# lawsuit against strava



## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Family Sues Strava For Cycling Death - BikeRadar

I've been hearing an increasingly loud voice among riders not to set strava segments on downhills for trail etiquette reasons. it looks like it is also a good idea to avoid doing so on the road.


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

What a bunch of B.S. What ever happened to personal responsibility?


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## MtnHound (May 20, 2012)

Personal responsibility is now a farce, it is not widely practiced any longer.


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## 245044 (Jun 8, 2004)

AZ.MTNS said:


> What a bunch of B.S. What ever happened to personal responsibility?


Welcome to the land of "NOT MY FAULT." It is BS!!


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## MattC555 (Mar 24, 2011)

Ridiculous.


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## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)

Sad story but c'mon, you'd be better off suing McD's for killing you slow 'n steady or mortally wounding yourself with a $tarbuck$ Venti. I don't use Strava because I could care less if someone goes down or up a hill faster than me.


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## PainkillerSPE (Feb 15, 2009)

Well you do get an email from Strava that says the following:

"You just lost your KOM on Oaklawn to Statesville Ave. to ##### by 3 seconds.

Better get out there and show him who’s boss!

-Your friends at Strava"

You are still responsible for your own safety though.


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

Maybe they can also sue the other rider who beat his time. And the city for not better protecting a guy gunning 10 over the speed limit and getting taken out by a car. 

Seriously...like the family who tried to sue Yosemite NP when their misguided family members climbed over the railing above Vernal Falls (replete with warning signage about people dying) and were swept to their death. Maybe litigation is a form of grieving?

There's no doubt doing dangerous things is fun. I regularly do them and don't plan to stop. And should I bite the dust doing them, that's my and my family's problem. No one else's.

Cheerio,

Mike

PS:



edubfromktown said:


> I don't use Strava because I could care less if someone goes down or up a hill faster than me.


:thumbsup:


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## Pisgah (Feb 24, 2006)

I would like to see the complaint. I have never heard of Strava, but it sounds like a GPS application or something. What doesn't make sense is that the lawsuit claims no cones or personell were placed along the course. This makes me think the guy was killed during an organized event/race; and that the civil action may include a number of defendants, such as the promoter, place hosting the accident, and also this application (which could have been the promoter). 

I am not defending suing the authors of this application, especially if they were not affiliated with the event. But I promoted races at one time. If a person is going to charge money to have a race or other organized event, he or she must make efforts to reasonably protect the participants (such as placing people in areas where cars may be traveling to ensure no collisions). Nobody cares usually if it is broken bone, cut or something. But when people die or become seriously injured, be prepared for some questions.

In this case, the lawyer probably is just suing everyone who was associated with the event. Not saying it's right, but there may be more to this story than meets the eye.


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## Pisgah (Feb 24, 2006)

I should have looked a little further before I made the above reply:

Bicycle Retailer and Industry News

This article gives a little more detail. I must agree it looks thin. It was not an organized event, but an ongoing challenge organized by Strava on a website. Even if Strava had a disclaimer on the site saying in effect, "watch out!," this guy probably would have hit the car anyway.

Sad in all respects.


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## Shalom (Nov 7, 2008)

She&I said:


> Maybe they can also sue the other rider who beat his time. And the city for not better protecting a guy gunning 10 over the speed limit and getting taken out by a car.
> 
> Seriously...like the family who tried to sue Yosemite NP when their misguided family members climbed over the railing above Vernal Falls (replete with warning signage about people dying) and were swept to their death. Maybe litigation is a form of grieving?
> 
> ...


How about the bicycle manufacturer for making a bike capable of going at that speed? Or the city for having roads of good enough quality?

It is stoopid.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Segments are not organized by strava. Users set them. I have set some, including a couple DH ones, and I do not think I will do that anymore. Climbs only.

Strava simply compares the gps files people upload and then ranks people according to how fast the complete the segment.


