ATV Florida Forum

  Just saw it on 8 one with 2 girls 12 and 13 one was killed , hit a tree in Tampa area...other in tampabay also , a man hit a vehicle with the Atv crossing a street............. ???

I can't believe all of the accidents lately involving ATVs. Especially around the Tampa Bay area.

That doesnt help our cause does it. But it does prove we need managed legal accessable trails. Maybe the familys can sue the state to have a manged trail system. Wonder if they were wearing safety gear.

I totally agree with you. We need more areas to ride our ATVs. Maybe the big guns will soon realize we need more areas to ride such a vehicle. I doubt that they were wearing helments or any gear at all.

I believe that the crash involving 2 girls was in Hernando, although they reside in Tampa.  I was wondering if this happened at croom or not. 

Although this is tragic.. Dont let it get to you too much. people die on bicycles, cars and small airplanes and you dont see anyone banning them.

Here is a article about it http://www.hernandotoday.com/news/MGBYQLKFSQE.html

 

Good point.  Don't get me wrong, I hate to see anyone hurt and when we ride, I am concerned about my son's saftey, absolutely.  But I am sometimes more concerned about him riding his bike on the sidewalk, than the ATV.  Why, because of all the idiots with driver licenses.

Another that I don't get, (don't get me wrong not against dirt bikes :)) but to me, dirt bikes appear to be harder to contol than ATV's and I don't hear them getting as much crap that we do about ATV's.

I read the article, it states that the one girl for sure was injured, but apparently is still alive.  The thing that I don't get, why were there TWO kids on one ATV.  I am sorry, but I have seen others do this where I ride and that is dangerous.  Especially considering the size, a smaller ATV with TWO riders is very hard to control. 

In closing, I do pray for a full recovery and let this serve as a reminder about the dangers of two on one ATV, especially when it comes to kids. 

I'm noticing a lot of these accidents that are being reported have some common denominators:

1) Improper safety gear (Helmet, Boots, etc)
2) Underage riders.
3) Riding two at a time.

I've had some hellacious crashes at the track, but never any serious injuries, and I've been riding for about 20 years now. I attribute that to the fact that when I ride hard and aggressively, I wear the proper gear, and I was taught to ride by people with motocross experience when I was very young.


I have to ask though, with these kids getting injured...where are the parents? Don't parents have a responsibility to train their children in safe riding habits?

At the very least, have children take a safety course, and be sure to enforce the rules.

I think ATV's get a bad rap because it's easy to blame ATV's, but when you start questioning parenting skills, it creates backlash. Sometimes I ride at a place and I see kids riding two and three at a time on 1 ATV. THAT'S A HUGE NO! NO! Simply because the operator can't control the momentum created by the passenger's weight shift.  Yet, I see it time and time again.

But is it my place to tell someone how to raise their kids and manage their actions? I think we need to start holding the parents accountable for their negligence.

Sad to say i see this kind of stuff almost everyday next door to me.Kids riding a atv way to big for them with no helmets,riding it on the road ,sometimes three at a time on it racing around their yard.Seen them one time with all three on it stand it straight up and throw all three off,luckly it stayed on the back rack and didn't come down on all three of them.Hardly ever see the parents outside watching them.Bless the stupidity you have to watch!!

I was ready to craft a well-thought out letter to the Consumer Protection Agency referenced in the thread regarding speed limits for kids under 16.  You read something like this and maybe it's not such a bad idea.  I still think 15 mph is too slow for the 12-15 group but that's right where these kids were.  The worst part is the parents will not blame themselves, they will blame (i.e. sue) the manufacturer and the owner of the land the kids were probably trespassing on.  Sad to see how many people can't look in the mirror and see things for how they really are.

Diggin:

I don't think an imposed speed limit is the answer.


Why punish the kids who ride responsibly for the knucklheaded carelessness of others.

Besides who would inforce it?

The answer is proper training in riding skills, mandatory protective gear, and Single Riders only...no tandem or triple riding.

I agree that in order to legislate common sense, you punish those who are responsible.  That was going to be the essence of my letter to the CPA.  My point, and theirs I suppose, is that if you can't get them to pay attention then make the ATVs so slow they can't hurt themselves.  It's a flawed theory from the perspective of responsible riders but for the insurance companies and politicians, it works.

I know this is kind of late, but I just found out the teen girl that tragically died went to school with my son.

He didn't know her because he just moved, but a lot of the other kids did and were very saddened by it all.

It's a small world.

He spent the weekend with me and wore his boots and helmet all the time, without a problem.

My prayers go out to the family.

The thing here is, don't freeking ride fast with a person on the back. Second, I'm sure the vehicle hit the ATV, not the ATV hit the vehicle. Seriously, crossing the road you think you could actually hit a car with your atv, or would end up getting hit by the car?