Several years ago the About.com page for Small Business in Canada posted a point by point analysis of the legal risks of being Santa Claus. Three of those points had to do with his use of a reindeer-drawn sleigh as a method of transport, and whether or not Santa is an uninsured motorist.
In honor of the Christmas Season, we’re reposting them here, despite the fact that parts of them are specific to Toronto:
Driving Without Insurance, Proper Lights, etc.: Maybe Rudolph’s shiny nose will help Santa travel those millions of miles in a microsecond [breaking the speed limit is also against the law!], but is Rudoph’s shiny nose enough to keep this vehicle safe? No, vehicles must have proper lighting, signals, brakes, etc. Nowhere do I remember reading, did Santa’s sleigh have any of this stuff? What happens to some poor bugger walking home late at night who happens to get into Santa’s way as he tries to land? If this guy sues, does Santa’s sleigh have insurance to cover at least comprehensive and no-fault? Might need to read the casualty and death reports more closely to count the number of people injured by Santa’s sleigh and/or his reindeers on Christmas eve night and assess the risk, so perhaps Santa can find some insurance.
Personal Injury:This generally reflects on the above remarks about what would happen if Santa should run anybody down with his sleigh.
Desecration of Public Property, Pollution, etc.: Everybody knows what goes into a reindeer must sooner or later come out of a reindeer. Santa Claus can very well be charged under Toronto’s ‘poop and scoop’ by-laws, sued by disgruntled homeowners that find reindeer excrement on their roof, or charged by somebody who just happens to be in the way of raining excrement deposited by flying reindeers overhead. Santa should be made to obtain a ‘pooper scooper’ and keep his reindeers’ shit to himself and dispose of it properly.