Happy New Year to all in Moparts land!
>>>> Getting on soap box <<<<

As it's been since E-town's permanant racing numbers began, I have been getting the annual renewal form soon after the new year. It's a happy reminder that spring is coming. I haven't noticed in the past, and I don't think there was, but now there's a release agreement as part of the points/ permanant number renewal form. I guess it's similar to what you glanced at and signed many times when entering the pits- what I call "the clipboard".
I know I never had time to really digest the agreement on the clipboard, so I just glanced at it and signed it and knew it waived all sorts of liability and reminded you that racing is dangerous, which we all know.
Now that there's an agreement here that I can read, I did notice some terms that I hadn't noticed, and wondered if any other racers had noticed?
The main item that's disturbing is the repeated mention of "NEGLIGENT". The agreement wants me to agree to negligence, even if it results in death. In #5 and 6, the agreement asks for a release in the event of "NEGLIGENT RESCUE OPERATIONS" and all acts of negligence.
This term is used way too many times, and I feel uncomfortable agreeing to it.
Is E-town looking to scale back ambulance service? has there been any changes in weekly activities? Are they just covering their butts in the wake of the unfortunate occurances that has taken place there?
I just wanted to see if anyone else has seen this form, and how others feel about such an agreement?
I'm probably just going to sign it, but I will feel differently the relationship that exists with the track. Maybe one will have to do a pre race check to see what personnel are there in regards to safety. I will post a copy of the agreement as soon as I can get my scanner up.

>>>> Off soap box <<<<

liability... When an accident happens, nobody wants to be liable. And englishtown has had their share the last few years!

Insurance rates probably went up... not good for the sport

I am not sure if in a court of law you can sign away "negilence".

Everyone, except a good simaritin(sp??), and even they have to exhibit non carelessness, is expected not to be negilent. I understand their pre-emptive concern, but I suspect it is just to reduce anyone getting ideas they won the lottery if the safety crew uses the wrong bandaid. 1/2 cent

Extreme negligence is the one you don't want to sign

So does this mean you can't park a crane in the shutdown area and then get sued for it?

I would expect it to be a standard form, supplied by the insurance company, and is the same as the one you sign entering the pits or competing at any racetrack insured by the same company.

1. You can't race unless you sign it, so it's not a choice
2. Without going into complex language, it doesn't protect them as well as it says.
3. there is no such thing as waiving your right to sue - even if it says so. Yes, contracts say so all the time - and that's why it's there, they hope you believe it. Major prison sentence deals are done every day with the convict waiving his right to appeal as part of the bargain - and they do it anyway (complicated, details on request).
A waiver is just another layer of paper your attorney cuts through to sue them - under certain conditions.
4. "Negligence" means different things to different people at different times.
Failure to warn you of something you should know anyway (the track is wet) isn't their fault.
Forgetting to tell you they parked a Cat D7 in the shut-down area is a tort recovery action regardless of whatever you signed.

A waiver is not really worth the paper it's written on. All it means is that IF something goes wrong you will have to sue to get anything.

Not racing but Ohio passed a waiver law for hunting.Private landowners that allow someone to hunt their property cant be sued if accidents happen on their land.I guess its worked so far as Ive not heard of any lawsuits.Rocky

Great views! It sure reads as intimidating.. Not something I'd want to agree to. I guess there won't be a choice if you wanna race....

well we can't get any money out of walter,he has to pay the varrazano toll which is like a car payment!..

let me tell you alittle story,
i have raced at E town for probably 25 years now. I have had only one inciden there, My 727 exploded on the starting line. It did not come through the floor but it did "punch" my foot off the throttle pretty hard. Needless to say when they towed my car off the starting line, the guy driving the tow truck took me right to the ambulance, He had asked me if i wanted the ambulance to come to me, i told him NO, im fine, To my surprise the guy stopped at the end of the track and MADE ME GET MY FOOT CHECKED...He told me get it looked at..they checked it, told me it was OK , not broken or anything. THen they told me IF there were any problems with it to go to a doctor or hospital. What im getting at here, is the people at E town are very helpful, caring, and they are not HACKS. If anything they are just making you sign what the insurance company dictates plain and simple. E town is a state of the art, NHRA flagship facility...I have been bottom 8's at over 160 there, and the conditions are almost always perfect or close to it. Why dont you state your name so they know who you are.....if you had concerns you should have called the track and told THEM your concerns, not a bunch of strangers on here....\

Tony Russo

Yup - the track management has to do what their liability carrier tells them, or their bond is revoked.

What I find dishonest is that the waivers make it appear as though you have no recourse if you sign it - which isn't true.
It's like a cop telling you that your accomplice gave you up to make you confess: it only works if you believe the lie.

IMHO there is a loose, informal but very real conspiracy among cops, prosecutors, attorneys and courts that citizens should not know anything about the law.
A lot of "reality" police behavior on TV (like "Cops") is completely illegal and done constantly.
How would I know this?
My office before I retired:



Yes, for real: 60 Centre Street, Manhattan

I think this is just a part of an epidemic that us little guys are getting more and more upset about.
It seems like the lawyers are writing more and more into disclaimers, waivers and conditions of acceptance that we cannot change, control or alter.
See the thread about adpoting pets, any software license, etc.
As mentioned here, they CAN be fought in court, but why do we have to sign such obviously false and misleading legal documents anyway? There should be a reasonable measure they must abide by so the average person is not bullyed into signing such things.