And of course its the Go-Kart place's fault that a lady didn't have any common sense and put her hair up before riding a Go_Kart.

I saw this on the news the other day. That woman got messed UP! Scapled & lost an ear (though surgeons put it all back together, but she is going to have some scars). I also remember seeing a sign posted that warned against riding with longer-than shoulder length hair.

wow, I you're missing half the story here

Cliffs (from another board I'm on)

Woman ignored/failed to see warning signs about long hair at go-cart park.
Woman gets hair caught in go-cart.
Woman has scalp/ear ripped off.
Woman is cut out of go-cart with scissors.
Woman expected to make a full recovery.

[www.cnn.com]

She actually acknowledged that the signs were there, but said they really should be warning people because the signs aren't enough.

In a rare fit of compassion, I'm going to go with the victim here. Yes, she should have common sense, since she has unusually long hair she needs to take precautions. However, the Go Kart place, for the sake of safety, should be ensuring the safety of their customers. This means the track attendants should watch for potential safety hazards and alert customers as needed.

I'm sure they take the time to monitor the track and kick people out for rough behavior/crashing karts. They should be watching for this and other safety problems too.

You also shouldn't wear long scarves when Go-Carting.

@NotATool:

yeah!

and they should have chaperones for everyone there too!

and they should be limited to less than 1mph!

with roll cages!

and provide an on-site barber for haircuts prior to riding!

and branded hair ties!

we dont need to become any more of a nanny-state than we already are. common sense rules over all... there was signage, and she still didnt heed the signs, saying someone should have held her hand and treated her like a 5-year old.

sorry, i believe in personal responsibility for adults. had there been no warning, i would side with you... but she was properly warned and failed to heed the warning. if she sues the owner/operator, her family/friends with her should have to cough up too for not holding her hand either.

I think what the kart track operators were saying between the lines was that she was a 'serious' dumbass.

@oakie: I'm with you on this one. How many more times can someone be told not to do something?

I'm willing to bet she would have ignored a verbal warning too. Some people just need to learn the hard way.

@oakie: The problem with trying to say that they should apply common sense is that particular commodity seems to be a bit uncommon in this age.

You present a slippery slope argument and invoke a "nanny state" comparison, but it would only just be prudence and due diligence for the operator to watch for potential hazards.

Sheesh! She lost (perhaps regained through plastic surgery) her ear!

I'm not saying that the go-kart company is at fault, but some of you seem absolutely without compassion.

Let's say someone is the operator of a roller-coaster. This coast has a particular section where someone about 6'3" would be likely to ding the top of their head. Would you just have a sign posted saying, "All people all over 6'3" should not ride this ride" and then shrug if someone ignores it and gets a concussion (let's say it is a slow coaster)?

In this case, it wouldn't have been a nanny state to have someone on the floor to stop a racer racing unsafely. I agree with NotATool.

Sometimes Consumerist posts things that are just way off topic and have nothing to do with consumer relations.

Elliot Spitzer and prostitutes? Horrible accident on go cart?

???

Tragic story. But it was a pretty big, specific sign, apparently inside the car: [img90.imageshack.us]

Maybe she saw "DANGER" and stopped reading?

@snowpuff: How does this not have to do with consumer relations? The owner is taking it seriously. She's probably consulting a lawyer as we speak.

Elliot Spitzer was a champion for consumers.

@Michael Belisle: Thank you for actual photographic proof that she's an utter moron.

If they had refused to let her ride, she would have been here bitching about the ridiculous rules and mean go cart operators ruining her kid's birthday.

The signs were there and she knows how to read. Take some responsibility.

Or maybe it just needed a graphic warning sign, showing a person getting scalped instead of a hand.

