theboarderdude Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 (edited) I was Discussing crashes with some teammates this week, and a scenario came up(as per the picture). Both skiers/riders going down hill at approximately the same speed, parallel to each other. Red skier/rider is turning, and collides with blue skier/rider. Who is at fault for the crash, or is it mutual? Pardon my paint skills. Edited March 23, 2015 by theboarderdude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 I am afraid the courts and or insurance companies will decide. Not overtaking ? In Oregon , as most areas, it is much like a car accident. Too many riders/skiers think it is "open season" once they enter the ski area. Nope!! About the only entity that has a clear statement of liability is the ski area. Be careful. PS. This would be a good time to suggest that you look at an "Umbrella" type policy. It may very well save your financial well being. A million can come up very fast in an injury claim/lawsuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 The back and forth on this topic a couple weeks ago lead to one consistent conclusion; it's always the Other Guy's fault. I was thinking about this just this afternoon while doing sweeping, speed control longboard carves on the hill in front of our house, while my 6- and 7-year old daughters were uphill from me on their bikes with less than reliable braking skills. My head was on a swivel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonrider Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 I will guess the blue ski fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darko714 Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 In any liability case, the burden of proof is on the claimant to prove that the person at fault was negligent. In a ski/snowboard collision, proving negligence would involve proving that the other skier/rider failed to act with reasonable care. (Italicized items refer to legal concepts and are not used in their broadest sense.) The natural place to start would be the "Skier Responsibility Code" posted at most resorts in the lodge, at the lifts, and even on the lift tickets. In this case the relevant guideline would be "People ahead of you have the right-of-way. It is your responsibility to avoid them." Who is at fault in the scenario shown on your diagram depends on who the uphill rider/skier was just prior to the accident. If that cannot be determined, then, in my opinion, the two would share liability equally. As a practical matter, these kinds of cases rarely go to litigation, due to the limited resources of both the claimants and parties at fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ursle Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Well, if they were going side by side at the same speed and the red skier went into the blue skiers line then obviously the red skier is at fault, but with one straight lining and one turning the scenario which the op laid out is never going to happen but... If due to wax or conditions, I'd did occur, red is ded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave ESPI Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 "Straight lineing" is considered "out of control" and negligent because there is no deviation or attempts to avoid traffic, or others on the hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 "Straight lineing" is considered "out of control" and negligent because there is no deviation or attempts to avoid traffic, or others on the hill. Presuming the "straight liner" isn't wedging the whole way! I know you've seen this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drschwartz Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I sustained a shoulder fracture and hand fracture about three years ago with nearly exactly the same scenario. Another boarder and myself were both tearing down the hill at about 30 to 40 miles an hour and there was a slow skier directly in front of us. I decided to go right to get around him and the other boarder decided to go left to get around him. Unfortunately, I was on the left-hand side of the other boarder and he was on my right, therefore we both crashed into each other at a high rate of speed trying to avoid the slower skier in front of us. We were both pretty mad but also realized that we were both at fault. Was not a good day. I haven't learned to slow down, but I have learned to continually look to both sides and occasionally uphill to see what I might be running into. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gossamer Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 "the scenario which the op laid out is never going to happen" This happens to me all the time, I can't count the number of times I've scrubbed speed or came to a stop to let the straightliner get down the hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ursle Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 but with one straight lining and one turning the scenario which the op laid out is never going to happen This happens to me all the time, I can't count the number of times I've scrubbed speed or came to a stop to let the straightliner get down the hill. Yes, we all have straight liners around, they go by, they are straight lining, the scenario of a straight liner and an alpine carver desending side by side isn't going to happen;) But the scenario of an alpine carver stopping or slowing to allow the straight liner to go away happens all day long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.a Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Red skier is at fault. He/she must be travelling at a higher rate of speed, but not fast enough to overtake the blue skier, which in this regard is the downhill skier and therefore has the right of way. While I hate straight liners as much as the next person, you can go straight as much as you want. There is no way it can be considered "out of control". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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