAF but also getting the license.

   On the other hand, many people with disabilities assume that they can’t drive, feel frustrated that they can’t take part in even though they like motor sports, mentally feel timid because they have disabilities, and are nervous of saying they want to join because of the fact that there are no environments. A large number of them are killing their feelings such as “I like motor sports” or “I want to drive on a circuit”.

   In current motorization, car accidents never disappear. Some people who have disabilities by the accident and are in the hospital now have lost their future goals and been desperation. We hope that they can feel something by our activities.

   In addition to making a shape of their “hope”, we go ahead with “barrier-free” in motor sports, with increasing social recognition, and with acting to give them their hope.

   Finally, we aim at the environment that “healthy people and disability people can enjoy motor sports without prejudice”.

   We positively continue to play a role moreover. We thank for your understanding and participating. Your continued support will be greatly appreciated.

Association of Motor Sports Barrier-free
President 　　Sato, Kazuhiro

・Motor Sports is one of the true meaningful barrier-free sports

　　There are many sports by people with disabilities such as swimming, basketball, and track and field in the Paralympics, etc. But many of sports are no choice but being separated from them by healthy people because of the rules and absolute handicaps.

   Motor sports, however, is composed of riding “cars”, you can assume that both healthy people and disability people ride on wheelchairs with engines. As a result, if you have your own driver’s license and can drive, the possibility as pure barrier-free sports with out prejudice between healthy people and disability people is strongly high.

・Driving on a circuit is safer than public streets

   The reason why we have had disabilities is diverse. The most common case is “car accidents”. Because we know the tragedy and the pain of injuries by them, we keep safety drive on public streets. When you want to drive, you should drive on a secure and safe place, that is, a circuit.

   Public streets are very dangerous. Unless each driver takes great care, something serious would happen. On the other hand, we take it for granted that you are safe on the place being considered with the rules and the cars.

   The risk of an unexpected accident surely exists in not only all sports but also regular life.  But you will have only regrets, if you are afraid of the risk. People prefer not to regret while you live.

   Even if we have disabilities, it is not important that if we are disability or healthy for the desire for motor sports.

・We can escape from a car by ourselves

   When people with disabilities do motor sports, there are some general worries. For example, can they escape from their cars at the case of fire?

   Of course, there is different with each person, but it takes about 10 seconds to escape from the door or the window by only their arms. To save their own lives, they get out by even rolling.

   Perhaps, the image that they have disabilities gives people to think it “difficult” to take part in a race including the escape, and keeps people from understanding “how much they can move”.

   About the rules of races, for example, what will happen when healthy people lose their consciousness and can’t escape by themselves? The race may be “temporary interrupted by a red flag” and start the rescue work. If we have a trouble and no escape, which means that such a situation is the same thing.

   We think that we don’t need special rules and categories for people with disabilities. They have enough abilities for current race rules. To reinforce safety a little is just needed.

In particular・・・

�@ Protect the driver by keeping the race with a pace car or interrupting temporarily with a red flag in the case that a car is stuck or retires on gravel. (The same as the current rule)
�A Set a stretcher and 2 persons at each corner to carry a wheelchair driver outside the car. (The same as the current rule to carry an injured person)
�B Checking escape time when they get the license.
�C Checking the recognition of “self-responsibility” for entry into motor sports even if they have disabilities.

Basically, that’s all.
If we set a standard based on above and make details, it will enable with the current rules.
To reinforce safety leads Japanese motor sports to be safer, and to reduce unhopeful accidents as they used to happen.

・Needless to make an exception for disability people

We don’t need or hope a new category for only people with disabilities.
We just hope to enter motor sports.

We know “an unexpected situation＝self -responsibility”, and know the moral and the manner on circuits. We just want to have Japanese grade-A license and to take part in races.

・History of Association of Motor Sports Barrier-free

   Our association collects to hear that a man likes motor sports, wants to drive on a circuit and wants to enter a race, and for social recognition with the word?“Motor Sports Barrier-free”.

   Our main activity is to make a racing team and to participate in domestic and international races which place emphasis on aggressiveness and safeness. Moreover, we will also plan to contact with foreign countries through motor sports.

   We are planning to recommend getting JAF license to people with disabilities, and planning to develop manual-control for a MT car as the dream for disability people with a wheelchair, and to feed back to ordinary vehicles.

・Goals of Association of Motor Sports Barrier-free

1. Positive entry into races
�@ Ambition for safety
�A Encouragement people with disabilities to take part in races
�B Taking part in closed races
�C Taking part in domestic JAF official competitions
�D Taking part in international races
�E Official activities of races

2. The dream to drive a MT car by wheelchair disability people
�@ Development of manual-control for by MT cars
�A Ripening of use of manual-control for MT cars
�B Feedback to ordinary cars

3. The road to get a JAF license
�@ Encouragement people with disabilities to get a domestic grade-B license
�A Encouragement spinal damaged people to get a domestic grade-A license
�B Making a team belonging to JAF and being led by people with disabilities

4. Appeal to society
�@ Bringing cars and drivers into each kind of events
�A Responding to the media
�B Communication with foreign countries through motor sports