Jane Barbour (69) was one of five people injured when motorcyclists lost control and veered into the crowd at the February 9 event.
She was admitted to hospital with a knee fracture, but said her injuries could have been much worse.
"I would hate for anyone else to suffer like me. Someone could have been killed.
"My son keeps saying to me ‘Mum, we have to do something as we could have been at your funeral’."
Now recovering in a rehabilitation centre in the North Island, she said the protection in place for spectators was not adequate and a marshall who told her to move placed her in greater danger.
The Hamilton woman, who had travelled south for the event, was watching the hillclimb with a friend when the accident happened.
The spot they chose had a low safety barrier and spectators were standing on the outside of the corner, which she knew was the most dangerous position.
She saw a motorcycle pulling up and later found out he told officials to move people from the corner because it was so dangerous.
She tried to find a safer place to stand but a second marshall told her to go where the crowd was and she reluctantly complied.
"I was really reluctant to ... but I was not the only person to be moved.
"Someone argued with the guy and said ‘this is dumb, if I go over there I will be in more danger than here’."
A few minutes after moving, the accident happened.
"It is my view that the action of the marshal placed me in greater danger than I would have been had I been allowed to follow my own instincts.
"Although I jumped to the left, I felt impact on my right knee area and have sustained fractures to my tibial plateau. The protection just simply wasn’t adequate."
Burt Munro Challenge organising committee chairman Craig Hyde said he would not comment on the matter because the incident was under investigation.
"The investigation is ongoing and it will determine what is [going] to happen for the next year," Mr Hyde said.
Mrs Barbour’s trauma did not end there. She was transported by ambulance to Southland Hospital where she was told she needed surgery on her knee.
She flew north to Waikato Hospital but her X-rays had not arrived from Southland, necessitating a long wait in the emergency department (ED).
"I spent 12 hours in the ED because they did not have them [the notes]. I had to call the Southland Hospital at midnight on Friday to ask for them — then they told me Waikato Hospital had to request them.
"I could not believe it. I felt denied by the system."
Mrs Barbour is now recovering in a rehabilitation home and has had some plates, screws and wires inserted into her knee.
It was a sour end to a dream trip which started when her sister paid for her flight to Southland so she could enjoy the event and visit Stewart Island.
"I wanted to impress my grandsons. I’ve got two beautiful grandsons who are 9 and 11 and they know all about Burt Munro — they watched the movie, they have his book, they know his story.
"I couldn’t believe I was going to be there. It was like a dream. Honestly, I was like a kid with a lollipop."
However, even this "traumatic experience" would not stop her to returning to Southland or the event.
"I haven’t seen Southland. I have to come back and go to Stewart Island.
"I would also absolutely return to the event, [but] they need to make the protection right."
