If you're renting an ATV to ride in the desert or some other equally unpopulated area, I'm sure they can get by with a much different policy - Have the rider sign a waiver and the odds of him/her running down some unsuspecting pedestrian are much, much lower than someone riding on sidewalks populated with lots of pedestrians
There are all sorts of pretty dangerous things you can do where you sign an agreement acknowledging you understand participating in the activity could result in serious injury or even death *to you* and I doubt the insurance policy the vendor needs is terribly expensive. The greatest area of likely harm is covered by your waiver and there's not much chance you're going to harm someone else
We ride Segs on city sidewalks all the time and because they're so quiet, most of the pedestrians we approach from behind don't have a clue we're even there - Frequently it's a couple walking side by side conversing with each other. We slow to their walking speed 10 or 15 feet behind them and many times follow them for a hundred yards or more until they either notice us and usually they step to one side, or we wait until we get to a place where we can safely pass without alarming them. I can tell you not every Seg rider is that courteous . . . . they can go much faster than the walking pace and they don't like being held up. IMO, the probability of a rider knocking someone down is fairly high, especially if you pass someone at high speed when they don't know you're coming
Don
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