AB495: Bill Text

AB495,12,14 (5) Duties of individuals engaged in snow sports. (a) Safety rules; skiing and sledding. Each individual engaged in skiing or sledding at a ski area has a duty to do all the following:

AB495,12,15 1. Obey all posted warnings and signs.

AB495,12,16 2. Keep off of closed trails and out of closed areas.

AB495,12,18 3. Know the range of his or her ability and engage in skiing or sledding within that ability.

AB495,12,20 4. Assess the difficulty of the trails and terrains that are open to skiing or sledding.

AB495,12,21 5. Maintain control of his or her speed and direction.

AB495,12,23 6. Comply with any posted limits that are imposed on the number of passengers or on the amount of weight of the sled or other sledding device while it is being ridden.

AB495,12,24 7. Be able to stop or avoid other individuals or objects.

AB495,13,2 8. Yield to other individuals engaged in skiing or sledding who are ahead or who are down the slope.

AB495,13,4 9. Not stop at a point that will result in the individual obstructing a trail or not being visible from above.

AB495,13,6 10. Yield to other individuals engaged in skiing or sledding who are uphill when starting downhill or merging onto a trail.

AB495,13,8 11. Be able to safely board, ride, and deboard any lift serving an area open to skiing or sledding.

AB495,13,9 12. Board and deboard a lift only at designated sites.

AB495,13,11 (b) Safety rules; tubing. Each individual engaged in tubing at a ski area has a duty to do all of the following:

AB495,13,12 1. Obey all posted signs and warnings.

AB495,13,13 2. Keep out of closed areas.

AB495,13,14 3. Know the range of his or her ability and engage in tubing within that ability.

AB495,13,15 4. Assess the difficulty of terrain that is open to tubing.

AB495,13,16 5. Maintain control of his or her speed and direction.

AB495,13,18 6. Comply with any posted limits that are imposed on the number of passengers or on the amount of weight of the tube or other tubing device while it is being ridden.

AB495,13,19 7. Be able to safely board, ride, and deboard a lift serving an area open to tubing.

AB495,13,20 8. Board and deboard a lift only at designated sites.

AB495,13,22 9. Yield to other individuals engaged in tubing who are ahead or who are down the slope.

AB495,13,24 10. Look uphill and yield to oncoming tubes before leaving the bottom of the hill at the end of a run.

AB495, s. 6 Section 6. 895.525 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB495,14,13 895.525 (2) Definition. In this section, "recreational activity" means any activity undertaken for the purpose of exercise, relaxation or pleasure, including practice or instruction in any such activity. "Recreational activity" does not include participating in a snow sport at a ski area, as those terms are defined in s. 167.33, but includes hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, bowling, billiards, picnicking, exploring caves, nature study, dancing, bicycling, horseback riding, horseshoe-pitching, bird-watching, motorcycling, operating an all-terrain vehicle, ballooning, curling, throwing darts, hang gliding, hiking, tobogganing, sledding, sleigh riding, snowmobiling, skiing, skating, participation in water sports, weight and fitness training, sight-seeing, rock-climbing, cutting or removing wood, climbing observation towers, animal training, harvesting the products of nature, sport shooting, and participating in a snow sport outside a ski area, as those terms are defined in s. 167.33, and any other sport, game or educational activity.

AB495, s. 7 Section 7. 895.526 of the statutes is created to read:

AB495,14,17 895.526 Participation in a snow sport; restrictions on civil liability, assumption of risk. (1) Definitions. All definitions in s. 167.33 apply to this section unless the context otherwise requires.

AB495,14,20 (2) Appreciation of conditions and risk of participation in a snow sport. (a) Every participant in a snow sport at a ski area accepts the conditions and risks of the snow sport as set forth in s. 167.33 (2).

AB495,14,22 (b) Every participant in a snow sport at a ski area is presumed to have seen and understood signage provided by the ski area operator pursuant to s. 167.33 (3).

AB495,15,2 (c) Every participant in a snow sport at a ski area accepts that failure to wear a helmet or wearing a helmet that is improperly sized, fitted, or secured increases the risk of injury or death or the risk of a more severe injury. Every participant in a snow sport at a ski area accepts that a helmet may not be available for purchase or for rent at a ski area.

AB495,15,7 (d) Every participant in a snow sport at a ski area accepts that natural or man-made items or obstacles within a ski area, including ski area infrastructure and ski area vehicles, may be unpadded or not heavily padded and accepts that there may be a higher risk of injury or death or of a more severe injury associated with a collision with an item or obstacle that is unpadded or not heavily padded.

AB495,15,9 (3) Responsibilities of a participant in a snow sport. Every participant in a snow sport is responsible to do all of the following:

AB495,15,10 (a) Fulfill his or her duties set forth in s. 167.33 (5).

AB495,15,14 (b) Choose whether to wear a helmet while participating in the snow sport. If the participant chooses to wear a helmet, he or she has the responsibility to ensure the helmet is of the correct size and fit and to ensure that it is properly secured while he or she participates in the snow sport.

AB495,15,20 (4) Limits on liability for a ski area operator; release and liability of a participant. (a) A ski operator who fulfills all of his or her duties under s. 167.33 (3) and (4) owes no further duty of care to a participant in a snow sport and is not liable for an injury or death that occurs as a result of any condition or risk accepted by the participant under sub. (2). Whether a particular circumstance constitutes a condition or risk of participating in a snow sport is a question of law.

AB495,15,23 (b) A participant involved in a collision with any other participant or with a nonparticipant may be liable for an injury or death that occurs as a result of the collision.

AB495,16,2 (c) An exculpatory release of liability is enforceable against an adult participant who signs the release and against a minor participant on whose behalf a release has been signed by the minor participant's parent, legal guardian, or other person authorized by the parent or legal guardian to sign the release.

AB495,16,3 (d) This subsection shall be construed broadly.

AB495,16,5 (5) Effect on related provision. Nothing in this section affects the limitation of a property owner's liability under s. 895.52.

AB495,16,6 (End)