Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH
As follows:
Q&A is not the rules. Correct? However, Q&A does interpret the rules, and give guidance on following them.
The difference between last year and this year is that this year, the ruling is in the rules, not the Q&A. Admittedly, it is in a blue box, AKA "intent and clarification", but it is still in the Manual.
Note too that the word "overtly" is used. Slight variations from level with the ground would probably be OK, you made the effort, but going from 10" (at the top) down to 7" (at the top) over the span of an 8" bumper would raise flags.
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I think it's still a gray area. In 2013, since there was nothing in the rules about angled bumpers, we showed our inspector at CMP the Q and A answer. He brought it to the LRI, who said that the rules permitted our bumpers (and the bumpers of 1114 and 67). This means that the current blue box (without any interpretation) permits bumpers, which the q and a contradicts. Normally, the rules from the manual would trump the q and a response, but the sentence in question is a blue box. So, which get used, the blue box, or a q and a (which references the blue box in question)?
Or, if magnets is right, and the meaning of the sentence has changed because they are now providing an interpretation of this sentence instead of just giving us a vague sentence, this means that the correct interpretation for this year (not legal) contradicts what they wanted teams to get out of it last year (angled bumpers are legal), which again, doesn't make too much sense.
I think they should address this in a team update.