Be careful!!!!

[Chuck Mallory]

Me and my friend were riding yesterday afternoon. We were going down this old 2 track driveway (fast) and he was about 100 yrds. ahead of me. When i came around the corner i had seen that he had ran into a van that was coming down the 2track very fast also. He swirved so it only hit the back side of the atv, but it did hit his shoulder and had to go to the doctor, and tore the atv up pretty good. Didnt have a helmet on either!!
Just shows that you have to be really carefull when riding these machines!! And wear your helmet cause it can save your life!!

SAFE RIDIN!!!

[Kazoo]

Chuck,

Great story. We should all probably post close calls we've seen to educate and remind us of how easily you can literally get killed out for a Sunday ride. I also recommend having your children take an ASI certified training class through groups such as the Michigan ATV assoc.(MATVA) who actually have a traveling trailer with quads for educational purposes. Gentleman that runs the program is very dedicated and serious about keeping the sport safe through our kids(adults also). Read a post on another forum re: an (I'll call him) idiot who was complaining about an older guy (who wasn't keeping up) that rolled his utility quad 3 or 4 times(ER trip) and how he'd never ride with 'these type' of riders again! He's got a DS650 and he's got his 12-year old son on a 660R Raptor! Hey, this is America, if you don't care about little kids on high-powered sport machines or who wraps their quad around a tree in the middle of nowhere,fine. I can guarantee though that these statisitics(and this kid has a good chance of being one of them) are what will ruin this sport in the end. Ride safe and spread the word.

[Steve]

I have learned my lessons the hard way and now proceed throught the woods very carefully and not with reckless abandon. You are out there to enjoy yourself. How much are you going to enjoy being paralized or crippled for the rest of your life?

[Kazoo]

Agreed, two things that seem to happen most often: 1) start to lose your concentration and kind of 'laa de daah' through the woods on the account of the automatic trannies/fantastic suspensions that give us so much comfort.(next thing you know your off the trail or smacked by a branch) and 2) My girlfriend rides ahead of me so I can keep an eye on and communicate with her (headsets). How do you really teach someone about others coming the other way hell bent for election?A good portion of trail riding is blind turns, rearview mirrors and a good scare once in a while.

[Tom222]

Kazoo, Fortunately we live in a country where we can sue the stuffing out of the manufacturer of the ATV for our stupidity. When dealing with these people with more "stones" than brains, it's ussually what happens.
Life is short. Play carefully!

[DoubleBoss]

My wife did the same thing two years ago. Came around a corner a t a decent clip only to be met head on by a drunken old fool who hadn't the sense to steer to the right side away from my wife, but instead slams on his brakes sliding further into the apex of the corner. My wife just missed him by cramming it into a small bush. This resulted in her back wheel hitting his alum. running board and putting a 1/4 " dent in it. The guy then proceeded to cuss us out for riding on the trail (legal) and "ruining" his floorboard. Never a word to my wife if she was OK (fine, but scared), or an apology for being on the wrong side of the trail. I got her out of harms way,and tried to "reason" with him, but drunk morons obviously can't.... he wanted to fight with me, helmet and all...
Anyway, it really slowed my wife down. I ride follow up like you Kazoo (headsets too), mainly , for the dust. When hte trails aren't dusty I take point. Also we always run lights on, much easier to pick up on the flashes of light than colored plastic.
As for the helmets, my step brother's comment is " You don't like your face?" Fullface helmets always...

[Kazoo]

DoubleBoss,
Lights on and fullface helmets should be standard practice, agreed. By the way, we also need to have more people join their local club and get involved in trail maintenance programs. The DNR will close any trail that is not propoerly maintained until the work is done. They do not maintain the trails or keep up with the signage that keeps us all going in the right direction.