Detroit Region SCCA
Tour Rally Rules Summary
The following is an unofficial summary of the 1997 SCCA Tour Rally Rules. It is provided to help those who have not studied the official SCCA rules to properly complete a Tour event.
Table of Contents
ROUTE FOLLOWING PRIORITIES
Follow the route at each intersection based on the following priorities:
- Execute an emergency instruction or follow an emergency sign.
- Execute a route following action referenced to an Official Mileage.
- Execute a route following action. (Note: Redundant instructions without mileage are allowed by the Tour rules.)
- Follow the Principal Road. The Principal Road is the obvious continuation of the road on which you are traveling. If you are to leave the Principal Road, or the Principal Road is not obvious, you will be given a route instruction. The Principal Road may be defined by road surface, curve arrows, center lines, stop signs, yield signs, etc.
OFF COURSE STOPPERS
The maximum distance between instructions without official mileage is five (5) miles. A callback mileage (maximum distance to the next open CONTROL) will be given on the control slip. If you have exceeded either of these distances, you should consider yourself off course.
ROADS
Unless specified otherwise in the route instructions, the following roads are to be considered non-existent:
- Roads which clearly end within sight or in a garage, plant entrance, or parking lot;
- Roads which are obviously closed, private, not legal to enter, or require an illegal turn to enter;
- Alleys;
- Roads marked Private, Keep Out, No Outlet, Dead End, Road Closed, No Thru Traffic, Road Ends Ahead, Bridge Out Ahead, etc.
SIGNS
Material in a route instruction within quotation marks [" "] is quoted from a sign. "Look back" signs will not be quoted. Signs may be on either side of the road. The referenced portion of all signs will be readable at rally speeds. Spelling will be exact, but punctuation, exact spacing and type style are irrelevant. The referenced portion of a sign will be continuous. Emergency signs will contain the rally initials and indicate the emergency action to take.
LANDMARKS
A landmark is an object along the course. Such objects will be identified in the route instructions without quotation marks. Each landmark must be defined in the Glossary, or accompanied by official mileage, or identified by a sign. The sign identifying a landmark need not be attached to the landmark, but the identification will be obvious. Terms defining landmarks in the Glossary will be used only in the sense defined.
DIYC
Do-it-Yourself Controls require that you enter the calculated time of day at the DIYC at the next location on the time card. Out time is exactly two minutes later and is to be entered in the next available out time location on the time card. Be prepared to turn in your DIYC time at the next open CONTROL before receiving the critique slip.
TIME ALLOWANCES
A time delay or time allowance may be requested for any reason. Normally, a delay is requested in one minute intervals, starting with 0.50 minute (0.50, 1.50, 2.50, etc.). The penalty may be waived by the claims committee if the delay was caused by conditions beyond the competitors control, and the delay request is properly witnessed by another rally participant. Delays within sight of the Control workers are deemed witnessed by the control workers, and may be for the exact amount of the delay. The request for a time allowance must be submitted in writing to the control crew prior to receiving your time or the critique slip.
EMERGENCY SPEEDS
In the event of inclement weather or other conditions, emergency speeds may be invoked in writing at an open CONTROL. Emergency Speeds constitute a 20% increase in LEG times. They apply until canceled at an open CONTROL. Other types of Emergency Speeds may be specified in the regulations for the event.
GLOSSARY
- ACUTE
- A TURN in the direction indicated of 100 to 179 degrees.
- AT
- "In the vicinity of", for actions that direct a course of travel; "even with" for other actions, including CASTs, PAUSEs, mileages, etc.
- BEAR
- A TURN in the direction indicated from 10 to 80 degrees.
- BEFORE
- In sight of and prior to the referenced navigational aid.
- BLINKER
- A warning signal at an INTERSECTION or railway crossing which you are obliged to obey. The BLINKER consists of a light or lights, usually red or yellow, operating in a fixed sequence of on and off. For rally purposes, only one BLINKER may exist at an INTERSECTION or railway crossing. The BLINKER may or may not be operating.
