I thought that the manufacturers were gonna be mandated to put seat belts on quads now. But really- it the stupid things stupid people do on ATV's that get'em hurt. One being parents that buy a quad too big so the kid can 'grow' into it. Problem is that the kid never gets to grow up at all............

 

I actually had an accident on my quad, well maybe it was just stupid, jumping an entry level quad with only about 6.5" travel.

it was a launcher jump that got you 6+ feet high at the minimum and only 20feet distance, unless you over jumped, i overjumped and nosedived and knocked 1 tooth right out, pushed 2 over to (my) left and twisted one tooth, its still not healed yet, they put the teeth back in (i didnt really lose them, i had it sitting in my mouth for about 4 hours until they put it back in.

now theres two dents on the plastic w/ the indicator lamps lol

 

I take it you weren't wearing a helmet?

 

I was wearing a helmet, a gmax36 something. the strap was comfortably tight too, 2 fingers could fit tightly under the strap, thats how i wear my helmet cuz i dont like getting a rash on my chin/neck

 

Cool. Glad to hear you were wearing a helmet!! I almost went over the front bars myself today when I mis-judged a small jump. While I was flying forward, I thought about losing my teeth if I face planted!!!! It was definitely scary to say the least. I guess it goes to show you should scope out your terrain before riding. I'm just glad I didn't hurt myself too bad. I racked my pelvis on the handle bars, and bent them forward slightly. I also racked my left knee pretty good as well. I'm suprised, and happy that the quad didn't come over on top of me. I was holding on the the handle bars for dear life!!! A truly scary experience!!!

 

Well, if we look at the raw numbers provided, we get the following which is much better than the auto industry.

% ATV related deaths from 1982 to 2004 = 6500/6.9 million registured atvs X 100 = 0.094%

% ATV related deaths in 2003 = 740/6.9 million registured atvs X 100 = 0.011%

% ATV related injuries in 2004 = 13600/6.9 million registured atvs X 100 = 1.971%

If you compare these % to the auto industry, atvs are much safer. The problem is when a someone is killed or hurt on an ATV, especially if it's a kid, the media takes it and runs with it saying that ATV's are dangerous. Pretty much anything we do is dangerous to a point. But, just like guns, people kill people, guns don't. If the person didn't have a gun to use, they would find something else to kill with. The same can be said for ATV deaths and injuries. The ATV didn't kill someone, but when someone does something stupid, which is generally the case, then the person kills themself with the help of the atv. It is just a matter of what you are fighting for, do you want to keep atvs or do you want to ban them. The numbers are actually in our favor even with the stupid stunts that generally account for much of the injuries.

 

The worst ATV accidents I have seen seem to have some common threads running through them. One of them is people riding double on ATVs not designed for it. I've seen several of these which have had tragic endings including a fatality and associate whose wife is now paralyzed for life as a result. I guess seeing so many of those incidents and their aftermath, the horrific and lasting effects of it, is why the whole riding double on single rider ATV thing just is one of those things I really hate to see people doing. I know first hand what happens from the practice.

The other things I see reoccurring is children riding adult machines and machines far too large for them. Also they do so with no helmets or riding gear and of course many times do it riding double triple or more. One incident last summer really stands out. I seen a kid of around maybe 10, if that,on a 750 Brute Force riding with 4 smaller kids sitting on the racks and seat. Not a piece of riding gear or helmet on. Wearing shorts and from what I could see she didn't even have shoes on. If she did she had flip flops or sandals of some sort. She was riding across a field approximately 40-50 mph. A boy on a brand new sport quad which looked like a 400z came up from behind her and actually passed her. He was barely bigger than her and had on no helmet or riding gear and had another little kid on the back. No parents around. No supervision of any kind whatsoever. Those kids were multiple fatalities waiting to happen. Oh and you can bet when one of those kids gets splattered across the pavement or is paralyzed or gets their brains scrambled their parents will be the first ones on the phone with Larry H. lawyer wanting to sue the ATV company and trying to get time on Dateline Thursday with their weeping sob story about the dangers of ATVs and the need for restrictions or their outright ban.

 

So true, you hit the nail on the head. That is one of the reasons I am looking into buying a two seater atv like the polaris X2. Those two seaters are designed to carry another person. They are longer and have the geometry for the extra rider. You also were correct in saying that when one of these kids gets hurts on an atv they should have never been riding on in the first place, their parents will try to sue. Stupid is as stupid does I say. The parents should be the ones charged with a crime for letting their kids ride atvs too big or ride unsupervised. My nephews who are 13 and 10 always ask me if they can ride my bf750 and my answer is always the same,.........."once hell freezes over and I start to grow hair again on my head, then I will thing about it."

 

I've let my freinds little brother drive my quad, but he has driven xr50s for about a year now he's 6 i think? My little brother has also driven my quad and he's only five, but then again he also has experience on my dads eiger, he can ride by himself too, and i trust him cuz if i tell him to not go faster than i can run he wont, but if i tell him to punch it, (thats only with me on the back) he listens and he loves it.

(i dont let people younger than me ride my quad without a helmet tho, but putting a helmet on to park your quad in the shed for the night is rediculous.)