Jim Clark rally deaths: 'We assumed it was a safe area'

Donald Martin says he wants changes made to ensure an accident like this never happens again

A man who was injured and saw his sister-in-law and two friends killed in a crash at a rally in Scottish Borders has said he assumed they were standing in a safe area.

Donald Martin suffered a shattered pelvis and seven fractured ribs when a car veered out of control and hit him at the Jim Clark rally in May 2014.

His sister-in-law Elizabeth Allan, her partner Iain Provan and his friend Len Stern died.

Following a fatal accident inquiry, a sheriff has now ruled that their deaths could have been avoided if they had been banned from standing in the area where the crash took place.

'Quickness and noise'

In an interview with BBC Scotland, Mr Martin, a keen rally fan from Renfrew, said the accident had had a "terrible impact" on his family.

And he called for tightened safety measures to ensure something like that "never, ever happens again".

Mr Martin had arrived to watch the rally with the other three on the morning of the crash.

"The thrill of the quickness of the cars and the noise is the reason why we go to rallies," he said.

Elizabeth Allan, Len Stern and Iain Provan died at the rally in 2014

"Where we stood there was no signage to state that there were no spectators allowed to stand there and we were even allowed to stand behind the taped area.

"We didn't get moved in any way. We assumed it was a safe area. The organisers didn't tell us anything different. They came through with the spectator control cars and nobody moved us back from the taped area we were standing in before the cars came through."

The accident happened near Leet Bridge on the Swinton stage.

"The car took off over the humpback bridge and then veered slightly left then right into where we were standing," said Mr Martin.

"Unfortunately it hit Iain first, then carried on into the field, then killed Len Stern then my sister-in-law Betty.

"I heard a rushing sound. I was running then all I felt was a bump and I was flat face down into the field.

"I managed to get myself up slightly, then collapsed. Then silence. Then I heard a lot of people rushing, then someone giving CPR to a person beside me, and to this day I don't know who it was."

The car veered out of control after coming over a bridge on the Swinton stage of the rally

Mr Martin said initially he did not realise he had been hit. "I just felt pain," he added.

He was treated at the scene and then airlifted to hospital in Edinburgh where he spent seven days.

"My family travelled through every day to see me and get me through," he said.

His wife took time off work to help with his recovery. "It has had a terrible impact on my family," he added.

Reflecting now on what happened, Mr Martin said he was "annoyed at the race organisers".

"There seems to have been a major problem with the way that section of the stage was organised on the day," he said.

"Unfortunately it seems to have been down to the stage commander responsible to make sure that should have been done and it appears it wasn't done.

"And therefore three people lost their lives and I was seriously injured which I'm really disappointed about because going to rallies all those years I've never anticipated that type of problem."

Mr Martin says he still loves rallying but will not return as a spectator

In his determination following the FAI, Sheriff Kenneth Maciver identified a "weak, ambiguous, and ultimately inadequate verification system" for checking the proper performance of the work of stage commanders or stage setup crews in identifying the areas which were prohibited to spectators for safety reasons.

He made several recommendations aimed at improving rally safety.

Mr Martin said: "I would like to see the organisers tighten up and make sure that when the stage is being set up somebody checks to make sure that it is done correctly and an accident like this never, ever happens again".

As for rallying, he remains a fan but will not return as a spectator.

"I still love rallying," he said. "But I would never go back again based on what happened to me.

"I would never put my family through what they went through on that day.

"Football is my passion now - it's my new interest."