ATV Florida Forum

If you are on a practice track & someone crashes into you, what should you expect? Should they be obligated to pay for your damage or does the old "ride at your own risk" cliche come into play & just suck it up & pay the price to fix your own rig?
The reason I ask is, my son (8yr old)was riding the kids practice track at croom yesterday & some parents brought their children out there on the little ebay chinese quads. The kids were obviousley new to riding. This boy about6-7 yrs old starts chasing my son on the DRX around the track, then the kid cuts through the center to get in front of my son, on that lap my boy went for the pass on outside & then the kid just locks up the brakes & turns right, right in front of my son. My boy was able to save the quad from a wreck which really made me proud, his skills are beyond his age thank God. The parents started looking at me like it was our fault, but it was clearly inexperience on their boys part. I waved to them, gave the "ok" sign, nodded & we left the area. No damage thanks to some quick thinking.

Ride at your own risk is the way I see it unless a fight were to  escalate on the track.
Especially if it's kids ridin ..... accidents happen even if one is wreckless.
Its all in days ride .
Let the kids have fun even if you're seeing repair bill$$ coming. :'(

My kid has been run over and he has ran over his share of kids. He is 9 and has 4 years on 2 wheel and 4 wheelers. Its all part of the sport. lets just hope they can all walk away.

I would expect that if you were on a race track (like Dade City) it would be at risk and you would be responsible for fixing your own quad no matter who was at fault.  While riding at Croom or ONF I can see it both ways depending on the level of negligence.   If I was parked under a tree or in the parking area and someone rode into me I would expect them to pay for damages to my quad.  If we were racing around the trails together I would not expect them to pay.

This was at croom & it was in the practice area for kids only. How would you all feel if it were a $400 quad doing major damage to a brand new $3,000.00 quad & again it was total inexperience on the other kids part? I am just wondering, not trying to stir anything up & again no damage was done. It was just a weird feeling when these people started looking at me since my son was the fastest out there it seemed. We took the high road & left it to them to learn on.

you set a better example for your son then i wouldve.
if the other parents had total disregard for the safety of their child as well as others i wouldve been the one looking at them with an"evil" face.(to say the least)

but i do believe you did the right thing by packing up and leaving. who knows what it couldve escalated to if you hadnt.

I was there on saturday with my son, I know pratice area where you're talking about. The kids love that oval track. It's unfortunant that your son almost wrecked. On that track alot of young kids out for the first time and accidents may happen. Your almost safer on the trails. My kid was board on the trails then I put him out there and I couldn't get him to leave.

It is a cool little oval to wind out a 2stroke. Also it is the only flat area in all of croom as well, some of the whoops in the trails are nearly 3 feet deep. I look at it as a little experience in "what to watch for when riding with others in a race type situation" & he came thru just fine so he actually was listening at "dads quad school". ;)

well I think if its a small kids only practice track there should be no passing or racing.Its for
kids that are new to the atv sport. Not atv racing all parents should school there kids and  stay at
the area and watch!! Not be at camp site. If there is a wreck everyone check to see if kids are ok!Help others get up ??!! IF not done by foolishness no one pays.  ;)

I look at it as if someone obviously ran right into me or was clearly at fault, you should mention the cost of the damage, and see if they would be willing to cover the costs, but you also have to look at it as accidents happen. It goes both ways with this one.

                                                                                                          It should'nt matter if it's a $400.00 quad or not or if the other kid was inexperienced. That's why it's a track for kids not adults.Some people can only afford a $400.00 quad. You can't control someone elses kid or the amount of experience they have. One could have the argument that your kid was to experienced and should'nt have been going so fast on the track with kids not as experienced as him.I don't agree with that either but I could see that standpoint to. I think it should be ride at your own risk and expense or ride in some open field some where if someone is that worried about getting their quad damaged.

I have to go with Bluesman on this one.  When we were at Croom last year, the kids from our group were riding in the practice area along with a half-dozen or so others.  Two kids showed up on race-prepped Polaris 90's and started riding like they were running for a national title.  They eventually forced the majority of the kids off the track.  Thankfully, their parents finally showed up and shoo-ed them out of there and took them out to the woods where they belonged.  It is a kid's area but you have to take in consideration the experience of the other kids, not just for their safety, but your child as well.  That track is meant for the kids that are too small or inexperienced to tackle the woods.  If your kid is riding well above the skill level of the others, take him aside and tell him to cool down a bit or take him out to the woods where he can really hone his skills.  That's what I did with my son that week.  