- CAST
- Change, Continue, or Commence Average Speed To.
- CONTROL
- The timing line of an open CONTROL as identified by a checkpoint sign, or an observation CONTROL as identified by an OBS sign, or a DIYC as identified in an instruction.
- CROSSROAD
- An INTERSECTION of exactly four roads from which a road goes to the left, a road goes to the right, and a road goes generally ahead.
- DIYC
- Do-it-Yourself Control.
- FREE ZONE
- A specified part of the timed rally route in which there are no OPEN CONTROLS. No penalties will be assessed for stopping within the confines of a FREE ZONE.
- GAIN
- To make up a specified time during passage of a specified or implied distance. The gain-time is subtracted from the time required at the given average speed to traverse the distance. The distance in which a GAIN is operative is a FREE ZONE.
- GI
- General Instruction
- INTERSECTION
- Any meeting of existent roads (without regard to route designation, surface condition, or other characteristics, unless such render the road non-existent) at grade level, from which the rally vehicle could proceed in more than one direction without making a U-TURN.
- LEFT or L
- TURN to the left of 10 to 179 degrees.
- LEG
- The part of the rally route extended from an assigned starting point to the next timing CONTROL.
- LRI
- Lettered Route Instruction
- NRI
- Numbered Route Instruction
- OIM
- Official Interval Mileage
- OM
- Official Mileage
- OPPORTUNITY
- A place where the specified action could be executed.
- PAUSE
- To delay a specified time at a named point or during a passage of a specified or implied distance. If no named point or distance is given, the PAUSE should be executed at the first OPPORTUNITY. The pause-time is added to the time required at the given average speed to traverse the distance. The distance in which a PAUSE is operative is a FREE ZONE.
- PAVED
- A road having a hard surface such as concrete, macadam, brick, etc.
- RIGHT or R
- TURN to the right from 10 to 179 degrees.
- SECTION
- Any part of a rally route at the beginning of which the OFFICIAL MILEAGE is zero and at the end of which the OM ends or reverts to zero.
- SIDEROAD
- An INTERSECTION of exactly three roads from which a road goes to the left or to the right but not both, and a road goes generally ahead.
- STOP
- An official octagonal stop sign at which the rally vehicle is required to stop.
- STRAIGHT
- Proceed within plus or minus 10 degrees of directly ahead at an INTERSECTION.
- T
- An INTERSECTION of exactly three roads having the general shape of the letter T as approached from the base by the contestant. It is not possible to execute the instruction STRAIGHT at a T.
- TA
- Time Allowance
- TRAFFIC LIGHT
- A fixed signal light alternating red and green (and frequently including yellow as a transition between red and green) used at an INTERSECTION to regulate traffic and which controls the rally vehicle. For rally purposes, only one TRAFFIC LIGHT may exist at an INTERSECTION. A TRAFFIC LIGHT may be set to operate as a blinker, although it will not be referenced as such, or may not be operating.
- TRANSIT ZONE
- A part of a rally route in which there are no timing CONTROLs and in which no specific speed need be maintained. Either an exact time for passage, or a restart time from the end of the transit must be given. An approximate distance for the length of the TRANSIT ZONE is desirable.
- TURN
- Change direction by 10 or more degrees at an INTERSECTION. A TURN instruction cannot be executed if the instruction STRAIGHT would take the contestant the same way.
- U TURN
- Change direction 180 degrees.
- UNPAVED
- A road having a non-hard surface such as broken stone, gravel, dirt, etc.
- Y
- An intersection of three roads having the general shape of the letter Y as approached from the base by the contestant. It is not possible to execute the instruction STRAIGHT at a Y.
- YIELD
- An official triangular yield sign at which the rally vehicle is obliged to yield.
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Date Created: January 23, 1996
Last Modified: March 21, 1997
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