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## Shalom (Nov 7, 2008)

Users definitely set the downhill segments. But there is also a reporting function, whereby any user feeling that a segment is unsafe can report it and get it nullified.

But yes, common sense and general road rules should apply too.

At the end of the day, it does come back to personal responsibility....


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Shalom said:


> Users definitely set the downhill segments. But there is also a reporting function, whereby any user feeling that a segment is unsafe can report it and get it nullified.
> 
> But yes, common sense and general road rules should apply too.
> 
> At the end of the day, it does come back to personal responsibility....


users also set climbs, AFAIK. there's one short cat 4 in my area that I had to set. there are other rated climbs that folks have been doing for awhile, and I believe they were manually set, too, because they are known challenging climbs among the area roadies.


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## Shalom (Nov 7, 2008)

NateHawk said:


> users also set climbs, AFAIK. there's one short cat 4 in my area that I had to set. there are other rated climbs that folks have been doing for awhile, and I believe they were manually set, too, because they are known challenging climbs among the area roadies.


Could be different in different locales then. Here (NZ), if you ride a new climb, it automatically makes a segment. You can delete it, alter it, make your own too though.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Shalom said:


> Could be different in different locales then. Here (NZ), if you ride a new climb, it automatically makes a segment. You can delete it, alter it, make your own too though.


maybe it does that for bigger climbs than cat 4. but where I live, cat 4 is the biggest we've got.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Any new climb that appears in an uploaded tracklog will be automatically suggested by Strava, provided it is CAT4 or larger. 

The user who uploaded the tracklog can keep or delete it. 

Anything that is not a ranked climb has been completely created by users.


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## Shalom (Nov 7, 2008)

PainkillerSPE said:


> Well you do get an email from Strava that says the following:
> 
> "You just lost your KOM on Oaklawn to Statesville Ave. to ##### by 3 seconds.
> 
> ...


That has only been a recent addition though. As in, in the last few weeks. So would not have been around when this happened.


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

So if you have a stroke on a rated climb while trying to beat the KOM, is Strava to blame for that too. WTF???

Be prepared to "accept" new terms next time you log on. :madman:


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

HA! Just got an email from Strava with new "Terms & Conditions". 

The lawyers are swinging into action.


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## JoePAz (May 7, 2012)

.40AET said:


> HA! Just got an email from Strava with new "Terms & Conditions".
> 
> The lawyers are swinging into action.


I got that email last night.

So what is the big deal? Comparing your times to another is fun. Uphill or downhill, but where is the personal responsibility? Nobody forces you to ever ride beyond your skill level. Look I have been involved in car racing for years. Car racing is dangerious and people can die doing it. Yet it in effect is as safe or unsafe as you make it. Choice.

If you want to be KOM on segment fine. Just realize that if you ride beyond you skill level you take risk and chances. That can be on a uphill segment the same as a downhill. It is pretty easy to chase an uphill time and over do it and really hurt yourself. So what? The same could happen if you were chasing a superior rider. Heck I remember racing my car a few years ago and learned that someone wrecked the car really badly. Turns out thery were tying to match my pace in turned and failed. We had the same car so the equipment was capable, but driver was not. That person's crash was not my fault as I can't control who how fast anyone else goes.

I wil continue to use Stava to record my rides and get feel for where I stand vs others. I won't let it change my riding or force me into unreasonalbe risks or even be rude to others on the trail. I am responsible for my actions.


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## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

Another frivolous lawsuit, welcome to America, the land of greed, from our politicians on down to the proletariat. 

