it has happened, even in US rally. At Rally NY this past season, there were 3 instances of spectator/non-competition vehicles on the stage. the reason was a combination of not quite enough route marshalls and residents who disregarded the orders of the route marshalls and drove through the bannertaped intersections.

 

I've worked as a route marshall at the Lake Superior Pro Rally a couple times and you would not believe how hard it is to convince some locals to not drive head on into the rally cars.

 

YEah, every second counts... Sucks to see this.

 

That's a problem of not enough "outreach" to the community. If you let them know what's going on well in advance of the event (mailings, public notices, etc) and basically cordon off the area like you would for a parade (how about a sandwich board style "road closed" sign and detour signs?) it's less of a problem. Hell even WRC has the occasional tree that will jump out in front of a car, so they're not immune either.

 

actually notice wasn't a problem with RNY. everyone knew, some people just didn't care and were pissed that they had to wait while some stupid car race went on. So they decided that they weren't going to wait and instead put their lives and those of the competitors at risk. It's this reason that I don't think that event will be held in the same area next year.