Sorry Raptorlegs,
I musta been typing while you were posting. Heck, it took me close to an hour go be able to convey what I'm feeling into words.
Great minds must think alike! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Snowmobiles vs. ATV's

ATV's ridden 12 months, Snowmobiles ridden 6 months.

Fall off ATV land on hard ground. Fall off Snowmobile land on somewhat soft snow.

My experience; many kids have THEIR OWN dirt bikes, ATV's. Most kids ride their parents sleds. There fore they put more mileage and hours on ATV's.

Riding a Snowmobile around your yard sucks. Sleds are fun if you can get out on a lake or a groomed trail and ride long loops. This makes riding a sled more of an event. Riding your ATV around the yard can be more fun. You don't have to be able to go on long loops to have as much fun. If you ride eveyday which an atv offers it will increase the likelyhood that something bad will happen.


These are a few common sense reasons that skew the safety comparison between the ATV and snowmobile.

 

Fishez3,
I have asked for the info on those 3 questions before, I have also looked for that info myself and guess what, IT DOESN'T EXIST!!! If they were to catagorize incidents with, who was wearing a helmet, if they were riding an apropriate size quad, and if they were being supervised! What you would end up with is the truth, that quads aren't the problem, it is parents that are the problem!!!
Maybe we should start legislating comon sense in parenting classes instead

Chris

 

Two of those questions were answered on the news, he was Not supervised, Dad said it was probobly 15 min. before the poor kid. The other one is he was 10 yrs. old riding what appeared to be a full size artic cat. No mention of a helmet or not, knowing the first two sins lets assume the third. The one thing you need to remember is the consumer is responsible for how the product is used, atvs are NOT babysitters.

 

I just watched the segment.

I feel for the parents who lost their son who was 10yrs. old. From what I gathered out of that story is they let their son ride the "Family Quad" on their property with a neighbor. The quad he was riding was a 250. It clearly states that it should not be operated by anyone under the age of 16. To me the Parents are to blame...Sorry but that is the truth.

For some reason these parents are saying "They wish there was a law that stated he could not ride that machine" Were the manufacturers recommendations' not enough for them...That is B.S.

On the show tonight I got to see kids that could not have been more than 8 years old(Thats' pushing it) standing up on the seat riding a very large utility quad threw a river. Where the hell were the parents of that kid...they should be locked up. CBS need to show both sides of the spectrum and not focus on the morons that have no clue when it comes to responsible parenting. I am very responsible and supervise everything my kid does right down to wiping his butt. The majority of accidents that involve kids are they are riding a machine that is not age or size appropiate.

The parents on that show stated he was very good on this machine and could handle it well. So if their kid could drive and handle a go cart would they let him drive the familys SUV????? WAKE UP the machine was to big!!!! Had nothing to do with your kid it was YOU!!! Sorry but thats how I feel.

If I sound harsh it is because I am ticked off. It is sad that this little boy had to die for their stupidity. I am sorry for the out burst.

 

He was wearing a helmet. Thank god for that.

 

I usually do not watch CBS as they are usually a little left of center for my tastes but that is a different story. I intentionally watched their program this evening because they had advertised a spot on ATV's and safety. Well I tuned in and watched their segment and I will say that it was quite balanced and represented concerns from both sides arguing the point, that being about children riding ATV's.

It was not the representation of ATV's in the media that irritated me but rather it was that of the attitude projected by a couple in Oregon who had a child that was killed while riding his ATV. The child was 10 years old and was riding an Arctic Cat that looked like a 400 if I were to guess. Not only was the child unsupervised, but the parents were not even at home. The parents first blamed the government because and I quote "If there had been a law against children under 16 riding these things our child would be alive today." They then went on to blame the dealer that sold them the machine saying "I can not believe he would sell us anything that would be that dangerous."

So the parents have blamed the government and the dealer. Hmmmm.....who else could be responsible for the set of circumstances that led to the death of their child? Could it be the parents who paid for the machine? Could it be the parents who routinely allowed the child to ride unsupervised (but he did have on a helmet)? Could it be the parents who were not even home when the child had the accident (we are talking about a 10 year old home alone regardless of ATV usage)? Then to close out the segment it shows the kid's tombstone and on the tombstone is a picture of an ATV. These parents knew the child rode the quad all the time yet they never thought to worry that he might be misusing the thing. The thing that annoyed me the most however was the fact that they blamed EVERYONE except themselves. I guess that is indicative of someone who is not responsible enough to monitor and control the acts of their child, apparently they feel that was the role of the goverment or the dealer or someone else.

Anyway to finally get to my point, tomorrow evening they are supposed to have a follow up segment with hidden cameras allegedlly showing dealers trying to talk parents into buying quads for their kids or somethign to that extent. I think it will be interesting to see. I am not a parent so I am really hesitant to cast aspersions on the way others raise their children. But even a semi-intelligent fatman from Del City would have the forsight to go so far as to remove the spark plug form my son's quad if I could not keep him from riding it without adult supervision.


Bob "Like ALL aspects of life, quad safety is matter of common sense and descretion" Bobman


P.S. I don't wear a helmet....but I accept all responsibilities for any damages sustained to my empty noggin.

 

Talking about stupid parents,here is an example. We were at the races this past weekend. My 6 yr old was on the line on his Polini dirt bike. When this 5 yr old pulled up beside him on a New KTM Pro Sr. His parents were there with him. They all 3 were so excited is was his first race. The mom was taking pictures and she made the comment isn't he so cute. Well he was but. I looked the boy over and here is how he was dressed. Helmet, short sleeve shirt, little leather boots. That was it. I thought to myself what a bunch of dumb parents. They spent $3000 on a new bike and spend $100 to save his life!When my son gets on either his bikes or his quads,he has every pertection device there is on the market. Even if he is only practicing in the track in our field. Helmet,chest pertecter,neck brace,Kidney belt,Gloves Goggles,elbow pads,knee pads,Jearsey,riding pants,and race boots, Were talking over $650 worth of gear.So if were gonna let them ride or race we have to give them the gear to do it safely.Oh and by the way the first lap the little boy made he crashed.There he was being helped back to his parents, crying, holding his side and limping. I thought he's not so cute now is he.These are the kind of parents that get there children killed.

______________________________________________

"Don't ride faster then your Angel can fly"
"Keep it pinned to win"

The money I have invested in his bikes and quads seems like a $$$$$$$$$$$$$ bucks.
The money I have spent on race fees and maintenance seems like a $$$$$$$$$ bucks.
The smile on his face after he just smoked them all in a race, PRICELESS!

________________________________________________

#838-01 Polini x3 works-Michaels
#838-01 Husqvarna cr 50 jr-Michaels
#838 04 Arctic Cat 50-Michaels-Big Gun Exhust,Malossi reed cage,Malossi clutch kit, Malossi cdi,ProDesign tether,Rebel Gears,Acerbis hand guards,Modded Air box, rejetted,Twin Air filter,Douglas Alum wheels, Snow Hog tires,milled Head.
03 Suzuki lt-80-Michaels
04 Suzuki DR-Z 125L-mine
02 Yamaha Big Bear 400 4x4-mine

 

Yeah, and if you say something to them, they threaten your life.... You can't legislate stupid....

 

You fall off your quad, get your empty noggin smashed and go to the hospital where you ring up a $250,000 bill. You pay the portion that your insurance doesn't [under $10,000??]. Who pays the rest?? The Empty Noggin Fairy?? Everyone else does, that's who. You can't afford to ride without a helmet, so do US a favor and get a helmet or sign a waiver that states whenyou run out of money, pull the plug, since you take FULL responsibility for your empty headed actions.