Dinaric Rally Tracking and Safety Device

Brief description

Contemporary rallies are unimaginable without “additional devices” that ensure orientation, navigation, and most importantly, safety. Different rallies have developed various tracking and safety systems, or use different IT and other services and devices.

Our tracking and safety device(s) has been carefully chosen and/or developed to meet specific needs of our “Safety System” and needs of our riders, considering the terrain that dominates the Dinaric Alps and taking into account various scenarios we experienced as well as inputs / reviews of numerous riders during the previous Dinaric Rally’s editions.

These are the most important criteria that we adhered to during the development of our tracking and safety system(s):

Safety is no.1 priority. The devices should also serve for timing/scoring purposes.
The tracking / safety device is an addition to Safety System and must not be mistaken with Safety System itself. Safety system is complex system that contains numerous elements including: Safety Crew (that is experiences, skilled, equiped and prepared and knows the area well), Safety Plan(s), Safety Equipment, Safety Vechicles… which are all necessery for flowless functioning of the system even if technology fails.
The devices we / riders use must be extremely user-friendly, and riders should intuitively grasp its operation.
Easy mounting and straightforward maintenance/service are essential features.
The device must be reliable and sturdy.
The roadbook holds paramount importance as the “primary navigational device” during Rally Raid, as it is the sole repository of all vital information, including safety-related details. Therefore, during the rally racing, riders must focus their attention on “reading the terrain” and consulting the Roadbook. The tracking/safety device should complement safety aspects and should not be designed in a way that diverts the rider’s attention from the Roadbook. Its purpose is to enhance safety without compromising the crucial role of the Roadbook in guiding the riders through the rally course.
The device must include the most vital and essential functionalities found in other standard rally devices.
It should be priced more affordably for amateur riders.
The device must be customized to suit the unique characteristics of the Dinaric Rally and navigation in the karst terrain of the Dinaric Alps.

Devices we use

Over the years, we have continuously endeavored to enhance our safety system, which also involves certain upgrades to the devices/services encompassed by this system. For timing/scoring and safety (tracking and safety) in 2024, at the Dinaric Rally (and our other events and rallies), the following will be used:

raceadmin.eu safety device (display device + buzzer)
UNTAMED tracking device

Rent of the device(s)

Payment for the rent of the device(s) can be done at the rally bivouac on the registration day.

All usual credit cards accepted.

Safety and Tracking devices

Main characteristics

1. Warning / informing riders, audio-visually (display + buzzer) about:

Danger 3 (!!!) – The device will warn the riders, audio-visually, each time they are approaching Danger 3 (safety waypoint).
Speeding – the device will warn the riders, audio-visually, each time they are riding over speed limit
Start / FInish of the neutralization(s) – the device announce the riders when they get to the Start and Finish (Geo locations) of the neutralizations.
Waypoint clearing – riders will be informed, audio-visually each time they get into the radios of any waypoint set on the track
Blocked road – Not to be mistaken with “overtaking” or “accident” function! Blocked road is a function availible as a simple button riders can press in case road is blocked (by any means) and safety of themselves, other riders or anyo other persons or living beings is compromized.
Stage or section cancelation – the device will warn the riders, audio-visually, in case stage or specific section of the Stage is canceled
Out of time limit – the device will warn the riders, audio-visually, when / if they reach OTL
other alerts

2. Two-way communication

Riders can send predefined messages to the Race administration, and vice versa.

3. Live tracking application

Free, public live tracking application will be availible during the rally. Link for a live tracking will be send after all the riders will be registered for the rally.

4. Simple installation

Connect the device to the battery and fix it with zip ties. You only need quick connectors and a piece of electrical wire + fuse.

5. Three separate devices:

Display (visual communication device)
Tracker (GNSS/GSM/GPRS),
Buzzer (audio communication device).

