The Park City Record reported that a 14-year-old boy suffered a leg injury Monday when he crashed on a motorcycle at the Oakley Recreation Complex.  At about 4:30 in the afternoon the boy was riding a motorcycle when he struck a chain suspended between two large fence posts.  The purpose of the chain was to prevent riders from driving on the grass.  Detective Ron Bridge, a spokesman for the Summit County Sheriff's Office said that the collision was with such force that a post was pulled out of the ground and the motorcycle was stopped abruptly.

I wanted to blog about this incident because it is the time of year that a lot of motorcycle riders, both street and dirt bikers, will start to get back on the open road and on the trails in and around Utah.  We have to on the lookout for obstructions and especially those that restrict entry into "protected" areas.

However, the mere placing of a chain across a road does not always put a motorcycle rider on notice that the area is restricted or afford enough warning to allow the rider to avoid injury. The placing of a chain across a roadway may be negligent in at least two circumstances.

First of all chains across roads need to be well marked.  The chain should be painted in a bright color and there should be a sign hanging from the chain to alert riders that the chain is present.  Generally chains are gray in color and so is the surrounding terrain.  If there is no sign or the chain painted a bright warning color I think that it is very possible that placing the chain int he anticipated route of travel of a motorcyclist may amount to negligence.

Second, the chain and its supporting posts should not be so heavy or reinforced that should the motorcycle rider collide with the chain that there is catastrophic injury sustained.  In the Park City case above it sounds like when the rider struck the chain that the impact ripped at least one of the posts from the ground.  The fact that the post was ripped from the ground may show negligence.

Incidentally, if the Oakley Recreation Complex is owned by the City of Oakley there is probably only a one year statute of limitation against bringing a case.  This is so because of the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah codified in the Utah Code as Title 63G Chapter 7.  The Act affords certain immunities to governmental entities and needs to be strictly complied with to protect any potential claim against a governmental entity be it a town, city, county or state entity.

We all need to be careful and respectful of the property of others and people who place chains need to be respectful of the right of riders to ride where allowed.

Utah Bike Law and its lawyers are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions about your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.

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