legality of paid rides for charity

[GreenV8S]

Somebody has invited me to help at a charity track day. The idea seems to be that paying public come along and pay a few quid for me to drive them round the track in my car, all proceeds going to charity. Are there any legal implications of them paying for the ride? Does it count as 'for hire or reward'? Are there any nasty implications for health and safety liability or anything like that? I'm used to taking people for passenger rides, but never had people pay for it before. (Fair few would probably have paid to be let out afterwards, but that's a different subject ... )

[JonRB]

Purely a layman's opinion, but I would say that you were getting onto extremely dodgy ground legally. Since they would be members of the public there could be all sorts of Public Liability issues and I would imagine you would need to check with your insurers too (and get it in writing) that the "for hire or reward" clause would not be invoked.

[Mad Dave]

Maybe you can phrase it as, eg 'we recommend a £5 donation, which goes to charity' - that way, youre not actually selling anything, merely asking people to donate - of course, if they dont donate, they get a free ride, but in my experience (working for a charity myself - although this information is only IMO) most people happily cough up a few beer tokens when its for charity.

[JonRB]

Dave's idea has merit. I would strongly recommend you make it a condition of the ride that the passenger signs a waiver indemnifying you from liability if anything goes wrong. You're wide open otherwise.

[Nightmare]

I did this at Supercar Sunday a couple of years back.....without admittedly giving it any intelligent thought at all. I hadnt even considered there might be an implications - though the rides I gave were most definitely NOT of the white-knuckle variety.... M/C will know the answer

[GreenV8S]

Thanks for the advice. The passengers will definitely be required to sign disclaimers, and ground rules on the track will be sensible and steady driving well below the limit of car and driver (hopefully still fast enough to give the passengers a thrill but with negligeable risk of coming together or going off). I'll check with my insurers, but I don't expect they'll cover me for damage. Actually not too worried about that. More worried about liabilities though - I don't know how much protection those discaimers give, I'm sure they don't remove the basic duty of care but don't know what else I may be liable for.

[m-five]

JonRB said: Dave's idea has merit. I would strongly recommend you make it a condition of the ride that the passenger signs a waiver indemnifying you from liability if anything goes wrong. You're wide open otherwise.

You will still need public liability insurance as a signed indemnity is worth nothing if they can prove that your negligence was the cause of the accident.

Also what happens if a wheel comes off and hits a spectator?

[madcop]

You will not need to have any sort of hackney carriage/private hire plate screwed to your car or register your car with the local authority and undergo the security checks that taxi drivers do. You are not using your vehicle for hire or reward, nor are you using it on a public road.

You must however make sure that your insurance company are aware of your intentions in case there is an accident or injury of any kind to a passenger you happen to have on board at that moment. Disclaimer forms will not negate your responsibility for compensation if someone gets hurt.

This is no different really than a fairground ride when someone pays to have a go except that the cash raised will not be subject to tax or VAT etc as it is not income.

[zumbruk]

Nightmare said: I did this at Supercar Sunday a couple of years back.....without admittedly giving it any intelligent thought at all. I hadnt even considered there might be an implications - though the rides I gave were most definitely NOT of the white-knuckle variety.... M/C will know the answer

I think this *is* Supercar Sunday. I got the same invite that Pete did, although my "What are the insurance implications" question went back to the RO who forwarded the invite. IANAL, but I can forsee horrific implications of an accident....

[Nightmare]

I think this *is* Supercar Sunday. I got the same invite that Pete did, although my "What are the insurance implications" question went back to the RO who forwarded the invite. IANAL, but I can forsee horrific implications of an accident....

Er...if it IS SS Sunday then I dont recall driving people around any sort of track......check v carefully guys

[GreenV8S]

I've learned that it is unrelated to Supercar Sunday, although it is similar in terms of paid rides with the proceeds going to charity. It seems it will be managed as an ordinary track day (in terms of track rules, marshalling, rescue services etc) but with passengers paying £5 or so a session. I don't know quite how this will work but I'm sure they'll sort something out. Still a little concerned about the liability issue though. And would *you* trust a total stranger to drive you round a race track at 150 mph?