ATV Florida Forum

This article appeared today in the Ft Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.  We must be vigilant about these types of issues.  We are our own worst enemies when it comes to many of the issues brought up in this article.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-hlpatv09jul09,0,7472627.story?coll=sfla-news-front (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-hlpatv09jul09,0,7472627.story?coll=sfla-news-front)

I agree with most of the article, I think a kid under age 16 should be adult supervised and know what the atv can do and what he is capable of doing. I think there should be trainning courses, then hands on ride.

I am hoping I can get stewards of the land off road association involved with the process of trainning the kids on ATV safety and rules of the land we ride on. If you want to help out email stewards of the land off road association or found out more. Email: soloffroad4@aol.com

This is complete BULL$H!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This article is ridiculous, ever since that whole Durhamtown thing it seems like they are trying to ban ATV's..... This article shows that a majority of the Individuals that died were not experienced in the matter and obviously not wearing the proper gear.... I just ticks me off!!!! >:( :banghead.gif :cursing.gif :gh :F :gr

I will have to agree with this article. The chinese bikes are horrible pos, and nobody in their right mind should drive them. And I don't agree with Yamaha72. Even good riders can be careless sometimes, and that's when you'll get hurt. Everyone here has riden without a helmet or chest protecter one time or another, some people will end up riding without this gear aggressively and get hurt. As for driving 50mph before you can even drive.. you shouldn't need to. There already are governers on the small bikes designed for kids.

Well, your right about Chinese made ATVs they are piece
junk and i know they have alot more problems with maintaining them a lot.
But I have been reading  in the dirt wheels magazines since last year about theses Chinese four wheelers
how they can be a hassle to deal with.

There are  true that governers on all small mini ATVs for little onies
out there and I can understand they are concerned  safely on the Chinese atvs. :)

But,i will never buy thoses atvs at pepboyz in gainesville
and they look so cheap plastic parts and the engine and suspension looks so
cheap aluminum parts..Lol

I agree this is a load of crap.  It sound like the same old story when they banned the sale of 3 wheelers.  I was 14 or 15 when that happened.  I wrote to the CPSC to let them know what I thought of their idea.  They in return sent me a large document that listed all the reported accidents that involved 3-wheelers.  People falling off 100 ft cliffs, hitting automobiles while riding on paved roads, riding while drunk, trying to jump a ravine :banghead.gif , the list went on and on.  I bet 85 to 90% of the accidents could have been avoided had people just done what was stated in the owners manual and used common sense--Oh...wait that's not common anymore.

This can be a risky sport and accidents are bound to happen.  I ride a sport quad and I push the limits, but I'll be damned if I am going to blame the design of the ATV if I get hurt.  It is unfortunate when there is a complete disregard for personal safety and disrespect for the vehicle that it makes the headlines and causes a headache for the rest of us.  And as far as those idiots getting hurt or killed, its nature's way of trying to keep them breeding.

How do I feel about Pep Boys and the like selling any kind of ATV????  I wouldn't go to the Suzuki dealer to get a crankshaft for my truck!!  You're an auto parts store, stick to selling auto parts you F'n buttholes and let responsible bike shops sell ATVs.

All the chinese crap that keeps coming into this country is a whole subject of it's own that irritates the snot out of me. 

Be safe!!

did you notice how they only tested with the chinese bikes for the little kids, they should have bought the better japanese brands so it didn't seem like all youth atv's are going to fall apart and have their children hurt. Alot of people are raised around quads and know their limits, it's just the very limited amount of mentally unaware people who are dieing and giving the sport a bad name. i agree with the article on the fact that young children need to be surpervised and not let them jump on a quad that is way to powerful for their capabilities. like i'm 15years old and i ride a bombardier ds 650 and a blaster and both quads have tremendous amounts of power, i never see the need to do anything so stupid as to go as fast as you can over and over, i can understand doing this in a safe enviroment, but i would wear all my gear, not without a helmet or anything of that nature, i care to see the next day and ride that day to, as long as it's safe

That was me interviewed in the article. Alot of what was said as far as being a safe sport was not put in.Although what I said as far as it being a safe family sport did not get cut up.

I think the story was aiming at the Chinese Knockoffs not being required to uphold the same safety standards as the big 4-5 manufacturers.The Chinese came into effect after the main companys agreed to it.The stats seem to coincide with when the chinese started importing there low cost affordable knockoffs.More quads = more accidents. My girls ride Kawasaki 360 - 700 prairies.They may not be able to run out with some of the racers here but in the woods & mud they get er done!