I am representing a woman in a case like this in Washington State. This accident was an easily preventable tragedy. A simple piece of plastic covering the rear wheel axle would prevent this from happening. There is no excuse for the manufacturer and company to not have a cover on the axle to prevent this. There have been numerous recalls over the years for this and there is NO EXCUSE for anyone in the industry not to know that if they leave rear wheel axles uncovered that hair and clothing can become entangled and serious injury can occur. There have been a lot of scalpings around the country: children have been scalped, people have been decapitated, and people have been left quadriplegic after the rear wheel axle rips their heads backwards. The fault lies not with the user, who had no reason to expect her scalp and ear to get ripped off, but with the manufacturer and operating company, who could not possibly have been unaware of this risk, and failed to take such a simple low cost step to prevent it. Also, most states require go kart operators to have inspections. They obviously didn't comply with this requirement. If they had been inspected, they would have been shut down immediately for such a dangerous condition.

Jim Harris
jim@phlawfirm.com

Been to Go-Kart tracks in NJ and MD and they have signs posted about hair, and like Ben mentioned other long/loose/flowing apparel. Most tracks will require you to pull your hair back. I have long hair and have experienced it.

The last time I went go-karting, the attendant came to every kart before we got on the track, making sure that our seatbelts were fastened. Maybe the attendants could also check people for long hair?

@matto: I think calling her "utter moron" is a bit extreme.

If I were carting and hadn't seen this vivid illustration that the danger is for real, I might have ignored it too. But in my interview with CNN, I would have conceded that well, shit, now I know to heed the warning and I hope others learn from my example.

The place could offer some sort of hair tie to people with long hair. They're pennies a dozen.

@Michael Belisle: That's pretty damning. 100% confirmed, she is an idiot.

@snowpuff: "Taking it seriously" is a phrase companies use over and over again in public statements whenever they have bad PR. Our series of posts on occurrences of the phrase is our attempt to question how seriously companies are really taking these matters if every time they trot out this phrase by rote. Hey, I just wrote a great explainer, maybe we should append this comment to the bottom of every "taking it seriously" post.

No compassion? There is greater negligence on the customer's part than the company's. It sucks this happened to her but it makes no sense to punch the company.

@Ben Popken: Yes, generic company "we're sorry" form letters. I have a file of them. Not to mention the "glad you are enjoying our_____" so much" letters. Insert-a-word letters.

Poor girl.

What has this got to do with consumers?

What is the relevance of the emphasis in the quote?

Why should we care?

It depends on the service of the gokart track you go to. Some tracks are really nice, but then there are others that just don't care and the teenage employees will allow anything to go on basically. I have been to many gokart tracks and I have seen both types. There is one track here that I have sworn off forever because they allow everyone to crash into each other in the pits (which if you know what I am talking about, is a very dangerous situation). My hair isn't even past my shoulders now but I have experienced this in the past. A gokart track that cares won't let you ride unless you put your hair up.

Most of these places have lots of ride at your own risk signs up though.

At least the lady aint suing the track owners cause they didnt read signs/use common sense.

@Michael Belisle: This warning sign might have worked: [img399.imageshack.us]

I'm sorry, but people need to start taking responsibility for their own safety.

You know parts move on a go-kart and that the engine is open, if you have long hair it should be obvious that you need to tie it up.

I so tired of people needing to be coddled. You need a sign to know that something might be dangerous? Look where you're walking! Watch what you're doing! Think before you act!

Come on people!

@oakie: Actually, roll cages would be pretty damn cool. They can be weighted on the top so every turn you make lets you happily flip and roll around, crash into other cars and knock them about with a satisfying billiard "thunk".

I'd make MILLIONS! And, heh, pay those millions out to cover the insurance premiums. Pity.

@BensAngel: Do you show up late to movies and complain that you don't understand the plot?

Consumerist is not just about "consumers" but also about business and companies of all kinds. A Go-Kart track is a business, no? Also, try checking the tags and noting the "Taking It Seriously" tag. Do a little research before making snide comments.

@FromThisSoil:

Yeah, its because of jackasses like this that when you buy a ladder it has like 37 safety stickers on it and when you buy a lawnmower it has to have a hideous sticker on it telling you not to put your hand under the deck when the engine is running. I hate buying things and having 37 stickers on them making them look ugly.

