Even experienced mountain bikers can take a spill. To improve safety, trail designers normally limit obstacles in the "fall zone" adjacent to the trail. When signs must be placed in this area they are mounted on flimsy wood or plastic posts that will break on impact. Singletracks Magazine published this extensive recap of a life-changing injury and a subsequent lawsuit against an Oregon bike park that ignored these safety rules. Fat Pencil created a series of graphics to help tell the plaintiff's story.
A drainage ditch across the trail caused the rider in this case to go down. There were several alternatives for safer terrain that would still allow water to cross the trail... but these options were never built. We created these diagrams based on typical drainage ditch dimensions published by the US Forest Service and others.