One comment / observation, the trail builder community is seeing Strava as a source of trail user conflict. Not fun when you are fixing a trail problem, and some rider skids to a halt and yells at you, "F#$% Dude, you are ruining my strava personal record". It took *all* my restraint to *not* mutilate him and his bike with the pick mattock I had in my hands. :madmax:

State Parks Trails Committee relates they are getting complaints of riders yelling at hikers and equestrians for the same thing. Dim bulbs give bikes and Strava a bad name, way to shoot yourself in the foot, you self righteous bastard. :incazzato:


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

slocaus said:


> Another frivolous lawsuit, welcome to America, the land of greed, from our politicians on down to the proletariat.
> 
> One comment / observation, the trail builder community is seeing Strava as a source of trail user conflict. Not fun when you are fixing a trail problem, and some rider skids to a halt and yells at you, "F#$% Dude, you are ruining my strava personal record". It took *all* my restraint to *not* mutilate him and his bike with the pick mattock I had in my hands. :madmax:
> 
> State Parks Trails Committee relates they are getting complaints of riders yelling at hikers and equestrians for the same thing. Dim bulbs give bikes and Strava a bad name, way to shoot yourself in the foot, you self righteous bastard. :incazzato:


Yup, as if Cat.6 wasn't competitive enough.


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## JoePAz (May 7, 2012)

slocaus said:


> ...Not fun when you are fixing a trail problem, and some rider skids to a halt and yells at you, "F#$% Dude, you are ruining my strava personal record". It took *all* my restraint to *not* mutilate him and his bike with the pick mattock I had in my hands. :madmax:


It is not Stava that is the problem, but the riders. It is not right to let the pursuit of internet glory cloud your judgement in dealing with real people.


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## 53x11 (Jan 28, 2014)

Pisgah said:


> I should have looked a little further before I made the above reply:
> 
> Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
> 
> ...


that article is gone


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## Whacked (Sep 29, 2008)

Can't help but wonder when LEO's will start using Strava to issue tickets.
Over posted speed limit? ticket
Run a Stop Sign? ticket
Illegal trail? ticket
Signals will be harder to enforce.


But not surprised someone is wanting to sue Strava.
I'm only wondering,... what took so long?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

pavlov0032 said:


> that article is gone


That is because you're replying to a post that's over 2.5yrs old. News sites clear their content periodically.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Whacked said:


> Over posted speed limit? ticket


Use the wheel magnet and set your wheel size smaller to lower your recorded speed.

But I wouldn't worry, as it will take the cops a while to get through ticketing all these guys. A hundred and ten over the limit, wow, scofflaws.



Whacked said:


> Run a Stop Sign? ticket


If you skid the back tire crossing the line (or otherwise cause the wheel sensor to miss 2 revolutions) your Gamin and Strava will record a zero speed at the stop sign, even when the GPS signal is saying you blew the stop sign at full speed.

Conversely, if you are using "smart recording" with no wheel magnet, you can actually fully stop at a stop sign and Strava will show you as having rolled through it.

All is not what it seems. Just sayin'


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## Zomby Woof (MCM700) (May 23, 2004)

That is such a frivolous lawsuit! Its no different than those stories you hear about people driving into a lake because they followed their GPS.


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## tim208 (Apr 23, 2010)

it is funny, I am not to concerned with uphill segments. but the downhill segments are a blast. Love going fast downhill. Adrenaline is good.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

tim208 said:


> it is funny, I am not to concerned with uphill segments. but the downhill segments are a blast. Love going fast downhill. Adrenaline is good.


Downhill segments on downhill trails are fine. Downhill segments on multiuse trails and on roads through intersections are a bad idea. With the way Strava's system handles them, though, it's impossible for Strava to police them. I think it is just stupid for riders to set segments in questionable locations.

But in the end, setting up segments in stupid locations is really not the problem in and of itself. The real problem is with the people who have poor judgement already, who are encouraged by stupid segments. I prefer not to encourage the idiots who are going to make it more difficult on the rest of us.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I will go on record as saying I would be willing to delete all the segments that I am KOM of on multi-use paved trails if they could not be re-created.

And now, the confessional: 

I once yelled "Strava" when passing another rider who was stopped on a singletrack trail. Just once.

And the rider I yelled it at was the KOM holder on the trail segment I was riding.

So he sorta deserved it.  Too bad I barely cracked the top 10 in the effort.


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