CPRE Risk Management and Safety 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The four primary strategies for managing risk in a park and recreation agency are:
- Avoid, reduce, transfer, and accept (Correct answer)
- Ignore, report, insure, and defer
- Monitor, respond, escalate, and close
- Audit, inspect, train, and fine
Correct answer: Avoid, reduce, transfer, and accept
The four risk management strategies are avoidance (eliminating the activity), reduction (minimizing likelihood or severity), transfer (insurance/waivers), and acceptance (retaining the risk).
Question 2: Which standard organization publishes safety guidelines for public playground equipment most commonly referenced by US park agencies?
- OSHA
- ASTM International (Correct answer)
- ANSI
- ISO
Correct answer: ASTM International
ASTM International's F1487 standard is the primary US guideline for public playground equipment safety performance and layout.
Question 3: A participant injury waiver (release form) is designed to:
- Eliminate all legal liability for the agency
- Transfer assumed risk from the agency to the participant for known, inherent risks (Correct answer)
- Replace the need for adequate supervision
- Satisfy ADA compliance requirements
Correct answer: Transfer assumed risk from the agency to the participant for known, inherent risks
Waivers transfer specific assumed risks to participants but do not protect against negligence and may be unenforceable for minors.
Question 4: Negligence in a recreation setting requires a plaintiff to prove four elements. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Criminal intent (Correct answer)
- Causation and damages
Correct answer: Criminal intent
Negligence is a civil claim requiring duty, breach, causation, and damages — criminal intent is an element of criminal law, not negligence.
Question 5: Regular playground inspections are classified as either operational or comprehensive. A comprehensive inspection is best described as:
- A daily visual check by a maintenance worker
- A periodic in-depth assessment by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) (Correct answer)
- A monthly review of participant incident reports
- A quarterly review of supply inventory
Correct answer: A periodic in-depth assessment by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI)
Comprehensive inspections are thorough evaluations conducted by a CPSI to assess structural integrity, surfacing, and compliance with safety standards.
Question 6: What term describes the legal principle that holds a park agency to the same standard of care as a reasonably prudent park professional?
- Respondeat superior
- Standard of care (Correct answer)
- Sovereign immunity
- Attractive nuisance
Correct answer: Standard of care
Standard of care is the level of caution and competence that a reasonable professional in the same field would exercise under similar circumstances.
CPRE Risk Management and Safety 1
The four primary strategies for managing risk in a park and recreation agency are: