Fulton Speedway (New York): WOW. Track to pay $635,000 to injured man in pits........

[HoosierDirtFan]

Seen this a day to 2 ago but just decide to post it here after seeing it on Facebook again

Fulton Speedway - Fulton, New York
Link to story below.
http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index....l#incart_river

[Hoosier]

This is scary - hope they appeal: "Knight, who raced himself decades ago, was at the track watching his son race. He had signed a waiver as part of his ticket allowing him access to the pit area. But state Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood ruled that the waiver did not apply to spectators, but only to racers who assumed the dangers of racing."

[Dante Toledo, OH]

Thats a lot of money for a small race track

[Josh Bayko]

Thats a lot of money for a small race track

The owner of that track isn't hurting for money. It sucks that he's going to have to pay this, but the future of the track won't be in question.

[superdirt]

The findings in this case open a huge Pandora's box of liability for tracks. The jury basically said that the pit waiver only applies to the drivers, other people in the pits are not responsible for being aware of what is going on around them (paying attention to cars moving in the pits), and tracks are liable for not having traffic/pedestrian lanes lined off in the pits.

Not aware of too many tracks with the pits lined off for traffic. IMO anyone that is entering the pits should be liable for themselves as they know there are moving vehicles throughout the pits. There is a safer place called the grandstands if you don't want to assume that liability. The exception would be when a driver is traveling through the pits at an unsafe speed, in which case the driver should be liable.

But unfortunately the US justice system does not do what is right in cases of liability. The crooked lawyers trying to milk as much from an accident as possible have seen to that.

[kazual]

Legal system is hard to understand. It won't be the track that pays directly but their liability carrier, which results in higher premium rates for this track and other tracks so all get hit in the end. And if the hospital stay resulted in an infection that caused his being confined to a wheel chair then why isn't the hospital a named defendant as well? My thought is they likely settled out of court some way or the plantiff's lawyer saw the track as an easier target. Next time someone complains about admission prices or pit passes remember this story, not many higher risk / low reward businesses to have than a race track.

[Pops15]

I hope they appeal. There is surely legal precedent that the waiver is for everyone in the pits, not just participants.
This ruling should be a wake up call for every promoter to review their pit waiver and who they allow in the pits.

[Dante Toledo, OH]

This has the potential to make tracks not let fans in the pits.

[ClampedUp]

The findings in this case open a huge Pandora's box of liability for tracks. The jury basically said that the pit waiver only applies to the drivers, other people in the pits are not responsible for being aware of what is going on around them (paying attention to cars moving in the pits), and tracks are liable for not having traffic/pedestrian lanes lined off in the pits.

Not aware of too many tracks with the pits lined off for traffic. IMO anyone that is entering the pits should be liable for themselves as they know there are moving vehicles throughout the pits. There is a safer place called the grandstands if you don't want to assume that liability. The exception would be when a driver is traveling through the pits at an unsafe speed, in which case the driver should be liable.

But unfortunately the US justice system does not do what is right in cases of liability. The crooked lawyers trying to milk as much from an accident as possible have seen to that.

The Doug Wolfgang case many years ago and others after that have proven time after time that the "waiver" you sign to go into the pits isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

[superdirt]

This has the potential to make tracks not let fans in the pits.

Exactly. And then what exactly defines a participant? A driver only? If pit crew is allowed, then how would a pit crew be defined? Someone that actually works on the car? There is no way any track could verify that. This man was in the pits with his son racing and for most purposes would be considered being there as part of the participating race team.

If a person wants to be defined as a spectator, then they should go to the grandstands. Anyone that signs that waiver and enters the pits should be considered a "participant." Except for enforcing an age limit, there is no way tracks can police participants and non-participants in the pits unless it becomes drivers-only in the pits.

This is a VERY scary ruling.

[GRT24]

To me a spectator would be defined as buying a general admission ticket and not a pit pass.

[MUD MAESTRO]

All participants should come to expect a safe workplace. As a spectator, I would expect the promoter to provide a venue that is safe for viewing....... We all know very well you can sue anyone for anything.

[Crashmagnet]

The pit area at any racetrack in the country is far more dangerous the the racing surface itself. Too many people in pit areas anyway.

[Josh Bayko]

The pit area at any racetrack in the country is far more dangerous the the racing surface itself. Too many people in pit areas anyway.

I wouldn't say too many people, I'd say too many people who don't understand how dangerous the pits can be. My dad was a crew member for years, then I was too. Before I ever went into the pits, he drilled it into my head how dangerous it can be, and that I should always keep my head on a swivel. I'm just a fan now, but occasionally I like to go into the pits. I still keep my head on on a swivel and make sure to stay out of the areas where cars have a tendency to be moving. My wife, who wasn't a race fan unitl I introduced it to her, also likes to go into the pits sometimes and I read her the same riot act my dad read me before I ever took her in.

[MotoMatt]

When I started pitting for a late model at East Moline I had to sign in and put the car/class I was helping. I had to wait until I was of age too, no kids in the pits. I am now living in central Iowa and it's a different world over here. I see infants and toddlers in the pits, kids all over the place. The kids and drunks belong in the stands, not the pits.

Before the spectators could come in the pits after the race all the cars had to be parked at the trailer, and they were serious about that! Some common sense would have saved this one and probably many others.