Heywood, I agree and helmet on/off topic is a fence hard to straddle. I feel it is ultimately up to the rider though and precautions as you have stated should be taken to keep the noggin out of harms way. I do hurt when I loose a friend and know a helmet could have saved them. Of course their pain is all gone but survivors morn that loss for years in some cases.

I was thinking of a friend that t-boned a stop light runner with his motorcycle. Luckily he will be here with us for a while longer but his rehab is going to be a rough road. Without a helmet he would not be here. It really hit close to home since I have frequently ridden with him and began thinking of the lost years raising my young daughter and missed growing old with my beloved if I were to leave this place tomorrow Therefore I am even more cautious and would never ride without a brain bucket doing all I can do to ensure I will be around to enjoy grand kids.

Although time is not guaranteed I will do all I can to make my joys of life less life threatening. Even cooking!

 

Personally, I always wear a helmet. I feel the risks of a minor fall/crash without one are not worth it. However, I think it should be up to the individual. If people want to wear one, fine, if they don't fine.

I DON'T think anyone should look at an ATV accident and blame an injury on the ATV if the rider wasn't wearing a helmet....

 

Yes I agree with individual decisions but if my Best friend were to straddle his bike to go out for a ride with me and did not put on his helmet I would quickly tell him, "I do not want to loose my best friend over a stupid helmet, put it on or we can take the truck."

(I am talking more from my Street Motorcycle hobby than my ATV hobby)

 

I don't see any reason to go without one. They are cheap enough, and with all the styles out there look cool too. Even if you don't have an accident, you need it just because of tree branches, stones and mud that go flying at your head. This one place I ride, a woman was at the regsitration point and asked: "I'm an experienced rider, do I still need to wear a helmet?" The owner answered: "If you're an experienced rider, that's a STUPID question". Probably didn't want helmet hair

 

You know, you can fix an atv but you can't fix your body as well! I hate seein people not wearin helmets when riding. I ALWAYS wear mine even if I'm driving my atv down to our barn 50 yds away! I'd like to keep myself still functioning thanks! hahha. Plus, most helmets look awesome. So many different colors, styles and graphics. I love lookin good goin fast!! I got a ZX-6R crotch rocket and ALWAYS wear my helmet when ridin that. I know I probably wouldn't survive if I did crash but atleast my head would be intact. My brothers friend was driving his GSXR 750 doing a wheelie and didn't slow down in time comin up to a turn and applied the front brakes hard and flipped it. The bike flipped a few times. His buddy flew off the bike and slid and hit his head on the curb! HE WASN"T WEARIN A FREAKIN HELMET!! He was pretty banged up. Cut his head open above his eye. He could have bled to death if my bro didn't call the paramedics. I know there are some idiots here in KS that go around drivin their crotch rockets on the free ways with their girl friends on the back doin all these stunts like wheelies and standin up on the seat. The cops are out lookin for these thrill seakers. Worst thing about it, still not wearin helmets when they are doin these tricks. People, wear yer helmets no matter what you ride.

 

All you guys arguing about not needing helmets etc.. because you are always in control.. and slow down when things get rough... What a crock...
Sorry but that answer just doesn't get it done any more. When just about every tree has some bleeding heart do gooder looking for reasons to either bash ATV's or get rid of them altogether... we don't stand a chance.. It is just pure irresponsible... Now I know you are in the minority here.. and probably are giving these answers to get people to comment.. a sick way of getting your kicks... but really.. you are not funny. This is not a funny subject. Oh sure, you can control your own ATV, but what about some other guy who doesn't, and hits you and splits your skull. Hm.. the media will just report that an ATV accident occurred, and the "victim" was not wearing a helmet... the publ;ic reading this will say.. hey, we need to do something about these things.... and we all lose....
Sorry, but your ability to choose is affecting a lot more than your own safety... We all suffer...

Now let's talk about that woman who was hit by a truck on the road.... I wonder if she had taken a safety sourse... I also wonder how many hours of riding experience she had.... Now if this was an adult.. think for a moment about the numbers of kids we see on these things.. and consider thier ability to make judgement decisions under stressful or emergency conditions. If an adult can screw up.. a child doesn't have a chance.

Given, training and seat time will mitigate that situation and keep them from panicking.. but every day we hear about some little old lady who accidently hit the gas instead of the brake...and crashed through the garage wall.. and she may have been driving for years. Pure and simple, accidents happen.. but we need to make sure our kids get competent and professional training, make them wear the recommended gear religously, and we need to set a good example for them to follow if we are going to reduce the numbers of kids getting killed and get the lawmakers off our back.

Sorry for being so vocal... but this is a soap box that I drag around with me.. and I get upset when I see an answer like this.. I know how hard many are working to keep the sport available, and regulation free... If we don't police ourselves, the authorities will do it for us.. and when they start sharpening their pencils... it gets rough on us as a whole... We need each and every one of you to be part of the solution..... Not part of the problem...

 

Here are a couple more sites showing some accident statistics..........................the stats for Maine are interesting. The most common causes of accidents (Maine) were unsafe speed and operator inexperience. Take a look and everyone be safe.


Wisconsin:
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/es/en...atvstats03.htm

Maine:
http://www.state.me.us/ifw/aboutus/a...vaccidents.htm


Minnesota:
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...ccidents&hl=en

 

Amazing! More statistics that show injuries are often the fault o r the rider and not the machine! When are these "safety police" going to wake up?

 

Yes and no.. but don't be fooled into thinking that is it all rider error either. Much of the problem boils down to decisions made.. and many do not have the experience under their belts to make rational decisions. If a parent knew that it was wrong to put their 10 year old on a full sized 350 class machine.. do you think they would have done it? If a parent knew that it is wrong to let 2 or 3 kids ride an ATV at the same time.. do you think they would do it? The problem is they do let them... and many Don't know it is wrong.

That is what the safety course is supposed to be teaching, along with techniques.... but the sad thing is that in many states, there are not enough instructors to teach the courses to the ones that need it. Some states also exclude the very young... So although they can ride an ATV, they can't get the safety training.

I can't blame the parents in all cases.. although simple common sense should be working... but it doesn't. That is why we as a body need to take action to demand that training programs get the funding and support that they deserve. The problem is not that we do not know what to do to fix the issues.. the problem is that lawmakers are always jumping up and down in front of the camera when the media attacks us, but you can't seem to find them when we present constructive programs to combat the very same problems they want to solve.

 

You can buy crashed ATV from this site.
http://www.crashedtoys.com/