No, we don't watch it just for the crashes

May 21, 2009 7:24 AM

How is collateral damage from rallying handled?

I've watched WRC from afar (I live in the US) and have seen a few videos of non-WRC rallying. Being from the states, where it's impossible to imagine rallying like this ever being allowed because of our liability laws, I've always wondered if property owners adjoining the course have any way to object to the rally being run, and how they're compensated for any damage that occurs.

The most obvious solution would seem to be that the organizers pay for it out of entrance fees, but with the amount of damage that happens, it seems like entrance fees would either be prohibitive (and there seem to be a lot of amateurs) or organizers would go broke pretty quickly.

posted by Ickster to sports, hobbies, & recreation (2 comments total)

I recently watched some rally event in Canada and the city was backing it and it was on public roads so I imagine that they have insurance that covers that. Rally is a fun event to check out, more people in NA should check it out.
posted by boomcha76 at 8:27 AM on May 21

I would imagine it works a lot like Formula 1, which often runs in city streets in the U.S.

When were racing, it was mainly on national park land or BLM land. I don't have any of the details on what the organizing side of things did, and I don't really have any of my old contacts in the SCCA.

However, I would imagine that if you send an e-mail to your local SCCA chapter, they'd be happy to tell you. The SCCA is the body that organizes most of the U.S. rally races - generally staffed with volunteers and very helpful people who just enjoy the sports.
posted by krisak at 9:19 AM on May 21