Waiver's

There has been much discussion recently about the use of, requirement for, waiver forms to inform passengers of the risks associated with a Hot Air Balloon flight. Many great suggestions have been made about the content and use of waiver forms.

Now, there is a new wrinkle being bantered about; the need to have passengers read, understand, and sign a form that they have been given a pre flight briefing. My question is this necessary? What practices would/do you follow to insure passengers receive a comprehensive briefing prior to the flight?

Let's hear your comments. To prime the discussion, here are a couple thoughts I have.

Have a checklist for the format and content of the briefing and use it when briefing passengers. The items to cover may vary from balloon to balloon or pilot to pilot. Having a consistent presentation that is documented may help in your defense.

Determine the time to conduct the briefing(s) and make it consistent with all flights. We all are familiar with the pre liftoff briefing, but is this the best time to insure the passenger's attention. Should the briefing be held before they approach the balloon and the pre liftoff briefing used to review the material?

Have witnesses other than passengers to your briefing. This again may help in your defense with an impartial documentation of who said what when.

Your comments/suggestions ...