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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
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Page 9 of 12
Liability
One of the most common responses to a new skatepark concerns liability to the City. This reaction is based largely on the preconception that skateboarding is dangerous. It looks dangerous and often requires an amount of bravery, but skateboarding injury statistics suggest that athletes are more likely to be injured playing a number of popular sports than they are skateboarding.
ADVOCATING FOR D.I.Y.
Searching for a good plot of land is a bit different than pushing for a new skatepark.
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, skate-boarders visit emergency departments about 50,000 times a year. Head injuries are the most serious; there were estimated 764 hospitalized head injuries in 2004 as a result of skateboarding. By comparison, bicycling is perceived as relatively safe and yet there are over 150,000 emergency-room visits by bicyclists a year, and in 2004 an estimated 10,769 head injuries required hospitalization.
Not surprisingly, according to the U.S. government’s Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the odds of receiving an injury is highest if you’re boxing. Participants were more likely to injure themselves snowboarding, surfing, skiing, cheerleading, wrestling, water skiing, mountain biking, ice skating, riding horses, BMX riding, hunting, or playing tackle football, ice hockey, soccer, softball, touch football, basketball, racquetball, baseball, volleyball, or tennis than they were skateboarding.
Skateboarders have a 0.8% chance of receiving an injury each time they skate. Soccer players have a 2.4% chance of being injured each time they play; according to CPSC statistics, soccer is three times as dangerous as skateboarding.
It should be clear that assumptions regarding skate-boarding liability and injury are based largely on false perceptions about the activity. Most parks administrators and planners understand that skateparks can be covered under the same policies as other park facilities.
Nevertheless, many states have designated skateboarding an official “hazardous recreational activity” (HRA). This is more of a technical designation that does not reflect actual risk assessment. In fact, skateboarders benefit greatly from this designation, as it makes building public skateparks less of a liability risk for local and state governments.
Participants in activities classified as “hazardous” do so at their own risk while on public property. No total indemnity ever exists for cities allowing public access. There is always the potential for injuries resulting from negligence—if an injury occurs due to negligence or lack of maintenance, the property owners or managers may be liable for any injury regardless of what activity was occurring there. But a “hazardous” designation can calm nervous city risk managers who might otherwise be reluctant to support a public skatepark project. With the “hazardous” designation, skateboarding can be treated like any other type of recreational activity, be it soccer, tennis, baseball, and so forth.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 February 2008 )
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