Bike Park Closed,please read

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Bike Park Closed,please read
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flag dkcove
FL
Posted: Jun 8, 2019 at 6:03 Quote
Hi all,this is a call for the MTB community to help out the riders here in Ireland.
(if you do not have time to read through all this,please skip to the last paragraph)


A bike park here,Bike Park Ireland(BPI),is currently closed,due to what can only be described as an Insurance Crisis,that is,excessively large insurance premiums are making it extremely hard for businesses to operate,with many having to close,BPI is no exception.

Unfortunately at the moment,there is a 'claims culture' in Ireland,where exaggerated personal injury claims (for example,soft tissue damage claims,which can be hard to verify,with whiplash claims here almost 4 and a half times higher than they are in the UK),and payouts to these claims are leading to outragous and ever increasing insurance premiums.
Not only is the bike park affected,but also other outdoor activitys,childrens play centres,hotels...the list goes on.

Under current legal legislation,there is no deterrent against making these false and exaggerated claims,with no charges having ever been brought against any false claiment,and so these cases continue,and defendants even have to pay any legal fees incurred for cases brought against them,even if the courts rule in their favour.

So finally back to biking!
300 km of new bike trails are planned for in Ireland,with an investment of 13.6 million Euro.
The fear among the MTB community here is that the trails will be tame and not sufficently progressive enough to grow the sport,partially due to the trails being too 'extreme',and so leaving trail centres open to exorbitant personal injury claims.

At the moment BPI is closed,and having been there a few times myself,I can say what a great faclity it is for us,with everything from family trails up to DH and everythig in between,including national series races.
It is a family run business,and the owners are a testament as to how to run a business,they truly are genuine people and deserve our support.

Below is a link to an organisation(whom I am in no way affiliated to),who are trying to do something about this insurance fiasco.
All I ask is that you like,share,follow,spread the word,especially if you have a lot of followers,or know someone who does,whatever you can do to show your support and try to help us get our Bike Park back.

https://mobile.twitter.com/InsuranceRefIre

Many Thanks,
Dermot
flag skerby
Posted: Jun 17, 2019 at 11:04 Quote
Same thing happened in the US like 20 years or more ago. We have not yet solved this crisis, but Im not sure the right people are putting in any effort.
flag dkcove
FL
Posted: Jun 17, 2019 at 14:30 Quote
Hopefully something will get done about the insurance claims here,has been a lot of noise about it lately in the news especially after a case involving a politician,so hoping for the best
flag cyberoptixs
FL
Posted: Jun 17, 2019 at 20:13 Quote
Is called a waiver ... I sign one every year with my bike park season pass it says if I get hurt it's not there fault ...
flag dkcove
FL
Posted: Jun 18, 2019 at 0:42 Quote
Unfortunately only worth the paper its written on in the eyes of the law
flag skerby
Posted: Jun 18, 2019 at 6:16 Quote
cyberoptixs wrote:
Is called a waiver ... I sign one every year with my bike park season pass it says if I get hurt it's not there fault ...

Waivers are super dependent on location, different rules country to country. Even state to state the rules are way different. For example a waiver will save a property owners ass in California, while in Washington state it's only as good as the paper its written on.

Laws need to change.
flag dkcove
FL
Posted: Jun 18, 2019 at 7:06 Quote
skerby wrote:

Waivers are super dependent on location, different rules country to country. Even state to state the rules are way different. For example a waiver will save a property owners ass in California, while in Washington state it's only as good as the paper its written on.

Laws need to change.

Definitely the case here in Ireland, think they are more to do with giving you a reminder as to what you are getting yourself into
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