Werner, I agree, this article must hav ebeen aimed at the offbrands. I swear no matter what article is in a newspaper people on here assume it is anti-atv. Almost everyone here will agree the Chinese brands are inferior to the major brands.

People, if it makes you so mad about articles like this write your editor of the newspaper and your politcal representitives. Stop complaining on this website and do something!

The article was about chinese bikes not using voluntary safety standards, not that ATVs aren't safe. Also on laws about using helmets, why not? Helmets should always be worn, and if you don't like wearing a helmet just don't wear a fullface one. Need to wear something to protect your skull though..

ive been to several riding areas and seen and been pulled out by 8-10 yearolds on big bikes.  they dont have the strength to hold on. when they fall off the bike could run over a by stander. not just bikes tho. anyone else go to semi annual in febuary and see the truck on fire? well a kid at most 9 years old almost ran over a fire fighter driving a chevy 1500?? cop there told him to go back to camp....im all for teaching your kids to drive and ride but be in the seat or next to them.

Some of the old timers here might recognize these friends in the article:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-atvb20060708214233,0,4528834.photo?coll=sfla-news-front (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-atvb20060708214233,0,4528834.photo?coll=sfla-news-front)

It's the Grizz and Mamma Grizz in the pictures!

nice catch Steve,,,,,what is up with the roof over Claude's quad?

has he gone soft ;-)

Id@

I hear a lot of negative thoughts on how ATV's hurt people.Like they say about guns, guns don't hurt people, people with guns hurt people.I think the idea here was Chinese bikes suck azz.But it somehow gets distorted to ATV wrecks in general.We all know that even the best riders get hurt.I wear all gear and still get scratched up and banged up.
  There will always be a large group that has something bad to say about quads.As long as us riders know the good and bad and deal with it, there will never be a stop to it.Let people talk sh_t...I will be having fun, they won't.
  We need to organize more group rides and start sending the pictures to the newspapers and show our numbers and ask for a more positive headline.Over time, It should do the trick.

The time to do it is now.  There are forces at work everywhere that are trying to destroy our sport.  I received a survey in the mail last week that asked numerous questions about Federal funding for our national parks and forests.  The real kicker is that the questions guided the reader through to an anti-OHV position by asking questions such as do we need more conservation, protect against damaging activities, keep noise levels down to prevent disrupting the natural activities of animals in the forest and finally, should the Federal government outlaw ATVs amd snowmobiles in our national parks and forests.  If we don't get involved, we are going to lose.  The time to act is now.  Go to MyFlorida.com and find out who your Congressmen are in your area and write a letter.  Be respectful but be clear.  Tell them you want your privilege to enjoy our state and national parks upheld; you are not as small a minority as the environmentalists would have them believe.  The environmentalists are waging a war against us.  We must fight back or we stand to lose it all.

Logger says - every kid should be trainned someone like adventure rider, on safety, and riding techniques. I am not discrediting the parents on teaching thier kids how to ride, that is not my intent, I think that is great. What I am saying it is always better to have both parents and kids attend a training course/safety for a different prespective on riding. Example: I was at big scrub the other day, I am in a vehicle ridiing down 573, my side of the road, on a blind corner, here comes 2 atv's and a motorcycle, going down 573 on my side of the road, headed toward me, I stopped wondering where I was going to go, thank goodness, they spotted me literally a foot before they vered off. The little kid was going all out hanging on for dear life.

If the training was for free or cheap (5.00/10.00) and located in your area, would you take the time to bring your kid to the safety/trainning session on a saturday?? morning??

Let's face it.... All of us in Florida have the same problem, no place to ride. How many of the accidents have happened in a designated riding area? A small percentage if any. So should we be blaming lack of parenting, cheap quads, or the fact that there just aren't enough places to ride? In my opinion if we had more places to ride, we would see a large drop in the amount of them.

growing up i played mostly 2 sports.. hockey and motorcross..guess which one sent me to the hospital the most?? i agree alot with the artical about the chinesse atvs. my 4yr old rides a sunl 70 and 9yr old rides a 110cc.. as far as quality goes they are good for chinesse atvs but i have to work on them alot and pre-check them every time i take them out riding. but i looked at the cost and time they would spend on them before progressing to larger atvs so thats why i bought them.. i agree with *just* about the lack of riding areas contributing to the rise in accidents. i just seen my favorite riding area be banned by the north port commisioners last night.. boaters have the coast guard aux. to teach safe boating..why doesnt the FWC have an auxillary to teach safe riding and how to tread lightly in the woods??

ok..not gonna be the last one on the thread again..BUMP