- Location
- Virginia
Here's a question I have after looking at websites for some of the offroading clubs around me: why do they have waivers for every single meet-up or trail ride? Most of the ones I've found don't even seem to be drafted by an attorney, but rather copied and pasted from various other places.
If it's an event at a private place like Big Dog's or Rausch and organized by the club, I fully get the waiver situation. I'm not talking about that. But when a club does a trail ride on public lands (Peter's Mill Run, Flagpole, etc.) it seems they always have a waiver as well. And in the case of some of these, the restrictions of the trail you agree to when buying the pass include built-in indemnity, for example entering Peter's Mill you agree to the following: You are responsible for your own safety. Trail use has inherent risks and you may encounter a variety of unexpected and /or dangerous conditions. It is your responsibility to be informed and take precautions.
Does anyone know if there's an actual legal precedent whereby a club (or trip organizer) somehow assumes some sort of legal liability for individuals getting together for a ride? Or is this something where somebody decades ago threatened to sue, and they just decided to do waivers as a CYA method, and everybody else just carried it on? I'm willing to bet the latter, but I'd be interested to know.
If it's an event at a private place like Big Dog's or Rausch and organized by the club, I fully get the waiver situation. I'm not talking about that. But when a club does a trail ride on public lands (Peter's Mill Run, Flagpole, etc.) it seems they always have a waiver as well. And in the case of some of these, the restrictions of the trail you agree to when buying the pass include built-in indemnity, for example entering Peter's Mill you agree to the following: You are responsible for your own safety. Trail use has inherent risks and you may encounter a variety of unexpected and /or dangerous conditions. It is your responsibility to be informed and take precautions.
Does anyone know if there's an actual legal precedent whereby a club (or trip organizer) somehow assumes some sort of legal liability for individuals getting together for a ride? Or is this something where somebody decades ago threatened to sue, and they just decided to do waivers as a CYA method, and everybody else just carried it on? I'm willing to bet the latter, but I'd be interested to know.