@Gorky: Like the immutable, prominent SRS warning on car visors?

As a Utah resident I am confused as to why this story links to a poorly-written article from a local news station in Chattanooga, TN.

Haven't been to the go cart place, but even with short hair, don't think I'll risk it.

@Michael Belisle: With the right chemicals you can take that off too.

In 1971, when I was 9 years old, we moved into a newly developed neighborhood, and the 2 adjacent as-yet-undeveloped lots included a "Go-cart" track that local teens had carved out. My babysitter, somehow, allowed me to drive one of these go-karts -- she was riding my banana-seat Huffy bicycle around the cul-de-sac while I had my "test drive" -- and I RAN RIGHT INTO HER! I have a VERY vivid memory of her coming back to my folks' house, showing her scraped up leg, and saying, "Look what your son did to me." I also have a very vivid memory of my folks' shrugging and essentially saying, "Well, too bad, you were in charge --"

Don't s'pose that's how it would play out today.

It's an unfortunate risk that you take when you engage in possibly hazardous activity like go-karting or getting out of bed in the morning.

Michael Belisle hell yes that rocked and would be very effective!

@Gorky: of course.

It's not that I have no sympathy for the customer. Yes, it's very unfortunate that she is so injured, and I wish her a good recovery.

But the sign said it. No long hair. I used to have long hair, and tied it up in a bun before riding go karts, or pretty much any amusement park amusements/rides. Would it be nice if the attendants stopped anyone who might have been breaking a safety rule? Yes, that would be excellent. But in this case, the customer did not take her own safety seriously enough. People need to realize that your health/happiness is largely in your own hands, not in the hands of drive-thru attendants, baristas, carnival ride attendants, or other service people.

As far as the letter--I wonder if it came from someone who was as frustrated about the thoughtlessness of the woman as many of the commentors here are?

Again, best of luck to the injured woman. I hope that she is well and that other people have the opportunity to learn from her egregious mistake.

1. Ignore warning signs.
2. Do a barrel roll.
3. ?????
4. Profit!

@NotATool: You can't approach people about that because they'll become offended and sue. Just look at how the fatties get upset when theme park attendants tell them they're too large to safely ride the rides.

The track posted signs, the woman noticed said signs and blatantly disregarded them, the woman got to experience just why those signs were there.

I'm gonna have to come down on the side of the Go-Kart track with this one. There was apparently a warning sign in the actual kart saying, "Warning, do not do this, serious injury may result" and then she went ahead and did it, and got injured. I'm terribly sorry for her, but she did something stupid and the physical world punished her for it.

We need LESS safety warnings, not more. I prefer to buy my knives without "Warning, do not stick this knife in your eye" stickers on them.

Ouch. My hair is down to my ass, I wear it up all the time, it's almost dangerous to even drive a regular car with long hair hanging in your peripheral vision, I can't imagine going go-carting with it flying around like that...

But really I'm extra sensitive about these sorts of occurances, because when I was 11 I got my big toe partially severed when I was riding a cup and saucer ride in sandals.

This is not a mistake this woman will make again...

I'm a big fan of letting the punishment fit the crime. This seems to be right on point.

@Buran: But we are paying for those stickers because many people are dumbasses. Another reason things cost more.

Why aren't there safety stickers on sporks? You could put your eye out!

The track i used to visit made you watch a video, that included safety with long hair, and sign a waver. but these were some serious go karts tho

@jimharris: Yes, it's ridiculous that they make go carts with open axles. Just like how it's ridiculous how they make blenders with open blades and toasters with open slots for the bread. It's absolutely negligent that manufacturers don't make all knives dull so that someone can't accidentally stab themselves or someone else. Don't they know that serious injury can occur?

I wonder if this lady signed the indemnity waiver (like most go kart places have) before she drove the thing. Moreover I wonder if she read it before she signed it. I bet not, since she can't be bothered to read a big metal sign in her kart.

I'll bet the race track owners are taking this matter just as seriously as she took the signs warning her about her hair.