Quote Originally Posted by bluedevil
I can't remember why we changed from a green light start to just a red light going off? Was there a "problem" we had to fix? Did it make the start "safer" ? Was it less "confusing"? or did we just conform to the way other clubs did it? :wink:
Actually, there WAS not one, but two potential problems solved.

First - It was argued that with the old system (red - yellow - green) that the third "action" made it possible for the riders to anticipate a rhythm, and therefore jump the start.

Second - It was also argued that starting the race required not one, but two different lights (yellow and green) to come ON, and a mechanical malfunction could cause problems. Imagine if, under the old system, the red light came on, then the red went out as the yellow light came on, then the yellow light went out but (because of a mechanical problem) the green light never came on. Some of the riders would take off because they saw the yellow light go out (as I used to) and others would stay still waiting for the green to come on. Disaster.

The new process (red on - red off) solved both problems. First, it's impossible to anticipate a rhythm when there are less than three distinct actions. Second, if a mechanical problem causes the red light to never come ON, then the riders on the grid are a lot less charged up to go, and while there may be a lot of confusion, there's less danger. There is a lot less chance of a problem that makes it impossible to turn the light OFF compared to the chances of not being able to turn not one, but two lights ON.