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More insurance issues - PIR this time
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Cool on them to buy back their previous membership cards. Lots of places would tell you to pound sand.
So, if I join the AMA, it will help tracks obtain insurance to operate?
Will the AMA actually do something?
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First I’ve heard of the AMA assisting with insurance for tracks. I’ve been a member for 20 years. Glad some of my bread is going to help MX tracks.
Alot of the TX tracks are now under AMA insurance from what I understand. But I don't think people realize how close we are to not being able to race any track; a few more insurance companies stop issuing policies, and we as a sport are done.
More states need to go the way Arkansas did and change their laws. https://www.rideapart.com/features/756744/dirt-bike-inherent-risk-law-arkansas/#:~:text=On%20March%2018%2C%202025%2C%20Arkansas,take%20place%20on%20private%20property.
The reason for no pit bikes at tracks this year is due to the difficulty in getting insurance
In our neck of the woods the only reason a track would partner with AMA is for their insurance. They do have some negotiating leverage.
That and all of the similar state laws that have become vogue are an opportunity for politicians to grandstand but do absolutely nothing to change the legal standard for track liability.
That bill declares that riding a dirt bike is inherently dangerous and absolves the landowner of any liability except in the case of gross negligence, which cannot be ever waived.
I know that if I were a landowner facing a lawsuit, I'd rather have that law in my pocket than not.
Properly drafted and executed waivers are valid against negligence but not against gross negligence. How do we determine the difference between ordinary negligence and gross negligence? A lawsuit, discovery and trial. The law changes nothing.
Perhaps I'm misremembering, but isn't there a high profile case being discussed right now where the issue of who actually signed the waiver came into play?
Again, I'd rather have the weight of an actual law on my side than the hope that my waiver was indeed "properly drafted" and signed by each and every person that entered the premises.
It’s time we as a country impose strict limits on who can sue and for how much. Everything that was once fun in this country has either been eliminated or is on its way, in no small part due to ambulance chasing scumbags.
It’s also time we neutered insurance companies. They are not hurting. Liberty Mutual has over 500mil per year just in advertising for the stupid Emu and 70s dude. The companies collect billions in premiums only to raise rates or cancel policies after years of being claim-free.
The biggest off road series locally, AWRCS, has had to get AMA sanctioned so they could maintain insurance coverage. Had to drop SXS racing too. That series was running over 15 years before they had to go to the AMA....
How sad is it that this is where we are…
I’d gladly show my AMA card to every track if it gave track operators some sort of security.
Also if race series and tracks were able to go though AMA for insurance then maybe every race promoter would not charge a $35-$50 “membership” fee. That shit gets expensive really quick for guy like me who causally races different events and has 4 kids who want to race (sometimes).
I think California has attempted to regulate insurance companies, and the result is those insurance companies leaving California. I'm sure if insurance companies were forced to charge more reasonable rates for MX tracks, those companies would much rather just quit offering MX coverage than to not generate the revenue they want from it.
Pit Row
We had a PNW local series weekend a few weeks ago with at least 4 ambulance rides, and one of those was for a kid that’s now paralyzed chest-down. The insurance payouts for a weekend like that must be massive. The sport is becoming uninsurable due to the high rate of devastating injuries. What we see in SX has trickled down to local track design and prep, with kids that see pro-level skills and of course want to mimic them. Ya kinda have to to be competitive. I can read the writing on the wall.
Not necessarily. The event insurance isn't there to cover the medical bills of injured riders. It's to protect you in the event that you get sued for somehow being responsible for those injuries. Hopefully none of those injured people try to sue the promoter from that event. Though other threads here have mentioned that the health insurance companies that covers those individuals may try to sue.
And that’s exactly what’s happening. Medical insurers are going after the track liability insurance to recover costs. I’ve personally incurred well over $250k in insurance costs from my son’s crashes over 15 years. And we feel we’ve been lucky with the level of severity compared to others. I’m glad we are done racing.
The AMA HAS BEEN doing something...For a long time...Tired of the AMA bashing. Get a membership...Protect your riding and racing future. Tracks need to sanction through them, and then we have power in numbers. Worth every penny.
When you go to doctor or hospital you tell them it was a bicycle accident. They will treat you better (no lectures on how dangerous motorcycles are) and insurance has nobody to chase.
Ours are always at public OHVs. Except when there’s an ambulance ride. Like the spleen injury, or the broken arm/concussion. We know how to play the game.
Besides helping provide insurance for a few races, what else has the AMA done to help riding and racing at the local level?
Can you show me examples of them helping fight for to tracks stay open? Or fighting land closures? Or working to help grow more riding areas? Do they promote maintaining trail systems?
How exactly are they "protecting" our riding and racing future? Specific examples please.
Been a member for 43 years. When they caved on the rules of 4t to compete with 2t, I lost a lot of my allegiance to the AMA, but what do ya do?
Glad they're helping on the insurance side of things for moto
100%...On the technical rules side of things, the AMA must take a leadership role. The old days of having a manufacturer wheel a bike in and say 'find a place to race this thing' have to come to an end. The AMA must work with all stakeholders to create future racing (motorcycle) specs that make sense, and then the manufacturers can make race machines to align with them. So yes...On the technical aspect of 'Racing', the AMA can do better. With respect to 'Rights', (Riding and Racing), I think they have done a damn good job (Lead Law, Track Insurance, etc. etc.). As a lifetime member, you have a voice.
Well...They provide insurance for a LOT of races, and they negotiate rates that allow racing to continue.
The other example that is front and center is the work they did around the Lead Law. More so than any other motorcycling organization, they stepped up (with others like MX Sports) and fought like hell. The result was that youth motorcycles were the ONLY product category be exempted from the ridiculous statute. With something like 70% of all adult riders getting their start on a minibike, our sport would have been gutted in a few short decades without the AMA's leadership on this issue.
As far as Western US land use, I'd like to see them do better. the BRC has done some amazing work over the years, and more support in D.C. would certainly help. Hopefully with folks like Doug Bergum in place, your efforts can gain some much-needed traction.
Lead Law, I remember that, probably about 20 years ago. I'm glad they stepped up.
Got any examples of something they've done in the last 2 decades?
1) A much-improved amateur MX advancement system.
2) A more consistent process by which professional motocross on-track (and off-track) issues are handled.
3) An improved set of technical rules for amateur motocross (out with the nightmare 'Stock' class rules...Replaced by a much more sane 'Limited' class).
4) A waaaay better method of making new rules for all genres of motorcycle competition (the Commission process replacing the old AMA Congress).
Those are the ones that come to mind quickly (because this is the corner of the motorcycling world I'm familiar with). I'm sure there are many more.
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