all done!

 

I feel badfor the innocent little boy and my condolances(sp?) to his family. But i dont see how this is the fault of riding double... The fault is that the idiot driveing the quad was drunk and the other people around shouldn't have let the little boy or anyone get on a quad with a person who has been drinking.
I have been riding quads for around 15 years and have ridin double since day one(not all the time, but often).. If you ride responsibly and are comfortable with riding double, then it shouldn't pose a problem..
The problem is people who "think" they are the greatest rider in the world and combine drinking with riding and stupidity with riding double!

Another example, My friend takes his 5 year old son riding with us on his fourwheeler and his sled. My friend uses his head while his son is with him and rides very conservatively and safely with his son in front of him. I know I will get bashed for this, but I dont see anythign wrong with it because I know the abilities of my friend and trust him. If it were someone I didn't know, i would not like the situation..

I am not slamming or bashing you for your opinion, I am just stating mine.

Disclaimer: Also, i am claiming anything here, if you ride double you are riding at your own risk!

And one last thing, Drinking and riding should never mix!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have to agree totally with moddedx. The situation you describe is tragic, but you should not condemm riding double because of one idiot that was drinking, and riding in or near traffic. I know that the manufacturers all have to say that their quads are designed stricktly for one person, but that is just a liability thing.
What they should say is that if you are riding double you should not try as if you are by yourself. Anybody with a grain of common sense will adjust their speed and technique for the situation.
I'm getting really tired of the Government, the manufacturers and the magazines telling me what's safe. THe other thing they always say is that you should never ride with out a helmet, even if you are riding really slow. Well, I know that you CAN get hurt if you fall off going slow, but you can get hurt if you slip when you're walking down the stairs, does that mean we should outlaw all the flights of stairs in the country. I don't think so. People need to take responsibility for their own lives, and let others do the same.

 

This accident also happened on a paved street. The boy that died was only 12. And the drunken idiot was 24, plenty old enough to know better.
I hate riding double, abd I discourage it when anyone I know tries it. It Totally changes the handling characteristics of the quad. Balloon tires mush over, making it hard to handle, and room for the driver becomes very limited, so the driver can't throw his weight around, which is essential to riding a quad.
Neither the jackass or the dead kid were wearing helmets, not neccesarily saying it would have helped in this situation.
It's sad that a kid had to die, I just hope that because of this, somebody is saved because the reconsider doing the same stupid things.
Riding double, drinking and riding, riding helmetless, flying all over paved streets... all dumb ideas.

 

Well,
Im soon to be a certified ASI[ATV Safety Instructor]and as instructors,we are to teach that it is NEVER safe to ride double.Do I agree with that?Not in every circumstance!But in Michigan it is a law not to ride double.

Yrs ago I was stopped by the DNR for riding double on Houghton lake ice[tip up town].I owned a HUGE 99 Polaris Sportsman 500cc.My friend Dan and I were headed on the ice to our favorite fishing spot.We were travaling at about 8-10mph across FLAT ice.We probably had to travel about 2 miles to get to our fishing area.Having been to the lake many times,I was very familier with it.DNR stops me and tells me what I allready knew,''your riding illegal'' he says.I explained to him that I was not driving in a careless/wreckless manner,I was not climbing hills ect,I was only trying to navigate myself and Dan to our fishing spot without Dan walking.I told him the snowmobilers double up all the time,and of course he starts telling me how they are made to ride double.I got off the quad,showed him the size of the Sportsman and its seat and he agreed with me,it was big enough to ride two in the MANNER IN WHICH I WAS RIDING.He let me and Dan continue on.Because Tip Up Town is a huge event in Michigan in Janurary,I really think he just wanted to make sure we were not intoxicated.

Now in NO way am I advocating riding double.For SLOW,FLAT land riding,and on the PROPER size ATV,I can see no problem with riding double.In ANY other circumstance,I dont think it is safe.

Since I will soon be teaching about ATV safety,I cannot endorse any riding double at all,for ANYONE,and I wont,however,I do agree with some of your opionions in here on riding double,
Bill

 

Since this topic's title focuses on DRINKING, what will you teach your students about riding and drinking when you become an ATV Safety Instructor, Bill?

I understand the ATV Safety Insitutue says, "Don't drink and ride." However, I think I recall you defending drinking and riding in your previous posts.

I've asked a similar question before; if you answered and I missed your response, I apologize.

Diogenes

 

Diogenes,
I did answer this question from you allready in another post,you obviously missed it.I have no problem answering it again.

NEVER will I EVER defend drinking and driving a vehicle or an ATV EVER!Now that I have that clear,let me re-explain what I did say,

I said that I felt the .10 DWI law was not really a fair law for EVERYONE.Every persons tolarance to alcohol is differant,differant folks react and tolerate alcohol in differant manners ect.I said I felt that I could SAFELY drive home [about 3 miles] from my softball games at the current .10 DWI law.While a .10 may cause others to feel ''SLOSHED''I still feel safe.I also said that yrs ago,many of us ATVers would go on Poker runs from bar to bar drinking,I also felt safe doing that,and never one time did any of us have an accident,thinking back,perhaps we were lucky?I would not do that again.I guess I thought because we were on ATVs that it was ok for me to drink more than my standard six pack,I was wrong.It's simple,vehicle or ATVs,dont drink and drive!

The risks involved in taking such foolish chance's are not worth it.I have a few friends and one brother that can testify to that!I have been playing softball for about 23yrs now and in my earlier yrs,I would drink and drive home after a six pack of beer.Today,I still drink and drive home after my softball games,only now I drink Gatorade or diet Pepsi and drive home.Many yrs ago I realized how foolish it would be if I had got stopped for a mechanical infraction [tailight or brakelight out]and the officer smelled beer on me and made me give a BOC test.I decided that even though I felt perfectly OK to drive home with a six pack or less in me,that the risks were not worth it.What would happen if someone had hit me?The accident would be GAUREENTED to be my fault,even if the other person hit my car.I still feel that I could safely operate my vehicle home from the 3 mile ride from my softball games at a .10 BOC,however,as I earlier said,the risks are simple not worth it.You will never catch me operating my vehicles or ATVs even after drinking one beer.


As for teaching my future students on drinking and driving?I will reserve MY personal opionion's on the .10 DWI law and keep that within myself, and preach and teach that it IS NOT ok to drink and drive,not even one beer!
Happy Trailing!
Bill

 

Anybody that advocates a .10 blood alcohol level and operating anything other than a lazy boy is ignorant. Your judgement and reaction time is impaired at that level any you can't possibly be safe behind the wheel of a car, or on your ATV. I don't care if you are an experienced drinker, which usually means you pound a lot of booze and you think that a six pack is just a warm up.
Look at the facts here people, riding double, no helmets, busy paved street, and drinking. Be safe for God's sake. Does anybody think that boy's parents are saying that this is just one of those freak things that happen? I gaurantee that in court, ATV's are going to get a black eye, and the 24 year old is going to have some jail time.

 

ridzhard,
I hope your not pointing fingers at me in your above post?If you read my post carefully,you'll indeed see that in NO way am I advocating drinking and driving!
Bill

 

If I am out riding with someone, and they pop a brewski, I tell them I don't believe in drinking and riding. If I can't talk them out of it, I head out, I want no part of it. Get back to camp, and enjoy your brew by the fire, and tell your riding stories then.
Sorry if I sound belligerent, but I almost was run over by an intoxicated driver and won't let it happen again.