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Sunday, 16 September 2007 |
(05-25) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- Confirming what every fearful sidewalk stroller knows, the California Assembly declared skateboarding a ``hazardous recreational activity'' yesterday.
The move does not outlaw or limit the daredevil sport, or offer solace to worried parents. Instead the measure was passed to give cities greater immunity against lawsuits from skateboarding accidents on public property.
This is a reprinted article from the San Francisco Chronicle in 1996. It reveals a bit of the thinking at the time for the California limited liability law.
Assembly OKs Curb On Skateboard Suits
`Hazardous' label reduces cities' liability
Greg Lucas, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Saturday, May 25, 1996
(05-25) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- Confirming what every fearful sidewalk stroller knows, the California Assembly declared skateboarding a ``hazardous recreational activity'' yesterday.
The move does not outlaw or limit the daredevil sport, or offer solace to worried parents. Instead the measure was passed to give cities greater immunity against lawsuits from skateboarding accidents on public property.
Assemblyman Bill Morrow tried to win support for his bill by handing out copies of a skateboarding magazine showing boarders soaring off traffic overpasses, flying down steps and shooting up the sides of empty swimming pools.
``Skateboarding has changed since the years I remember as a kid when I'd tear apart wheels and put them on a two-by-four,'' said Morrow, an Oceanside Republican.
``If this is not a definition of a hazardous activity, then I don't know what would define a hazardous activity.''
Without classifying skateboarding as hazardous, cities might be held liable for skateboarding mishaps that occur on public property, such as schools or city streets. They also may be liable for accidents at skateboard parks, which some cities, such as Palo Alto and Davis, operate.
Such broad exposure also makes insurers reluctant to offer insurance to cities.
Backers of the bill cited the experience of Moreno Valley, in Southern California, which spent $31,000 to defend and ultimately to settle a lawsuit brought by an injured skateboarder.
Trial lawyers opposed the bill, arguing that most skateboarders are under 18. Other activities that the state considers hazardous are practiced by adults, they said.
The trial lawyers, whose business potential is cut when liability is reduced, contended that cities need not drastically limit their liability but should merely post warning signs.
``Skateboarding is stuff folks do in loads of places,'' said Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, in opposition to the bill. Knox said other hazardous activities are practiced in more limited locales.
Morrow's measure was approved by the 80-member Assembly on a 53-to-14 vote. It still must win approval in the Senate and be signed by Governor Pete Wilson before going into effect.
If Morrow's bill becomes law, skateboarding would join a long list of activities that the state considers dangerous and that cities cannot be sued over.
Among the activities on the list: animal riding, archery, bicycle racing or jumping, mountain biking, boating, cross-country and downhill skiing, hang-gliding, kayaking, off-road motorcycling or four-wheel driving, pistol and rifle shooting, rock climbing, rocketeering, rodeo, spelunking, skydiving, sport parachuting, para-gliding, body contact sports, surfing, trampolining, tree climbing, tree rope swinging, waterskiing, whitewater rafting and windsurfing.
Several cities have banned skateboarding in their downtown areas, including Carlsbad in Morrow's Assembly district and Santa Rosa.
In addition, many cities -- including Antioch, Benicia, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Vacaville and Willits -- say they want to build skateboard parks but cannot because of the liability they would face.
The magazine Morrow used was named ``Thrasher,'' a skateboard magazine published in San Francisco.
But Assemblywoman Jackie Speier, D-South San Francisco, found a small black and white photograph of several naked male and female torsos cavorting on page 122 of the magazine. The caption claimed it was a skateboard team.
``What does this mean?'' Speier asked.
Replied Morrow: ``It's the Democratic caucus.'
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 16 September 2007 )
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