ATV Florida Forum

There is a thread about a girl named Sam who recently had a bad wreck and lost some teeth. I am wondering what might have happened? Did the handle bars come up into her chin and make her chomp down had enough to break teeth? Could a mouth piece be effective at that point?

Handle bars are probably the most dangers parts on your quad or bike. A friend of mine lost his life do to the end of the handle bar penetrating his temple. Some of you might know him  Randy Howard great rider and person. It was a simple accident were the quad rolled over him. I think Bob Sloan died do to the handle bars penetrating his chest after hitting a tree too.
Remember during a crash to get as far away from the quad as possible. BAIL!!!  ;)

I agree with Eric, handlebars are the most dangerous thing on a bike or quad.  But, I don't think a mouth guard would have helped in Sam's case.  We think the handle bar got between her and the helmet.  Kinda of a weird thing to happen because that is such a small space.  Her teeth weren't broke, they were whole, but out of her jaw.  Her braces held them in her mouth.  Now that we've had a chance to look at the helmet and her injuries that makes the most sense. 
But, I remember seeing a company in GA. that made a chin guard.  I think it was called locked jaw.  I'm looking into it as we will have one on her if she rides again. 

I will say one more thing about safety equipment tho, if you don't have a leatt-brace on your child or yourself, you should really look into getting one.  I know they are expensive, but it's well worth it.  When I got to the hospital, I could see a red line around Sam's collar bone where the brace had compressed. We could be dealing with a whole different situation if it hadn't been for the neck brace.   

I remember him(Randy).  BIG Dave does also. I tell my closest riding buddies about him and his accident.
He had such an awesome riding style that I wanted to ride just like him. He is missed for sure.

 - Dan

BAIL!! its the safest way to keep from getting hurt.  8)

This is a sport that we all know that when we sit down there is the possibility of something happening.
The best safty measure that one can take is 1st to know their limitations. 2nd, Get your hands on all the safty gear that you can.  It may cost some money now but may save you alot in the end.

yes it may cost alot of money but i would rather pay it, than get an injury or worse and have the money.

The best peice of safety equipment is our mind.We see alot of riders who are getting faster on the bike but not in their heads and this is the reason that we as parents/helpers/friends need to make sure that we keep their minds ready for any possible situation we can prepare them for...and if it has already been said it needs to be 100 more times-GET A LEATT DEVICE_IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!