WOW.....very well put.

 

I wear a helmet all the time wether its mountain biking or on my atv. My friend on the other hand hates wearing a helmet it caught upto him Memorial weekend he was in tenneessee riding and some how his atv rolled 4 times he hung on for 3 of them then he was thrown off and some part of his quad SQUASHED his head he broke the blood vessels in both eyes his vision is messed up his right ear was bleeding some hearing loss broken nose tooth thru the lip 4 skull fracturs torn rotatorcuf 6 fractured ribs broken collar bone. So you see if he would have had a helmet on he still would have been hurt but he still would have his vision and hearing.

 

Thast would fall under the prudence category, or lack of it. I'd have definitely had one on in that situation. That's some hard luck, not a very favorable roll of the dice there... Dang those crapshoots!

 

Very honest,

I two was very laxed on making my kid wear a helmet riding his bike or scooter. Was is the key word. We have had a few accidents over the last year in our community that totally changed my way of thinking. First, a Nine year old was riding a RAZOR type scooter on the side walk, hit some loose gravel and went head first into a mailbox post. Now that poor child is in a wheelchair for the rest his life, paralyzed(spelling) from the chest down. Next, Two kids (i think a boy and a girl) lost control of there four wheeler that they were riding. Both died of servere head injuries. I don't know if the boy on the scooter would have benifited from a helmet but i bet his parents would love the chance to know. As for the two kids on the four wheeler helmets would have most likely saved thier lives. I would not be able to live with my self if my child was hurt or god forbid killed because I didn't teach him to be responsible for protecting his own body. With that said I have also bought a helmet for myself. I do easy to moderate trail riding and I will not do it anymore without a helmet. My child's life would be ruined if something happened to me or my wife, and I will do anything i can to help prevent life ending injury to myself or my wife. (ie. setbelt, helmet) My riding buddies do not wear helmets and they made comments the first time i rode with my helmet on. I didn't care what they said. Protect yourself for your family. Protect your family for yourself. Keep your childeren active outdoors on the fourwheeler just protect them the best you can. I'm sure you would much rather see them buzzing around the yard on a fourwheeler wearing a helmet rather than in a motorized wheel chair.

just my $.02
jclaude

 

excellent post!! that sums up my thinking pretty neatly!

 

Honest posts guys. Its good to see people who look at the impact their own possible injuries would have on their families and react to it by wearing a helmet. I have 2 kids...13 month old son and 6 year old daughter. The boy has a battery operated quad and he wears a bicycle helmet specifically for infants when he rides it. When it came time to get the girl a real helmet I took her to the Polaris dealer and, after determining what size she needed, let her pick her own colors & style from the parts book and ordered it for her. As both my kids age they will always have helmets that are applicable for them in whatever color/style they want. Start them young at it and there is no problem with wearing later in life.

 

What are you thinking? Helmets are 100% necessary! Please (don't just encourage) insist that your children wear their helmets. Don't make it an option! I worry about your 5yr old being on the 90. That is awfully young. She should be on a 50.

Dad, don't make a mistake you will later regret. Be smart. Even if they are just riding around the yard, make them wear their helmets. If something were to happen to them, you would never forgive yourself. Our children are so precious, please don't take that for granted.

Kids don't understand consequences. They have no concept of the dangers they could be facing by not wearing a helmet. If you don't teach them, they will never know.

My kids never complained about wearing their helmets because it has been a rule from the start. You will have a more difficult time getting your kids to wear theirs because you allowed them to ride without them. Start requiring it and having consequences if they ride without them (maybe take away their quad for a few days.) Is there really any good reason why they shouldn't wear them?

Please, be smart before something bad happens. It only takes 1 accident.

Also: Helmets don't work if they are not properly buckled. It drives me crazy to see people wearing their helmets but not buckling the strap. Why even bother wearing it?? Make sure they are properly buckled. An impact will throw that helmet right off their heads!

It is people like you who add to the statistics of injured/killed riders. Then the rest of us have to suffer the stricter laws because of your stupid decisions. Be smart. Don't add to the statistics!

 

Helmets are not 100% necessary once you turn 18, every adult is capable of determining whether he needs to have a helmet on given the riding conditions. The US has gotten way too wussified about safety, we'll all be walking around in plastic impact resistant bubbles in 5 years if some people are given what they want. Life is full of risks, it's up to each of us adults to evaluate those risks and take the necessary precautions for that given situation.

 

Boy you really had me thinking with a nice and empassioned plea- right up until that last sentence. I appreciate your concern, not that I am without, but when you wax eloquently for 6 or 7 paragraphs and end with a knifing of "people like you" and "stupid decisions" you lose your whole effort.

Just a tip. For jclaude- thanks.

I am against wussifying the population like 06LimitedPred, but not against being reasonable safe. Listen, I am an educated man, I have raced, hunted, and wielded dangerous tools since I was just a pup. I have seen most accidents happen out of carelessness and being in over your head (ego-driven) and even been saved from serious injury in a rollover by not having my seatbelt on. Safety articles will always be mostly helpful, but never approaching 100%.

I feel confident in the abilities, sensibilities, and learning of my own kids- just as my dad was about me. The daughter is about as athletic a kid you will find and as such outgrew a 50 in about 2 hrs. She handles a 90 better than any new adult rider (with "sensibilities") that I have ever witnessed. We aren't impervious to injury or accident, I think just appreciably equipped to prevent. That said, being on 10 acres of rolling grass with some virgin woods in the back obviously insulates us from some of the usual injuries that frequently occur. It's not a bubble, but it is not full of hazards either. Should we get the trails made soon, yes, helmets will be mandatory. Puttering around the yard in a circle or down the driveway (800')- I'm less likely to be as concerned.

I believe in my heart of hearts, helmets will be required for all of them sooner rather than later. With experience sometimes comes adventurousness and daring. I did it too.

If you offer advice or a position, try to keep it friendly. Who wants to take account of what you say when you end with a slam?

That's my final $.02

 

06LimitedPred...and attitudes like that are where the accident statistics come from. Now you are entitled to your opinion and you have a right to express it but helmet use is something that everyone should buy into. You cannot know every situation that you will be faced with when riding. You may have an accident resulting in a head injury that is not your fault. Perhaps the person coming towards you or trying to pass you will be the one who causes your injury...who knows. At least if you are prepared for the possibility you may be spared the injury. You also talk about life becoming wussified...why not look at it as people becoming more educated and attuned to the hazards that they encounter and protecting themselves from it. Look at the construction industry years ago...nobody wore safety harnesses or used lifelines, there was no control on chemicals in the workplace & their hazards, employees did not recieve training or wear personal protective devices such as eye protection or chainsaw chaps...I could go on forever. No sir the world is not becoming wussified it is becoming educated and that education is translating into lives saved and injuries prevented.

My question to you is...would you ride a motorcycle without a helmet, or is that too wussified also?