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Adventure Activity Standards
Hey all new Adventure Activity Standards are slowly being introduced around the country. Now is NSWs turn
These standards do have the potential to effect Mountain bike clubs and groups. While they are "voluntary guide lines" if something was to go wrong on a ride you had organised and those guide lines hadn't been met weren't followed you could be in the poo
While our advice is it wont effect racing it will effect social rides and guided tours type stuff and so could have some impact on sites like this promoting social rides.
If you want to get better informed or want to have a say in the outcome there are several community forums planned. Check out the following from more info
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Given this site is hardly industrious (no fee, no charges, the disclaimer makes it very clear we are just a bulletin board service) don't see how it would affect us? Plus, voluntary guidelines.
I can see how clubs and tuition organisations such as AMBC would be affected as fees are collected for their services.
Rob,
Maybe these standards could potentially affect us as a ride organiser if something went wrong on a ride.
I don't know the ins and outs of the law, but dealing with authorities like workcover etc. it appears that the guilt is assumed and innocence must be proven.
Maybe it would be as simple as adding a line to the end of a ride posting, and a link to either the standard disclaimer, or a safety/ride planning guide, along the lines of
"by clicking the star I confirm I have read and understand the relevant links, and understand that I am responsible for my own skin when on this ride"
Before allowing someone to join a ride, their profile would have to have recorded that they'd visited the disclaimer page.
At least then there's a record that everyone agreed to waive liability.
Just a thought, but in the nanny state we live in..... Why I remember when we were kids, if you broke your arm at school, they'd make you sit outside the office until Mum arrived to take you off to hospital. Now they bring in the full disaster, counsellors for victim and witnesses, ambulances, liability waiver forms, lawyers, safety inspections....
Its a conspiracy by the video game makers.... lets all live a virtual life where we don't get mud in our drivetrain.
/rant
But it's probably worth going along to find out for sure. we've already seen that NP would like to view the rides as "organised" and thus subject to their maximum rider limits so there is definitely shades of grey in there.
Personally I don't think nobmob should be effected but if something was to go wrong on a ride and someone decided to sue for damages I get the feeling common sense goes out the window and who ever has the best lawyer wins and if they can prove you didn't follow the "voluntary" guidelines it may be the tipping point in the case
I think Slowpup's idea is a good one, where people are made aware of the disclaimer at the time of clicking the star but surely there must be a lawyer that reads this site and can comment?
John.
Clicking the star means nothing, it's actually showing up and joining that counts.
It is true that we should probably force a user to read and accept the disclaimer and not let them do anything on the site until they've checked a little box that says so. But would this actually make any difference?
Rob, not sure if it would make any difference to the legal status, but in all these things it seems to me that perception of 'duty of care' is most important.
I reckon it must feel like you are bombarded with headaches for doing something that is a labour of love.
Oh for the days of gettiing on a bike and riding it with some friends.
Nick.
i just ask some friends for a ride - would that mean they could sue me if they get injured or is it only 'official recorded organised rides' oooh but then what if we did an email to each other ride so there is a trail of conversation about it and therefore proof its been pre-planned
it's just so silly isn't it?
maybe the disclaimer could be where they join the site and they click it when they subscribe?
On Rotorburn I have posted my notes, links to the draft MTB AAS, and suggested extent of AAS. In NSW the negligence and similar tort laws are covered by the Civil Liability Act, the AAS might give some meaning to terms like "inherent risk", "obvious risk" and "duty to warn". This is why its important for clubs to watch this space, remembering that the Iredale coronial inquest may well have been a young man out riding on a club ride and got lost looking for water on a rugged trail.