Hello everyone, I have a question that I'm sure some of you have already come across in your days of racing/riding. I recently built a private practice track and I am super pumped to be using it this spring/year. My question is: How does liability work if I have a couple friends over riding with me? Is there any type of generalized waiver I can get everyone to sign to help protect me against a lawsuit. I know in a court of law, a silly little waiver might not hold much ground but I guess it would be better than nothing. There is NO fence around the track (that would just be way too expensive to do). Would it be a good idea to put up No Trespassing signs everywhere just for the added security? I live out in the country (a couple miles outside of a small town). I know there are hundreds of thousands of private practice tracks across the country/world and I am just curious what type of things these track owners do to protect themselves? The obvious biggest threat is having someone over and he gets paralyzed/dies and then I'm stuck with a HUGE lawsuit that I will be paying on the rest of my life. Like I said though, with so many private tracks out there, someone has had to think like I am trying to protect their butts. Could someone/anyone please shed some light on what I can do to help protect myself against a lawsuit if someone would get hurt at my track. I DO NOT allow just anyone/everyone to come ride but at the same time it would be pretty boring if only I was allowed to ride there. Thanks for any help/comments. Blake
I don't have a private track, but I get to ride on somebody else's private track. They don't have anything like a policy or anything written up that I or others have to sign. I suppose you could go to an lawyer or a paralegal that specializes in that sort of thing and have a release form made up for friends to sign.
First thing I'd do is call the insurance agent that carries your homeowners policy and ask him/her the same question. What little I know of such things is that you'll likely want a personal umbrella policy of at least one million dollars coverage. These are cheap (I pay $130 yr.) and they pick up where your regular homeowners insurance leaves off.
Just off the top of my head what you've built MIGHT be called "an attractive nuisance". This same term is used for swimming pools. I think it would be a good idea to post NO TRESPASSING (or Trespassers will be Shot, my personal favorite) at the least. Umbrella liability too.
On some forum I read that the signs have to be every X feet or closer to really mean anything, I have no personal experience though. It doesn't really apply cause you have no fence, but I've always liked this sign.
+1 on this ..if its the same as here the waiver will be worthless because legally speaking you cannot sign away on your negligence no matter how you word it. a friend of mine has a similar track which he restricts to 6 to 10 people only for that very reason, you really have to trust those who use it, no strangers at all basically life long friends and such. one thing that might be viable though its tricky is to register the ownership of the track into the name of a company you set up, with basically no assets as they lease the track from the owner (you) so anything that goes wrong leaves you covered from a law suit. also you could advise users to have health insurance which covers motocross in the unfortunate event of an accident. hopefully this will give you some ideas
my brother invites our club to his land for a club fun ride- he has everyone sign a waiver- Just For SH!ts and Giggles but he also has a plan- he tells everyone that if you get hurt we will drag your body and bike off the property by the road and call 911 for you and say it was good we spotted this fellow rider after we were done riding- But there's not a lot you can do if its not an AMA sanctioned event. He got an umbrella policy too. Talk to your insurance agent. The problem is not that your buddy or your buddy's friend suing you or not, even if they would never do such a thing- like I would never sue my brother- but my medical insurance company would in a heartbeat! it doesn't matter to them and I wouldn't have any say so. The waiver is better than nothing- and I would know whose riding on your land- if you are there and know about it you are giving them permission- if a neighbor kid goes there sometime to play (trespassing) and gets hurt- it is good to have a gate on the drive and NO Trespassing- this is like Glangston said about the Attractive Nuisance thing... So with the Waiver- I would also like I said know who's riding and don't let anyone bee overly reckless or out of their comfort zone- I would say all the things they do at an AMA event- "motorcycling is a dangerous sport" "you ride at your own risk" "the trail/ track is not inspected for safety" "There are hazards" if there's something very dangerous- out of the norm: like a 20 foot drop off and the trail is on its edge- reroute or make sure you tell them about it ahead of time.
question the smartest thing you can do is dig deep in your pocket and consult an attorney. cover your ass. then get some extra insurance. don't take hearsay,.. each and every state will have different laws, and codes
I have such a track. Had my attorney write up a waiver- only fitting as she was first to crash Posted the property- locally has to be every 1300'- ours is posted 250' Fenced and gated with additioanl signage all access points Drafted rules, one of which is to make new people walk the track. Keep groups small and riding in check- no hero moves. Pray hard.
be careful I have been in a similar situation. When I was in highschool my dad bought & sold horses. IHe bought them-I broke them. I trained lots of hores for western pleasure. AN old friend of mine that I had not seen since I was 10 or so bought an ubroken mare & wanted to learn how to break & train horses, not just have someone do it for him. After a couple of months, he bought a bike & started racing with me. We became good old buddies again. Then, while working his horse on afternoon, she got the upperhand on me & stomped my ass badly. Not the first time I had been in the hospital with a horse-trainnig related injury though. My dad insisted that my buddy's dad file the claim on his insurance-and he did. I felt like such an ass. I was so pissed at my dad that I didn't speak to him for a couple of months and I stopped training horses. I understand his point, but it made a damned bad situation worse. It was bad enough that the injury ended my MX racing just as I was gettting started, but he had to go and make an ass of himself to boot. Luckily, my friend's dad was grown-up enough not to bring it up around me. However, when we decided to build a track on his property, he made it clear that anyone riding out there was riding at their own risk & went out put up a bunch of big-ass signs. I still don't blame him for doing that. The long and short of this is, I found out that it doesn't matter what you do. Even at an AMA track, the owner is defenseless against a sobbing mother or a father armed with graphic pictures of a kid in a hospital bed with 2 broken arms. The fact of the matter is, whomever decides they want to be a victim in our society has all the rights and the righteous have none. Our legal system has evolved to cater to the victim and remove all accountability and place that on the defendant. A good actor can take everything you own in a court room. The best thing for you to do is to get a lawyer to draw up something that is as rock-solid and air tight as possible. Get your friends to sign it. Put up "ride at your own risk" signs and only let those close friends who have signed it ride the track. Put up the no-trespassing signs and make sure if there are any kids in your area that ride, you personally go to their parents' house and tell them that they are not allowed on the track at all-any time. If a kid sneeks on there when you're not home & gets hurt, you're screwed. I don't know about where you live, but in NC a "No Trespassing" sign doesn't mean a thing unless the landowner has specifically asked that particular person not to enter the property AND has the sign up. A person can enter posted property for any reason until they as specifically told by the landowner to stay off of the property. In closing-be careful. Don't let anyone you don't trust ride. Pay a lawyer and get the most air-tight waiver you can get. Make you friends sign it. Make sure it says that they cannot transfer permission and make sure they don't bring their buddies. If you have to piss them off about it, do it. A pissed off friend isn't nearly as bad as spending your kids' college fund, or you retirement fund on some dumbass trying to double a jump trying to be big Billy badass for his girlfriend.
