ATV Florida Forum

A 24 year old man died Sunday in Hudson after running through a stop sign and got hit. Article in Pasco section of St. Pete Times online. Does anyone know him?

No I don't know him.  Very sad when someone dies so young.
 

i  saw a 15 year old kid race by my house on a dirtbike. sure enough 10 minutes later heard sirens. kid ran a stop sign into the side of an suv. when i got there the kid was on the floor and the paramedics werent working him. a couple minutes later the yellow blanket was placed over him. kid lost his life on htat corner. i'll never forget that day.

People do some dumb crap sometimes guys. Have you noticed that someone can ride an atv in a safe manner. WHY do they have to run the darned stop sign.  crap it pisses me off. The damn stop sign!!!!!   [smiley=banghead.gif]

i take alot of kids from myneighborhood riding with me. i only have one rule. dont pass me. if you pass me your going to fast.

Thats good enough for me Gery.
Why the DAMN stop sign running !!!!
That guy would be home now if it was'nt for that dumb azz stuff he pulled.

i agree.

When you're 15 you think you're invincible but by 24 you should know better.  It's a shame but there is some truth to Darwin's theory.

I'm 16 and I know not to run stop signs.

I get really sick of people bring bad attention to atvs by doing stupid things. And dont get me wrong I fell bad for the person and the persons family.

It may have been a dumb decision but it is still sad.  :-[

It just makes the rest of us look bad, gives them another reason to try to ban ATV's.

I really don't see why it would make us all look bad...

Some guy runs a stop sign and gets creeemed. We don't have to pay for it !!!!!

My bike does'nt know whats its like to run on asphault.

We have to stop blaming ourselfs for other morons dumb mistakes.

hey dad, wanna no sumtin really bad...... it was that kids birthday, his parents got him that bike as a present

ya i iknow his mom had just bought it for him.

I am saying in the eyes of the media it is bad for us. Just like however the story about ATV's causing brush fires got started. The media makes it look like they are dangerous and the people don't obey the laws on them. Blame it on tv.

It was his parents job to make sure he knew how to ride it propertly. Especially to obey traffice control devices. Evevn if he was going to break the law anyway.no one wants to see such a young life taken away. RIP

its not like w'ere draft dodging, womanizing, pot smokers.
oh wait thats a presidents characteristics.

In my opinion if your caught riding illegally they should take you quad. After your second DUI F.H.P will take your car and sell it. Hell it might give people who are willing to enjoy these machines we ride a chance to own one at an auction.And the new owner might own it responsibly.

That happened about a mile and a half away from my house and it very unfortunet not just because the guy lost his life but also because the cops have been giving us such a hard time as it is and now something like this happens. They are really going to be hard on us now. I dont think I know who it was but without a picture it is hard to tell. I just wish people would be more careful and not ruin every other atv rider's reputation by making dumb mistakes.

And although some cops might ride they also have to feed there families and they have a job to do. This kinda stuff is'nt gonna get any easier.

Very well said MX. People have to understand that the public will ask why could'nt the police stop him before he ran the stop sign. Where was the police...
Its not the police's job to teach people not to run stop signs and not to drive recklessly.That is why the cops are going to be hard on the atv rider cuz there getting there AZZEZ chewed out by the supervisors Because now they have to show stats that say that there are doing something to prevent this from happening again showing that the police is making atv related arrests and atv related citations.
SH&T rolls down hill folks.

I don't feel bad for either of them, they did it to themselves.

Unfortunately, CAOSPOP is right. As tragic events like this occur, the public demands more enforcement. That citizen who normally wouldn't call in an ATV complaint now will, generating more pressure to step up enforcement. In most cases if your stopped on public roads in areas of Palm Beach County patrolled by deputies, you will be issued a citation and your quad will be towed to your residence or to the tow company's storage lot. The reason for the tow, is the ATV can't be legally ridden from the scene. Once stopped, some liability rests on the Police/Sheriff if you are allowed to continue riding and you are involved in a crash between the time of the stop and the time you reach your residence. As for the media, they seem to home in on tragic, negative events. The ideal situation is not to provide them anything to write about.

hey pbso good to hear from ya. thought you had given up on us. i'm guessing its the discretion of the officer to give you a warning or go all out. i got stopped by hialeah yesterday and the cop was cool. he gave me a arning and actually showed a legitimate concern for our riding areas.
(ruined our day of riding but i guess it could of been worse)

I rest my case.