Ride at your own risk. We can't start punishing parents for having inexperianced children. Kids need to learn somewhere. We also can't punish other kids for being too experianced either. Technically, it's not a "track" anyway. Just a practice area for kids 12 an under. Experiance.....or the lack of.....is not a requirement for that area. Only the age is. Regardless, the parents need to be on hand at all times. No excuses. If you see someones child or your own being reckless, ask the parents to "please" handle the situation. If it's your kid, handle it yourself. Either way, i say "RIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK"

Bluesman, Diggin .....you nailed this one. Know what your kids riding level is  and put them in the setting they need to be in.

Cableguy, you are right, I shoulnt have posted prices. That takes a negative turn. We were the only one in the practice area at first, then the other boy showed up trying to keep up. My son dont race he just rides a lot on our property & I spend a LOT of time up close & personal with him to help him understand how bad things can turn in a heartbeat & teaching body english. I now beleive it has paid off, not only did he avoid the crash, but he didnt try to start anything over it, we both left the area as we realized the lesser experienced kids were showing up. I appreciate all the input on this because I asked myself on the way home what would I have done if there was a crash with damage? I guess the situation would have to present itself for the actual answer. If the other kids dad who was clearly at fault goes off on me, the high road may get less traveled, but I tend to see the ride at your own risk as a 2 way street.

   Opinions vary , until it happens to you.When I teach my kids to ride, they also learn to pay the penalty.If I ran into someone, I would still have the same etiquette as if I were driving a car.You can't just blow off damages to someone's ride if your at fault, or your kids are.
   If someone totals your kids quad, would you just be like,"OK, that's another accident."I don't think so.I pay for my rides and repairs.Everyone knows it's not cheap.
  If you teach your kids not to be responsible for what they do, how will they grow up.Just like you wouldn't let someone ride your quad and crash and let them walk away without repairing it. Riding at your own risk is a cop out if you ask me.
   If your kid runs into mine and does damage, and you think they shouldn't have to pay for damages...don't be upset when all hell breaks out and my kid jumps on yours.Because I know your kid would be very upset if his or her ride get's totalled by someone else.
   That's riding etiquette...ride right, or don't ride!!

if im riding with anybody and cause damage to their quad i offer to pay to fix it! if they decline then that was their choice. if it was truley an accident then i say to make sure everyone is ok and chalk it up to fun.

What if you cause the wreck indirectly? I was at durhamtown on the trails and someone told me you left cookies with Paul. I had to get back to Paul's cabin very fast and hit a tree. Can you send me a check for the repairs? j/k


greenmachine, you did the right thing. but I think it is more of a ride at your own risk deal. if the kid had sights on your kids and aimed for him and hit him, then I would expect them to pay for it, but just riding and racing, your gonna wreck and tear up your stuff.

I was cleaning out my glove box and came across a brochure from Croom I received last April.  The brochure clearly states that the practice area is for inexperienced kids only and explicitly excludes experienced riders within that age group.  So there you have it.  Your kid (and mine, as well) should not have been in there with lesser experienced children.  Push comes to shove, you might actually be responsible due to the fact your experienced rider was breaking the rules for being there in the first place.

For that to hold water, it would have to be posted, or when I purchased our stickers 2 weeks ago, I should've been given a copy of it, but I wasnt given anything but a green sticker, not even a receipt for my cash. I'm not bitchin' just merely asking how most view the situation, I am not into confrontations with people, but had there been damage, I would have made it known in a polite way that the right thing to do is pay up. I can assure you I wouldnt have called the cops or punched the guy.The kid was hauling azz, so experience or not is in the eye of the beholder. The really inexperienced kids were stuck in 1st gear or with rev limiters, this kid was moving along. Once more, when I let my son in there it was empty, this boy saw him & wanted some action & he got it, then he cheated by cutting the center & slamming the brakes in front of my boy. No harm no foul. Thanks for all the different input.

   I would ask for money for repairs politely.If they say no, then I would just run my quad into the side of their truck and say,"Oops, it was an accident!!"