Driver responsibility at the race track

[blakbearddelite]

Jim and I were having an interesting discussion over lunch and I thought I'd bring it here for people to discuss.

Here's the situation:

Two cars are heading down the track and one loses control and totals both cars. Can the driver of the car that was hit by the other car sue the other driver? We agreed that neither insurance company would cover either car at the race track. Do they even have insurance that would cover someone at the track? Would it be so ridiculously expensive that it is not worth it? Obviously this insurance would not cover anything that breaks in the normal course of racing.

Discuss!

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[Mook]

where is jim these days?

 

[Turk]

You can sue for anything, so in short, yes, he can sue, doesnt' mean he will win. You can buy insurance for racing at a road course, which is more dangerous than racing at the drag strip, so I'd think drag racing insurance would be out there, and wouldn't be too costly. All depends on how much you want to insure.

 

[blakbearddelite]

where is jim these days?

He was at Subway around 11:30am-12:30pm.

 

[Pressure Ratio]

You take all responsibility for your car, equipment and yourself when on the track. It is private property so no tickets will be issued by police. It is not a public road so unless you have specific race track coverage your insurance will not help you or go after the other person.

I have had several friends that have had damage at the track that they were not the cause of. Repairs came out of their pocket. One car had all the panels replaced or repaired except for the roof and one rocker, suspension replaced and rear end housing replaced after he was T boned at the finish line by the other driver.

It is the risk you run when racing. If you are not comfortable with the risks either get racing specific insurance or stay off the track.

 

[KAR]

I agree with Pratt on this. I always assumed it was my responsibility to fix my own vehicle if I was involved in a crash on the track even if it wasn't my fault.

Now what about a fender bender in the parking lot/pits/grass area? That now I would think would be like regular rules.

 

[JDHedman]

You take all responsibility for your car, equipment and yourself when on the track.

It is the risk you run when racing. If you are not comfortable with the risks either get racing specific insurance or stay off the track.

+1

 

[Pressure Ratio]

Gray area there too. It is still private property. No ticket from police to show who was at fault. It would be handled like any other claim made between two parties on private property to their Insurance companies. They would go at it I guess.

I have had friends that had tents damage, dent and scratch cars, trucks and trailers. Not once have I seen where the owner of the tent offer to pay for repairs. I guess it depends on how nice of a guy your are dealing with.

 

[CrunkMaro]

can't believe u were on a lunch date with a guy.


























if you get hit by another car at the track...you got hit by another car at the track...shit happens. tear down...build again.

 

[blakbearddelite]

can't believe u were on a lunch date with a guy.

 

[machausta]

He does drive a 'vert Mustang, so a lunch date with a guy is actually more masculine.

 

[hellraiser319]

I would imagine if you carried Collision/Comp, it may be covered under collision, but it would depend on the fine print...

 

[SinisterSHO]

I would imagine if you carried Collision/Comp, it may be covered under collision, but it would depend on the fine print...

I know insuance will not cover you at a road course, so I doubt they would cover you at a drag strip, no matter what insurance you have.

Related story, at the SHO Convention this past year a guy crashed his 350z into the wall. No other cars involved, and he was okay. He called the insurance company and said he was at an intersection that was near the track. They knew there was a track there, and asked him if he was racing, and told me they were not going to cover it because he was at the track. I'm not sure how it turned out, but they just assumed he was at the track.

 

[blakbearddelite]

I would definitely be worried about insurance fraud if I lied about where the accident happened. I want to say that could be some good jail time in that case.