Here is why I think it's a bad idea to ride ATV's on snowmobile trails. I would guess that what likely happened here is that the victim was hugging the middle of the trail to avoid deep snow along the edge of the trail. This is from the St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press, 3/1/05.

John Scott, 47, of Westboro, died Saturday afternoon when the ATV he was driving collided with a snowmobile at the crest of a hill on a trail about 20 miles north of Medford, Taylor County Sheriff Jack Kay said. The 47-year-old driver of the snowmobile, also from Westboro, was injured, the sheriff said.

 

I read somewhere maybe here about an accident just like this one.It took the life of a 17 year old. He was also riding his atv on a snowmobile trail and was hit and killed. We had 2 seperate ATV accident here in Missouri last Tuesday both Fatal. No helmet on either one. When will everyone learn?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

They will learn when all of us who consider ourselves to be responsible riders take the time to make the necessessary corrections to these riders whe we observe them riding without a helmet or other safety gear. All of us, if we have been riding for a while, have a spare helmet laying around somewhere. Pull it out, throw it in the trunk next time you go out riding, and hand it to them. You don't need to be nasty, or question their sanity... just tell them that you want to make sure they get home tonight in one piece...

How many of us turn away shaking our heads and wonder if only I had.....

 

I ride with a few friends and their kids. I had to pitch a fit to get them to buy their kids a helment. These guys have plenty of money and it just **** me off that I have to preach to them. I finaly got there attintion when I informed them about the record ATV Deaths that were set last year.621 if I remember right and 1 0ut of 3 were kids. I cant buy enough saftey gear for my daughter, I just glad she thinks it's cool to wear it.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

And tell them to 'strap' their helmets too dammit!

My brother and his best firend was killed a while back on a honda 50 (They were 16).

One had a helmet - but it wasn't strapped. No helmet on the other.

He hit a truck - helmet flew off. Kids both died immediately.

Don't know if it would have saved his life - and we never will.

 

Everybody thinks it cant happen to them. I wish they could read a post like yours, maybe it might save a life.

 

Just about everyone on this forum can cite a tragic story, sometimes a friend, or a family member.. or we read it somewhere... and it is easy to point to someone else and say it is their fault for x or y or z.. but the real answer is it starts with you an me... I realize that sounds harsh, but it is the reality of the situation... If we don't say something, who will. Next time may be too late.

I'm truly sorry for the loss of your loved one. Words, and time never heal the wound completely... You cry your guts out for them, you tear yourself apart trying to change something that can't be changed... in the end, you are left with an empty spot that can never be filled. I've read too many of these stories. I've seen too many friends and family lost to lapses in judgement... that is why I am so adamant about gear, and a kid's ability to make proper decisions under emergency conditions before being let out on the trails...

The bottom line is there are many things that still need to be done...

 

They will learn when the leaders of these national organizations, clubs <u>and</u> riding areas...quit coddling these "live free or die" riders who pay their bills and keep the lights on with their dues. Again, this community has absolutely no sense of <u>who they are</u> on the common sense safety issues of our time and there is absolutely no one willing to stand up to places like Windrock <u>and straighten them out</u>.

Tell me how you can teach your kid to respect the common sense things you try to teach them everyday on an atv...then take them to Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, etc. and participate in some entire festival glorifying these idiots who either just don't care or who are barely smart enough to come in out of the rain?

The only way we will even "start" getting this isuue under control is with STIFF FINES and/or good 'ol fashioned SHAME on the part of those willing to do what dragginbut suggests. Helmetless riders usually won't "see Jesus" until "A"... someone gets hurt/killed close to them and they somehow see through all their friends trying to say a helmet wouldn't have made a difference....and/or "B" the rest of his riding buddies in no uncertain terms let him know that he's no Marlon Brando or Peter Fonda...rather a guy who doesn't give a rip about risking bankruptcy for his family and/or leaving his kids fatherless or throwing a ball with Mom's new lover (while he's propped up against the wall with a sippee cup hanging out of his mouth).

On second thought....shame just might be more effective. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

I agree there is a social stigma associated with wearing a helmet, and in certain parts of the country, you would be hard pressed to find anyone wearing shoes, let alone a helmet. But there is one event that brings us all together under one roof... Right before they close that casket on a friend or relative... we are all feeling the same pain... It is too late for them... but look around the room... I bet there are some standing there that you can still save.

 

Well said...nobody wants to use somebody else's death or permenant injury to teach a lesson....yet one has the gut feeling that either one of these hapless souls prefer "someone" teach it for the sake of their fellow man. You never saw Chris Reeves fighting for the use of improved head gear or neck support devices in his sport...it's always an "unpreventable trajedy".