Sledding may be on a hill to nowhere.
More municipalities are taking the step of banning the time-honored winter pastime, citing legal costs and insurance payouts that amount into the tens of millions. While it may seem as if these cities are channeling the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge, they argue that the benefits don't outweigh the risks of sledding, which lead to thousands of injuries annually.
Take Dubuque, Iowa, a hilly city that's dotted with 50 parks that entice its residents to take advantage of winter activities. But the city council is moving forward with a plan to ban sledding in all but two of the parks, citing the sport's inherent risks and the city's lack of ordinances that provide immunity to lawsuits related to sliding down on a snowy slope.
"Sledding is a risky activity. Anyone that sleds knows that," Dubuque city attorney Barry Lindahl and leisure services manager Marie Ware wrote last month in a letter proposing the ban. "In conversations about sledding it is not unusual for people to talk about their accidents or near accidents along with the fun times they've had."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF3sWT7YjFw
Sledding aficionados won't be bereft of their favorite winter activity in Dubuque, however. The city plans to keep two sledding areas open, albeit with plenty of warnings about risk and how to sled safely. According to proposed signage for the two sledding hills, sledders will be warned to "NEVER, EVER ride head first on a sled" and that they "assume all risk of injury or damage resulting from sledding activity."
2015 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-sledding-is-on-a-slippery-slope/
