Did Strava Kill This Rider?

[refthimos]

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/news/family-sues-strava-over-descending-death_224889

It's tragic when someone dies riding their bike, but at some point as cyclists, we have to take responsibility for our riding behavior and not try to blame others for "making me do it."

Very sad for his family, but suing Strava is not the answer.

[Bigger Gear]

Yeah, I think this lawsuit is completely frivolous. Strava did not MAKE him descend above his ability. I seriously hope this gets kicked long before Strava has to settle or go to court.

I have noticed a few Strava segments in my locale that are mapped through intersections with stop lights. I would hope no one is dumb enough to risk running a light to get a KOM! I'm pretty new to Strava, I think it is fun but at the end of the day if one really wants to see where he stacks up, pin on a number and line up.

[prendrefeu]

Unfortunately there will always be people in the world who become overly obsessed with things that ultimately have very little value in life, and sadly their obsession can lead to the risk upon their own health.

[Calnago]

Agree with sentiments of the other posts. Ultimate responsibility for riding safely and within one's limits as a rider rests with the rider himself. And when you are sharing the roads with cars, even more caution needs to exercised. Tragic that he died for sure, but suing Strava has no merit in my laymans opinion.

[djconnel]

Strava doesn't promote "events", nor does it define "courses". It could argue that it promotes "contests of speed" as defined in the vehicle code, but those are only illegal for motor vehicles. There's nothing illegal about challenging your friends to see who's the fastest over any route of your choosing on public roads. So I agree this suit is irresponsible and should be squished.

[Deus]

Did Strava kill this rider?..........

...in a word......No!

[yongkun]

Deepest condolences, but this is just ridiculous. Waste of money for lawsuits like these.

[btompkins0112]

Agree. I would guess that if the rider had survived he wouldn't blame Strava for his injuries. Riders understand the risks that they assume when they take to the road better than our families do.

[Craigagogo]

Humanity is comprised of many different personalities, one of them being the obsessive compulsive. Everybody knows this, perhaps Strava should have taken the disclaimer route, you know, "we are not responsible, ride within your abilities" yada yada.

I scanned the Strava site real quick and didn't see anything like this...

ஃ as crazy as this seems, I see that Strava has some liability here

BTW, this is as close as it gets to a disclaimer, from the Strava site

Interactions with Site Users

The Site functions as a venue to connect members in a virtual information place. As a neutral facilitator, Strava is not directly involved in the actual transactions between members of the Site. As a result, Strava has no control over the truth, accuracy, quality, legality, or safety of postings made by users of the Site. Strava shall have no responsibility to confirm the identity of members. Strava shall also have no responsibility to confirm or verify the qualifications, background, or abilities of users of the Site. You shall at all time exercise common sense and good judgment when dealing with any user of the Site.

[Gregorio]

Doesn't anyone take responsibility for themselves?

[btompkins0112]

Gregorio - not in the US they don't....

That disclaimer seems pretty solid to me.

[Craigagogo]

Doesn't anyone take responsibility for themselves?

The precedent for liability as it pertains to consumer goods has been well and truly set.

[sugarkane]

Why do Americans always try to sue somebody when they do something stupid?
For god sake people should take responsibility for there own actions..
It's the lawyers and courts fault for allowing these kind of trials to even take place in the first case.
In Europe they straight up tell you to f@ckoff if you tried to bring a case like this to court.

[prendrefeu]

Just got an e-mail from Strava stating they've updated their policies...

Lo! and Behold! under "Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability" is the following:

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES, WHICH GENERATE THE CONTENT YOU POST OR SEEK TO POST ON THE SITE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CYCLING) CARRY CERTAIN INHERENT AND SIGNIFICANT RISKS OF PROPERTY DAMAGE, BODILY INJURY OR DEATH AND THAT YOU VOLUNTARILY ASSUME ALL KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE ACTIVITIES EVEN IF CAUSED IN WHOLE OR PART BY THE ACTION, INACTION OR NEGLIGENCE OF STRAVA OR BY THE ACTION, INACTION OR NEGLIGENCE OF OTHERS. YOU ALSO EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT STRAVA DOES NOT ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE INSPECTION, SUPERVISION, PREPARATION, OR CONDUCT OF ANY RACE, CONTEST, GROUP RIDE OR EVENT THAT UTILIZES STRAVA’S SITE.

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE TO RELEASE STRAVA, ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS AND LICENSORS (THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY CONNECTED WITH YOUR ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES, AND PROMISE NOT TO SUE THE RELEASED PARTIES FOR ANY CLAIMS, ACTIONS, INJURIES, DAMAGES, OR LOSSES ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES. YOU ALSO AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL THE RELEASED PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH (a) YOUR USE OR MISUSE OF THE SITE, (b) YOUR USE OR MISUSE OF EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMS CREATED OR LICENSED BY STRAVA WHILE ENGAGED IN ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES, (c) YOUR DEALINGS WITH THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS OR ADVERTISERS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, (d) ANY DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE EXPERIENCED BY YOU, (e) ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR CONTENT OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF STRAVA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

[Craigagogo]

Stava's admission of liability, case closed.

I think Strava should sue for negligence their lawyer that was responsible for the first iteration of their "Terms and Conditions".