Whats your KIDS LIFE WORTH , bet it's more then a helmet ,cheap insurance

 

First of all, from all your previous comments, it doesn't even sound like you enjoy or even ride ATV's...
Secondly, what I do as a 43 year old experienced rider who wears safety equipment and rides
as safely as possible is really no ones business but my own and my family...Last I checked I am still a responsible tax paying
American citizen...Free to live life as I see fit...Fear is a big part of the thrill of ATV riding for me personally..I take many steps
to limit the possibility of personal injury, but I will not be told how to ride by anyone...Maybe you should just stay in your house
and live in a germ free suit with padded floors and walls(in case you fall)and quit judging
responsible people that you don't even know who enjoy the adrenaline and excitement of atv riding...If you think people buy ATV's to be bored
and sedate you are living in a fantasy world ...With any recreational activity there comes a risk that all involved should be
willing to take and be well aware of it's consequences...If I get hurt, I accept responsibility for that action...riding hard does not mean riding like a dumba$$...
Just my .50.....

 

Education can only go so far to get parents thinking in the right ways. They have to buy into it. They have to make an effort to lead by example. That doesn't cost too much other than that big swallow that is their pride.

I can tell you a few things that CAN be done. First off, make the darn things wider. I suspect that would re-clasify some models, but come on manufacturers... that is a no brainer. For every inch you add, it makes the safety quotient go up immensly. Sure helps keep them rolling over, which just happens to be numero uno right up there with Speed. I suspect there are millions being made in wider axles, and extended front A-arms. Why not put them on there in the first place? And speaking about speed. Don't take a machine designed for LEARNING and make a racer out of it. Concentrate on good riding habits and skills development. The kids have enough competition in their lives already, don't add to it and take all the fun out of it. Make them slow down, take breaks along the trail to look at nature. Make the trip a learning experience, instead of just a faster way to get from point a to point b. ATVs are one sport that a parent can SHARE with their kids. Not like sitting on the sidelines while the kid does all the work.

Make them lower to the ground too. We don't need 14 inches of travel/clearance . The only guys that need that spend more time in the air than they do on the ground and other than simple bragging rights, it does nothing for the average Joe.

Lets talk about riding trails. Make them wider period. Give us some safety margin from the trees. Also, when designing trails, make them loops, and one way trails. Eliminate the head ons. Better trail markings... Make them CONSISTANT across the country. If you want to dictate standards, start there! Do some good!. Lastly lobby the crap out of the insurance industry to make it possible for land owners to give permission to ride without taking on the liability of someone getting hurt.

These are simple things that can be done NOW.

Now for those that love the sport like I do. join a club, join an ATV association. Support those organizations that truly have the ATV enthusast at the center of their efforts. Get out there on volunteer days to help clean a trail, or mark it. Help build trail bridges over sensitive environmental areas. Teach your children. Volunteer to help novice riders and novice PARENTS find the information they need to make good decisions. ALL of this takes less time that what we spend on this list... it just takes effort. It begins with me... it begins with you. together we can make a difference, one chioce at a time....One voice raised...

 

4wheel, you see that is exactly our point.... On one hand I don't want to criticize, on the other, you are sounding like a lot of the guys we are trying to convince. First off, we are not coming at you like we are trying to take away your freedoms etc. Why is it that everyone feels the moment a rule or a suggestion to slow down comes up, they start crying freedom and will defend their actions to the death? Hey, you want to splatter yourself on a tree so be it. Just don't do it where my kid rides OK? Don't provide that example for him to see and try and emulate. We want you around for a long time. We need you around for a long time. Just that our opinion differs from yours.. so lighten up please.

I think the guys like yourself should have a place to get their thrills. You want to enter competitions, fine. All the riders there are usually going in teh same direction etc... the courses are laid out usually to be challenging, yet not to the point where you will get killed.. I support that. But when on poorly marked trails where the potential for an 8 year old is there around every corner, I have to say no. It isn't appropriate. The point is, there is a place for everything, and everyone. Just make sure while you are exercising your "Rights", that you don't put others at risk while you do it. Especially kids.

Kids today need roll models. I can tell you this, it may not be the rush you know and love, but I can tell you from personal experience that just seeing a kid learn how to ride for the first time, and that ear to ear grin they ALWAYS have on their face is just as much a rush as it is to fly in the air. Try it and see.

Bottom line is we support your need for speed, but just do it wisely in places where others won't be caught in your cross hairs.

 

Over heard somebody telling my 17 year old son what agood rider they thought he was ,they asked where he learned to ride ,he told them by watching Me ride ,kids do watch the parent and usually follow there lead .
just my 2 cents .

 

Way to pat yourself on the back[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I've always been a careful rider ,always wore the right saftey gear ,so if my kids followed my lead and they get complimented ,then so be it ,I'll pat myself on the back for raising my kids right ,thank you.
Isn't that what were talking about here ,parents instilling good riding practices in our kids .well one success story .
Thats one of the reasons that I became a ATV Safety instructor .I've seen to much riding that scared me ,like a guy riding with 4 kids on the same machine ,one in front of him,one behind him ,and one on each side of the rear rack ,and not one helmet on any of them just hauling butt down the trail.

 

I was watching the PBS Channel the other day and they were showing Vietnam and WOW!! Everybody over there rides 4up on mopeds on the main road and not one has a helmet on. I wonder why things are so differant there. Nobody forces them to ware helmets and riding your 2yr old on the handlebars is permited.....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

The results there are likely that people die in Vietnam and you never hear about it. They don't keep records of fatalities and most are never reported. There are no government agencies keeping people from killing themselves.

Unfortunately, our government goes way too far in many cases. You can't stop stupid people from hurting themselves with laws and labels. It takes common sense.

Common sense on an ATV is ride with care in a way the ATV was meant to be ridden and wear the proper safety gear.

Obviously, stupid people don't follow common sense. Look up ATV crashes on Youtube and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

Hey Deanz, I want to personally think you for taking time to give back man... I know that being an instructor is a thankless job... I also know that once in a while I get discouraged when I hear kids get hurt on these, and really angry when I hear the parents did something dumb too.. and that is why I am also an instructor... although I haven't been teaching now for almost 4 years. I am the living example of even the best of the best can crash.. and yes I was doing the stupid thing when I experienced my senior moment. After 7 operations over 3+ yeasr to repair a knee I blew up, then turing right around the following winter and slipping on ice on my steps and shattering my ankle, I lost another season to casts, surgeries and crutches. Maybe I can get out again in teh spring. I sure hope so, I have a brand new Rubicon that is 4 years old now. I haven't ridden it more than maybe 3 hours on the motor. Er... doh...

Anyway, this is the kind of personal commitment I am talking about. Anyone who takes personal action.. and that can be anything from writing letters in support of ATV initiatives, to teaching, to marking trails you name it... well these people deserve respect and our thanks. I get mine from another little personal thing I do. I gather old helmets from people who are moving up and have one to give away.. I give them to people on the trail when I see them not have one. Especially the kids sizes. They grow out of them before they even get scratched sometimes. I also have a standing order with my local dealer to give any family that can't afford a helmet for their kids a new helmet, and put it on my bill. So far I have bought 17 in the past 10 years. Money well spent I figure.