Track Day Host Sued for Accident Damages

[maytag]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

What many of you are saying is that if the track put a telephone pole in the exit area runoff, drivers should just "know it's there" and not kill themselves on it ?

Stephen, I don't think that's what we're saying (or, at least I'm not, haha). What I'm saying is that you can argue extremes (like a telephone pole) on either end of the spectrum. But a sandbag placed to divert rain from entering the racing surface is NOT an extreme. The court has already ruled that placement of the sandbag was not negligent, and intimated that in fact it is viewed as a reasonable measure to improve safety. The only thing still in question is whether the track day host was negligent in their decision to hold the event on a track with those known conditions.

Let's ask another illustrative hypothetical: Let's say it was raining. Let's say the track day host (like all of us before him) decided to run the day anyway, because the track will not offer any credit or refund for a rain-out. Let's say you suck at riding in the rain, but you decide to ride that day anyway. Then you crash.

Who's at fault? are YOU at fault? or is the track day host at fault?

I don't see this as substantively different. The responsibility to ride within your limits is yours. beyond that, are reasonable efforts taken to ensure safety? The court has already ruled that the sandbag falls within that category.