Never really hurt on a quad but I was laid up almost all summer last year due to back trouble/surgery,so I feel your pain....Get well soon my friend!!

 

I can tell ya from experience these HEAVY Sportsmans HURT!

When I rolled mine on top of me on a steep mountain it was the longest 2 seconds of my life until the weight rolled. Maybe a good thing in hindsight in was on a hill but then again it may not happened? Either way I came out without broken bones, but a nice KNOT in my back took alot of PT, rest and time to heal up, my right foot still giving me issues, need to do a MRI soon!

Some say it goes with the territory? Not sure, as to not the kind I want to live in. But accidents DO happen! Please heal up quick, don't ignore all your minor injuries either and get back on the horse but learn to improve what made it happen (Ride, speed, surface, condition, malfunction, etc. etc.) As for me NO steep hills past my comfort zone!

Regards,

R'

 

These Sportsmans can dole out the pain to you, I had 2 cracked ribs and torn ACL in my shoulder from doing Donuts in the mud ( high Sided on me) I even rode it back to camp, It can happen quick to you, i stay away from trees and Shooting Donuts now. LOL

 

You have to be very, very careful on modern ATVs. They've become quite heavy over the years and flipping one over on top of you can have simply devastating consequences. it's not like laying a dirt bike down or flipping one. It's not even like having a sport quad come over on you. Large utility type ATVs are extremely heavy and when they come down on top of you are likely to break things. Things you really need. Things which won't heal. Ever.

For instance if you flip one while going up hill you're likely not going to be able to get off in time. You will essentially be in a regular seated position when you are smashed between the nearly 1000 pound ATV and the ground. The force magnified by the momentum of the ATV. Given that position you are very likely to break a lower vertebrae in your spine or an upper one. With that much force you stand a very good chance of severing the spinal cord or permanently damaging it. Doctors can't fix spinal cords.

If you get lucky and sever it down low you end up using catheters and colostomy bags the rest of your life and of course you walking days are over. Oh and you won't ever be having sex again since that stuff no longer has any feeling or function.

If you're not lucky and sever things up high you will either die at the scene as you suffocate to death as your body can no longer operate your lungs. If you're fortunate they get you to a hospital and they get you stabilized. Then you have to look forward to being stone dead from the neck down or so. You get to live life hooked up to a ventilator like superman while a family member or nurse takes care of you bodily functions, feeds you, puts you to bed etc.

My point is that while ATVs are fun and incredibly useful tools we must be careful on them especially in those situations which might involve the possibility of the ATV flipping over such as steep hills and steep terrain. It is also the reason why it is such a very bad idea to ride double on a machine not designed for it. It drastically increases the chance of a roll over and the passenger has little chance of getting clear of the machine and they're almost guaranteed a serious injury.

I've seen the results of ATV injuries first hand and they're not pleasant. if you're lucky it is just broken bones and things that will heal. If you're not it is paralysis, brain injuries and death.

Please, please be careful.

 

We had a thirteen year old killed on an atv July 4th weekend where we ride.Speed and gravel road.200 feet through air before he struck a tree..This weekend in Ohio where I live two young boys were killed racing on the highway (paved road) when they bumped each other.We need to police ourselves before before we are our all outlawed...

 

Broke my foot and was lucky that was all (flipped mine going up 'helicopter hill' in Alto, Tx. Thank God I had purchased insurance. It paid enough for a full replacement of my Sportsman.

 

i know that hill!!. just down to road from me "air one" flies out of there at least once a month

back on topic....my dad was riding with us the first time and we had borrowed another bike for him to ride on. he decided to try to do a fish tail and it didnt end pretty. tires caught and went straight while he was trying to finish the turn. chunked him about 10 feet and landed on the right side of his head and his toes. (think of the letter A) he flopped over and didnt move. talk about a scary feeling. took him about 30 minutes to finally come to. he was awake but sounded like a broken record "what happen? when did i do that? really?" ... five seconds later ..."what happen? when did i do that? really?"
he eventually got up and walked away from it...even rode the bike back to the trailer. scary scary

 

Get well soon, buddy. Take it easy. Breaking a femur is a nasty thing.

I'm a pretty conservative rider - the worst thing that has happened to me (only been quadding for a couple of years) is that a tree jumped out in front of me , twisted my Wolverine's front rack and bruised my ego. Fingers crossed.

 

Amen! We gotta know our limits........accidents happen, like hitting a hidden culvert or a rock that is covered in brush, but some like to intentionally push the envelope sometimes, and there's potential penalties, physically and for the ATV community as a whole. Have a lotta fun, ride safe.

 

A contractor was over this morning finishing up some work.....He told me about a good Canadian friend who died a couple weeks ago. The guy's intention was to ride his utility ATV down this bank, across a small creek and up the other side, as he'd done 10x before. Something went wrong this time.....Search and rescue found him pinned under the machine with his head underwater when the big rig rolled over on him. He was riding alone. They could see the tracks where he made it about 1/4 way to the top and it came back over on him. The muddy bottom didn't give him anything to push against, and he drown. Guy had a wife and a single child.

Strange thing was, I mentioned nothing about ATVs or riding. He just brought it up out of the blue, while moments earlier I was reviewing in my mind assorted dumb *** things I've done on ATVs and dirt bikes over the years.

I'm not advocating being some kind of panzy when you're out riding, but major "risk mitigation" is something everybody needs to keep in the front of their heads. The miscalculations can be so severe. It's easy to forgot that there's a lot more going on in your life than just you.