GETTING IT WRONG ON TRACK

Are you liable for damage or injury if you cause a crash on track?

If you get it wrong on a trackday, can you be blamed? Some mates think that anything that happens on track stays on track. Others think if you smash someone else off, they could potentially sue you. Is this right? It seems awfully unfair if that is the case.

Yes, you can have a liability on track, but it depends. It is a bit like boxing. If you get in the ring with a mate, there is an expectation that you might get hurt. However, much of it depends on what was agreed beforehand. For example, if you agree ‘no face shots’ because you’ve both got a pretty face like Bruce Wilson, but then one lamps the other straight on the nose, it is outside of what was agreed. You could be liable for the injury caused. It is the same on track; it is a trackday, not a race or testing day. This isn’t MotoGP. This is ‘run what you brung’ and have fun. Therefore, if you go too hot into a corner and smash another rider up, he has every right to sue you for his injury and/or other losses.

The race circuit probably won’t have any liability, as long as it has properly done its briefing and safety chat and that the marshals were operating as they should, with green or yellow flags and so on.

If you have a mechanical malfunction, e.g., your sump bolt falls out and you leave oil all over the track, then you probably won’t have any liability if this was a freak accident. It would only be your fault if you failed to torque the bolt up; however, proving that is almost impossible for the rider who hit the oil and fell off. Mechanical failure is not the same as ‘negligence’, which a rider can commit, so there probably would not be any claim if that mechanical failure took someone else off their machine or caused injury/loss.

I know there are no motorcycle trackdays at Silverstone in 2024, but if you checked its terms and conditions carefully (I did – I am a solicitor, after all), you will see it specifically states (words to the effect of) ‘no rider will come within six feet of another rider’. Therefore, if you smash up the arse of the biker in front, he probably doesn’t have to prove fault as he could allege you were in breach of the terms on which you agreed to ride on track together. That in itself would open up a right to bring about a claim.

This might not sit well with your trackday addicts, but that is the state of English law. It is doubly important not to ride like a tool, as you cannot insure against this risk. There is no insurer in the UK which will cover the full risk on the track; they will sell you policies for ‘your own bike’ cover, i.e., if you crash, they’ll pay for your bike to be fixed or written off, but not for the damage caused to anyone else or the track.

Finally, it is impossible to try and agree some ‘exclusion clauses’ or opt out of injury claims (or those resulting in death). In England and Wales, even if you all signed an agreement stating, ‘we agree not sue each other if we are negligent and it causes someone to get hurt or die,’ the agreement would be unlawful and not be upheld by any court.

So, don’t ride like a dick. It might be good to have a camera on the bike (for your own protection) and enjoy what is meant to be a pleasurable pastime – and not a race against the clock or, indeed, against each other.