The Amazing Race's Phil Keoghan Details Production Protocol For Mid-Race Fender Benders
A lot of varying factors can come between The Amazing Race contestants and a million dollars. Fender benders on the road? Those are extremely high on that list.
In Thursday's Season 37 finale (read our recap here) Han and Holden suffered that exact fate while trying to navigate to Miami's Domino Park in the race's final leg. But we were curious! What is the exact protocol from a production standpoint when accidents happen on the road? And what about other vehicular laws that may vary from country to country?
According to host Phil Keoghan, teams are (obviously) supposed to abide by the local road rules and speed limits no matter where they are in the world. And they absolutely must stop and address any arising issue, no matter how much time it costs them.
"We make the teams accountable," the host tells TVLine. "If they get a speeding ticket, that's on them. We're not going to just pick up the bill and get them off the hook."
The crew will also give teams verbal warnings if they see a driver speeding or if they feel unsafe with any particular driver.
"[It's] almost like you've got a policeman in the car saying, 'Hey, slow down,'" Keoghan adds. "And then if they continue to do it, they'll get penalized. So they can have a double, meaning we can give them a penalty for exceeding the limit or if crew feels unsafe because of the driving practices. Then there's also police monitoring what's going on in the real world, and if in the real world, the police catch them speeding, then they're going to suffer the consequences."
Luckily for the brother and sister duo, Holden's Spanish skills came in handy when they pulled over, as he was able to address the situation and appease the other driver. Despite getting back on the road within a reasonable amount of time, no amount of sly talk and begging could help them claim that first place spot (but you can read our Q&A with the Season 37 winners here).
Thoughts on Season 37, overall? We want to hear them, so light up that comments section!