Bureau of Land Management has no plans to postpone desert races after weekend tragedy

A desert off-road race from Las Vegas to Reno, Calif., is still scheduled for Friday even as federal officials reviews their safety policies for such races after eight spectators were killed a similar event in Southern California Saturday. "Officials with the Bureau of Land Management, which permits more than 100 off-road races a year on desert land it oversees, said they are confident that adequate safeguards are in place for the Nevada race," Phil Wilson of the Los Angeles Times reports. "But critics of the agency called the decision reckless, saying the bureau lacks the manpower and desire to ensure the events are safe."

"Eight people were killed and 10 others seriously injured in Saturday's California 200 off-road race in Lucerne Valley after a truck lost control after a jump and plowed into the crowd gathered within feet of the racecourse," Wilson writes. The promoter of the California 200, Mojave Desert Racing, is scheduled to host another race in September in the same area on BLM land, and federal officials say there are no plans to postpone that event. In the aftermath of the accident Mojave Racing has been criticized for allowing spectators too close to the cars. (CBS News screen shot of accident aftermath)

Casey Folks of the Best in the Desert Racing Assn., which is promoting the Nevada race, said his firm doesn't allow spectators as close to the race as they were at the California 200. "We don't really have the spectator problems that they have in Southern California," Folks told Wilson. "Our racecourse is pretty much closed." The Nevada BLM office said Folks' firm has an excellent safety record. "Motorized recreation is an accepted use of public lands. And I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but we're here as a multiuse agency to provide recreation opportunities when appropriate," Leo Drumm, coordinator for the Nevada office's off-highway vehicle program, told Wilson. "It's part of our mission. It's what we do. Some people would like us to stop it all together, but that is not what we intend to do." (Read more)