Gery You were riding in hialeah !!!!! My god tell me tell me

That's kind of brutal man, havent' you ever done somthing not quite right but got away with it? The guy was going ridin' and screwed up, that don't mean he was stupid deserved to die. How could you not feel bad for them and their families. ???

thats tru man, dats really cold. we've all done stupid things and get away with it, i kno i have. but no ones diserves to die, not even your greatest enemy(<----think i spelled it wrong). thats my .02cents. chris aka speedman

Thats why they call them ORV,I feel there is A time & place to ride.I live in A area that I can't just hop on my quad and ride it anytime I please.I know that sucks but I'm willing to live with that.I belive in the laws that they set for us,like no riding ORVs on roadways it may sound dumb but if you think about it it's for our own safety.Please don't get me wrong I feel real sorry for the family to loose A loved one.But I can't stop thinking that if he wasn't on the road he wounld't of ran A stop sign,and been stuck by A car.And lost his life.
To I agree that we do stuff without thinking. Or that we don't take the time to think before our actions.Please let this be A reminder for us before we hop on our quads,dirtbikes,or even our cars,etc;and take it around the block.Or even riding on the trails.And ask yourself.I'm I riding as safe as I can?Do I have my helmet,chest protector,boots on?And A big question. Do I want to leave my love ones behind?Or become A burden to someone because I can't take care of my self  anymore?
Some of you might think I'm rambling on,but I can't even think about not being able to take care of my family because of my foolishness.
The're are risks in the sport that we all love & enjoy.But A lot of those risk can be eliminated by taking A few seconds to think what we are about to do.

So let all of us be safe and enjoy this sport for as long as we can!

No disrespect towards there family in any way, but if they're going to illegally ride, at least do it safe. Running stop signs ON the street doesn't sound like the kind of guy who should have been riding an ATV. Harsh or not they killed themselves. Now if they were to get killed at a MX track, or a designated riding area, then I'd feel bad and have some greef.

In the case of the man in Hudson he was not illegally riding. He was on a private dirt road and only crossing the paved road, his only mistake was not stopping before crossing. He was also wearing a helmet which doesn't make much difference when you get hit by a car.

Crossing the paved road is the same as operating on it....Unlawful. Vehicular traffic and ATVs don't mix. The safe and legal solution is to push the ATV across the public roads, then continue riding. If a rider can't push the ATV across a road, the ATV is to big, or the rider is to small.

caospop- it was the new annexed area where white rock is close to okeechobbe road. the dirt road(97thave) now is considered a public numbered roadway. its funny cuse i saw the cop and didnt think much of it. they always waived and we went on. but this time they said the landowners are complaining so we cant ride there anymore. (well at least for now) he was cool he just gave me a warning.

i do nt know about pushing your bike but i guess you have to slow down sometimes

i dont ride my atv on roads but i do cross them to get to the place that i ride at but i know alot of kids that do and its not safe but there is no place for us to ride but that still dosnt give us the right to ride on the streats my dad is a cop and he tells me all the time about how many kids get hurt. also i herd from a friend i dont know if its true or not but a cop cant chash you if you runis that true my dad said he have never herd that but then i asked a homstead cop and he said it was true

Rancher, Agencies have different pursuit policies. When we activate our lights/siren to stop someone and they flee, we only follow long enough to get a good vehicle/rider description. That's radioed in so a perimeter can be set up and the helicopter knows what to look for. At the moment a rider flees, they've just commited a felony. When caught, the ATV/dirtbike is seized as a forfeiture and the rider is jailed, charged with FSS 316.1935 (2) or (3).

That is why you never run from the police. i have been stopped numerous times on my quad. i have never ran from the cops and i always treat them with the utmost respect and they always seem to agree with me when i tell them our side of the story(no place to ride legally and so forth). they have always let me off with a warning. i am not talking about riding on the street, i am pretty sure that they wouldn't care what your excuse is about riding on the street. remember they are doing thier jobs out there.

i have yet to run into an ahole cop.(dont get me wrong i know they're out there). from my experience they've all been cool. under certain circumstance i may run but i doubt it because i ALWAYS ride with my son and there is no way i will put him in harms way. god forbid we take off at a high rate of speed and he eats it and gets injured i could not live with myself. i'll take the ticket or loss of bike over loss of life anyday.

i ride to the hump all the time from my house  could i get a tickrt for riding on the grass on the side of the road slow like 2nd gear  on a rancher

how many times have you done it and how many times have you gotten a ticket?

at lest 2 times a weekend  and i have gotin stoped only 1 on x mas day

Unfortunately, the sides of the roads, also know as right-of-ways, are also unlawful to ride on, as are sidewalks. Private property, private roads and sanctioned areas are the only lawful places an ATV can be operated.

I live in n. eastern sara co. and I USED to ride down the road. But when we started having probs w/ kids PASSING cars on the road I stopped . The kids still ride recklessly and sometimes they get caught. If we abuse our "privledges" legal or not, we all pay. I liked riding to my friends house and down to the river, but no more. If I do go riding, I trailer my bike down to the neighbors trying to set an example.  

I used to think ORVs were fun, but everytime I turn around somone is screwing it up. MAYBE they should get more restrictions on bikes. maybe they should get banned from more places. I know most of us in this site are responable riders. AND I know that a few bad apples are ruining the bunch. AND the many ARE paying for the crimes of a few. But until we can control or get rid of those few it will only get worse.

I know I'll catch heck for this but it doesn't seem to be another alternative. HOW do you stop people from blatantly breaking the law in spite of warnings, fines, and seisures .