So, I was hanging out with a lawyer buddy of mine (who shall remain anonymously "Legally Blonde"). We were walking around town and I pointed out skate stoppers (also called skater haters) on a rail and said, "Those things really bug me - not just because they stop skateboarding, but aren't they literally designed to cause injury if you skate there? Couldn't someone skate on one, get hurt, and sue the pants off of whoever put it there?"
He thought for a moment, and said, "Maybe! But don't quote me on your site!"
But he also pointed out that if someone was to read my site suggesting that, and then do it, that the defense could use that to say you did it on purpose! So... in reading my idea here, you might have ruined your chance to do it. You're welcome! But what do YOU guys think? My buddy is just a band new lawyer who hangs out with a loser skater who needs to shower more. Do YOU think my point makes sense? Do you think skate stoppers should be illegal? Post a comment below!
Comments
No. That’s like saying electric fences are illegal because they intend to harm. Public rails yes, private no.
Yes, they are hella annoying, but I good defense could be that a skater knows why it’s there and tries to skate it anyway, therefor, they brought it upon themselves. That’s just my opinion.
Nicole, many people argue that when skaters skate a spot, it’s their responsibility that they don’t get hurt. so your point is invalid. Also, what’s more ugly, a spot that has been put to use from passion, or knobbed the crap out due to hate.
A good lawyer given the right circumstances could a make a strong case for liability or worse. If I skated a ledge at a public library on a regular basis and expected it to be free of any device and then got badly injured because the ledge was modified without my knowledge, I would certainly be inclined to sue. The act of applying the skate stopper shows premeditation and even perhaps malicious intent to do harm. A property owner could possibly get someone killed if they applied a skate stopper to a large handrail that the skaters in the area expected to be free of obstructions. The property owner would have to incriminate himself when answering why he had the handrail modified. A second question might be: What did you expect to happen to the skateboarder when your device stopped him as you clearly intended it to do?
Another issue I have long pondered is the legality of skateboard confiscation by security guards and police. Does anyone know how this started and what gave security guards the idea they can do this?
Is it legal?
I got an idea….. HOW ABOUT YOU GO TO A SKATEPARK WHERE ITS LEGAL TO SKATE. People are idiots for making such stupid and ignorant comments.
skateboarding is not a cream ! i would rather see kids skateboarding around then doing drugs and real crimes not just riding around having fun. why are people trying to stop it ? i don’t understand ? why yes skate stoppers should be illegal because skating is saving people from drugs and street violance and gangs.
Skate stoppers are designed to prevent skateboarders from skating the object they are on, not to injure the skateboarder. Most skaters try to prevent injury so they avoid skating something that they know will hurt them, such as a skate-stopped (knobbed) handrail. Skate-stoppers don’t always prevent skateboarders from skating the object, though. Many grind over them, through them, or go around or over them. There is actually a law prohibiting foreign objects attached to rails or ledges / benches. My good friend (former pro skateboarder Nate Sherwood) has a bumper sticker reading “skateboarding is not a crime but skate-stoppers are” and below it references the law so you can look it up (I don’t remember it off the top of my head). Also, skateboarding in skateparks is fun and legal (mostly) but the reason we flock to the streets is because they were not designed to be skated. We are making something out of our environment. Look up Edmund Bacon (the guy who designed Love Park). He backs skateboarders (and even skated through Love at 80+ years old to protest anti-skateboarding laws).
The law puts human safety above property rights, but As long as there were warning signs posted, I don’t think the owner could be found liable. They made it aware that they are there, so it would be clear that they were not putting them there to purposely injure skaters who didn’t see the skatestopper. Without any type of warning sign, or if the stoppers weren’t blatantly noticable a skater might have a legal case
If you want to mount a legal challenge to Skate Stoppers, I’d direct you away from the damage inflicted on boarders and point you to the building code. Railings are there to help the aged, the handicapped, the weak and sickly. Those people find Skate Stoppers to be something that inhibits their use of the handrail, and is therefore hazardous to them. This is the law! I repeat: The uniform building code does not allow for skate-stoppers on handrails. That’s how you should work to get them removed.
See guys, you’re just doing it out of the goodness of your heart to help the oldsters!
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Y’all a bunch of fools. If you wanted to sue someone for putting a skate stopper and you getting hurt… They will obviously counter sue for damage to property(the reason they are attached to said object)