Compensation Claims and Fines: Take Precautions by Using Professional Binding Adjustment!
A study commissioned by the Austrian Ski Federation has recently uncovered the alarming fact that 40 percent of ski bindings fail to meet currently applicable safety requirements. The release values for the ski bindings of skiers in a Tyrolean skiing area were checked during the 2009/10 winter season. Only about a third of the winter sports fans surveyed said that they had their bindings checked once a year. It is important to note in connection with this that the sports goods retailer accepts responsibility for optimum adjustment of each item of sports equipment every time it sells or rents out skiing gear. More and more often, identifiable errors and defects are leading to what are sometimes extremely high compensation claims and fines.
The "SAZ Sport" magazine recently carried out a survey of Austrian sports retailers on the issue of binding adjustment and compensation claims. The general advice to sports retailers was to use only electronic binding testing and adjustment machines and to keep a record of the check values. Dr. Wolfgang Reisinger from the Vienna Insurance Group also emphasizes that this is the most effective way to prevent any compensation claims or fines.
For sports retailers, regular professional adjustment of ski or snowboard bindings is still a valuable service with added benefits and the potential for increasing customer loyalty. WINTERSTEIGER offers state of the art equipment for professional binding adjustment so that you and your customers are always on the safe side.
Learn more about WINTERSTEIGER's binding testing and adjustment machines here.
Also available for download: the German articles by SKI Austria and SAZ Sport on the topic of binding adjustment and safety.