Functions specification

Rider’s message to Race Administration Center (RAC) using one of three buttons

Button	Message	Messages delivery via	Message delivering to
SOS (call for help)	Call for medical assistance / help	SMS / TCP	RAC MAP / Safety Team
OK	Informing RAC that rider is OK, no need for medical assistance	SMS / TCP	RAC MAP / Safety Team
Road Blocked	Informing RAC that track is blocked	SMS / TCP	RAC MAP / Safety Team

Race Administration message to Rider (SMS or TCP)

Message	Screen Message	Time on screen	Buzzer beeps
Are you OK?	OK?	constantly till confirmation	Every 2 seconds till confirming
SOS (call received)	SOS (Call received – Blue Color)	constantly till cancellation	3s
Road Blocked	RB! (Road blocked – Red color)	constantly till cancellation	3s
Road clear	GO! (Road Clear – Green color)	5s	3s
Out of Time Limit	OTL ( Out of Time Limit – Yellow color)	10s	3s

Scenarios

Riders leg is injured

Rider presses SOS button and holds it for 3 seconds -> Device starts to blink and RED SOS shows on the display.
RAC receives the SOS (with GPS locaton and other data from the rider)
RAC confirms that SOS is received -> Blue SOS shows on Rider’s display – > Rider knows Race Admin received the message.
RACstarts procedure
RAC try to communicate with the rider by mobile phone; closest safety teams are contacted and sent to the location of the rider; if needed, safety teams start riding towards the rider.

Rider decides to continue after he realized he feels better

Rider presses OK button.
RAC receives “OK” message
RAC presumes that rider is OK but will try to contact him or to get info different way to doublecheck he/she is fine

Vehicle won’t start

Rider presses Road Blocked button and holds it for 3 seconds -> Device starts to blink and RB! shows on the display.
RAC receive the Road Blocked message (with GPS locaton and other data from the rider)
RAC try to communicate with the rider by mobile phone; if rider is not awailable, closest safety / recovery teams or Medic on a bike are contacted and sent to the location of the rider towards the rider.
Until the road is unblocked, Race Admin sends the message “Road Blocked” to every rider that is approaching once he/she gets close to the location of Road Block. When RB message appears on the display, every rider must stop at once and must move his vehicle aside a road / path so safety / rescue teams have a free passage (if needed) and so other riders that maybe did not received RB message or did not notice it, can pass without danger of collision.

Automatic (pre-set, triggered by GPS location) messages to the rider

Screen message	Trigger	Time on screen	Buzzer
!!! (Danger 3)	Way Point radius entered	5s	3x1s
WP (Green color)	Way Point radius entered	5s	3s
SZ! (Red color)	Speed limit exceeded	constantly	constantly

Scenarios

Dangerous drop

Rider is approaching dangerous drop that is marked as a Danger 3 (!!!) in the roadbook
300 m before the exact place of danger, rider will receive strong audio warning and !!! will show up on his display
the rider must take extra caution and do the best he can to prevent potential accident and to escape the danger.
In most cases, the rider is going to consult the roadbook to see what is the danger and then he/she will adjust the speed and pass the point of danger without any consequences

Neutralization

Rider is approaching the neutralization
300 m before the exact location of the start of neutralization, WP! (important waypoint) symbol will show up on rider’s display and audio warning will follow.
Rider will consult the roadbook so that he knows where exactly the neutralization starts and how long it lasts*
Rider will check the watch to see what is exact time he entered the neutralization
Rider is going to calculate what time exactly he have to exit the neutralization and he will remeber it
Rider will go to the gas station, fill the tank (or else) and he will check the roadbook to see where is the exit of the neutralization.
Rider will continue following the roadbook till the exit of the neutralization
When time comes, rider will exit the neutralization.

* every rider has minutes tolerance for exitin the neutralization. This means that rider must not exit the neutralization exact second but +- 1 minute.

Speeding

Rider is approaching a speed zone
Rider is constantly consulting the raodbook
Rider can see by the obvious lendmarks that he is approaching a small mountain village.
Rider will adjust the speed to the speed limit stated in the roadbook
If / when rider is speeding, he will get audio – visual warning. SZ! will show up on the display and loud sound from the buzzer will folow
Rider must adjust the spped to the roadbook limit
If rider is speeding, he/she will be penalized as per the regulations
6 second tolerance will be given to the riders to adjust their speed after theg get the audio visual warning for speeding

Technical characteristics

UNTAMED Tracker

GSM / GPRS / GNSS features:

Quad band module (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz);
GPRS Multi-Slot class 12 (Up to 85,6 kbps);
SMS (text, data);
Integrated GNSS receiver;
Up to -165 dBm GNSS receiver sensitivity.

Hardware features:

128 MB internal Flash memory (422 400 Records);
Integrated Li-ion battery 3.75V, 1800mAh;
Internal High Gain GSM antenna;
Internal High Gain GNSS antenna;
Operating temperature -20. +50 °C
Voltage +6 V … +30 V
IP67 waterproof rating
Dimensions 72,5 x 73 x 27,3 mm (L x W x H)
Certification & approvals CE/RED, Pulse 5a, E-Mark, EAC, RoHS, REACH, SIRIM QAS

raceadmin.eu Display

Hardware features:

128 MB internal Flash memory (422 400 Records);
Integrated Li-ion battery 3.75V, 1800mAh;
Internal High Gain GSM antenna;
Internal High Gain GNSS antenna;
Operating temperature -20. +50 °C
Voltage +6 V … +30 V
IP67 waterproof rating
Dimensions 72,5 x 73 x 27,3 mm (L x W x H)
Certification & approvals CE/RED, Pulse 5a, E-Mark, EAC, RoHS, REACH, SIRIM QAS

raceadmin.eu Buzzer

Hardware features:

Type of sound transducer – piezo siren
Operating temperature -10…55°C
Operating voltage 12V DC
Sound level 105dB (d=1 m)

Instalation

All three devices are already connected with each other.

There will be 2 x MALE (power and ground) connectors already installed on the trackers.

Riders have to prepare the wires and connectors / terminals to connect the trackers to the Battery.

All three devices are light and small. To attach the devices (tracker, display and buzzer to the vehicle, Zip Ties are everything you need.

Needed:

1 m (or longer) of electric wire (Ground and Power)
6.3 x 0.8. insulated FEMALE connectors / terminals
5A fuse, installed on Power wire
Zip Ties (good quality)

Riders have to prepare everything as per scheme below:

pic. coming soon

Make sure to have some Zip Ties with you and have some extra in case you need to repair those after few days of riding or after droping bike down or else.

“Vehicle-to-vehicle” communication functionality

The Race Admin tracking and safety device does not have “vehicle-to-vehicle” communication functionality.

The primary reason for this lies in the terrain of the Dinaric Alps and our experiences from Dinaric 2022, along with similar rallies where devices with these functions were used. Through analyzing various scenarios and considering riders experiences, we have determined the following:

On rallies that take place on narrow trails, mountainous areas, serpentine roads, and highly curvy routes, riders rarely use the “overtaking” function. Even when riders send a message for overtaking, due to the track’s circumstances and other reasons, other riders rarely respond to it.
When a rider utilizes the overtaking function while ridirng behind several other riders, it confuses all riders and diverts their focus, leading to safety risks.
The “accident” functionality/button in highly dynamic terrains and routes that partly use public roads, where encountering public traffic (such as stray hunters or loggers) is possible, can negatively impact safety. Riders may become less cautious if they expect the tracking/safety device to warn them of every obstacle on the road, leading to new accidents if an injured riders fails to activate the accident button or if someone not involved in the rally appears on the track.
Devices like safety and tracking units are susceptible to malfunctions, just like any other technology. It is unwise to solely rely on the proper functioning of these devices, especially when it comes to overtaking and accident capabilities. Excessive trust in technology can be even more dangerous than using no technology at all!

Through in-depth analysis, we have come to the conclusion that in today’s rallying world, many things happen out of inertia, and amateur rallies often adopt the standards of the largest global rallies, which take place under entirely different circumstances and on completely different terrains.

Considering all the mentioned factors, instead of incorporating the “overtaking” and “accident” functionalities, we have opted for a different feature that we simply call “road blocked.” The details of this functionality are crucial and will be explained in upcoming emails and during the briefings at the Dinaric rally.