ATV Accidents

[Phorester]

Jeff's excellent summary of his trip to his property and the resulting forest management plan by Ron has a picture that reminded me of a sometimes unanticipated problem with our ATVs.

His ATV setup with the sprayer on the back creates a potential problem due to the much higher center of gravity on the back of it.  When the tank is full of water and chemical, that's a lot of extra weight carried high, and located on a very short wheel base for support. Look at how much easier it would be to tip this thing over backwards if you were going up a slope than if the spray rig was not there.  Now, if you fat fellers are thinking, well my weight will balance that out........., not so.  With all this weight directly over the back wheels, they become a pivot point when you're going uphill, and it will flip.

This happened to me 5 years ago and resulted in a serious accident.  My ATV had been set up with a seeder on the back, that held probably 30 pounds of seed about 3 feet above the back wheels.  I had also tied the remainder of the 50-pound bag of seed to the front cargo rack.  We had had a mountain forest fire the year before, and were re-habing the firelines. I was going up a fireline to seed it.  On a steep portion, the ATV flipped backwards end-over-end, and continued flipping down the mountain about 50 feet, taking me with it. I had bungy-corded a rake next to my right leg from the rear cargo rack to the front one, and that rake held my leg in place so I couldn't jump off the darn thing.

My right femoral neck was broken into 7 or 8 pieces.  That's the short bone that goes from the top of the leg bone into the hip socket. I now have a steel pin and plate in that hip joint to hold it all together, and wound up with 4 months off work,  2 months of half-days after that,  one year of light duty after that, 8 months of physical therapy, lingering, low grade pain and sleepless nights for about 3 years after that. The surgeons couldn't get my right leg lined up properly with my body, so it's now permanently out of alignment and I have problems with walking and climbing.  Not enough to keep me from most of my job or doing most things, but I can no longer run or jump, backpack, bowl, etc.  I have trouble climbing over anything; tailgates, fences, etc. 

While taking physical therapy one day, a friend of mine who is an insurance adjustor told me that ATV accidents had become the number one personal accident reported to insurance companies in Virginia.

Not condemning Jeff's setup at all, just saying to be aware of the difference in weight distribution it creates.   Just be careful.  These things quickly become dangerous if you let them.

[Jeff]

Ouch!  I sure can see where a high center of gravity would be a problem now that you mention it. I'm pretty safe as there I am at is flat flat flat.  In my picture, the sprayer is even higher due to one thing. I'm lazy.  The back box is bolted on, and I didnt want to remove it and then have to put it back. Now that I have read this post, if I know I am ever going to be in rough terrain, I certainly wont stack weight.

[Timburr]

An easy remedy in that scenario is to fit 'anti-wheelie' bars, similar to those fitted to dragsters.

[sawguy21]

I doubt they would be practical on rough terrain. This is a common problem with the so called 'buddy seats' as well. Two up atv's are illegal in the U.S so the seats are offered by after market manufacturers as a place for the driver to sit up and stretch out after riding.
Yea right ;D My buddy's kids, both over weight young adults, escaped serious injury when the machine flipped on a hill

[stonebroke]

The trick is to be aware that atvs are deadly machines, just like chainsaws. Every move you make with one you should think about first and if you think there might even be a question about what you want to do don't do it. Life is precious.  Do not get complacent and think you are a expert or  it might kill you. The new atvs are a lot heavier and much harder to manhandle. When they roll you canot get out from under them.

Stonebroke

[beenthere]

Phorester
Thanks for the heads-up on this. Having just found one hanging around my place, I am concerned over places l might go, and in similar situations as what you describe.

One main concern is how quick and responsive the reaction of this ATV is to a slight touch on the accelerator. I'd like to dampen that someway, as the jack-rabbit starts are sometimes breath-taking, but I don't really need that excitement for my riding.

Burlkraft and I both wondered why they don't have the twist handgrip accelerator, like motorcycles. Seems much easier to control - In our opinion.

Shifting down to low-low and manual shift instead of auto shift seems helpful.

[Reddog]

Burlkraft and I both wondered why they don't have the twist handgrip accelerator, like motorcycles. Seems much easier to control - In our opinion.

The reason they don't is the same as snowmobiles. Twist grips freeze to easy, and that could leave you in  a fully thottle spot.
Ask any dirt bike rider that likes to push the season or ice races, most have had it happen.

[Mooseherder]

My Thumb trottle lever has alot of spring resistance and kinda wears out the thumb when it goes numb on long distance runs. They sell Trottle extenders that Tie Wrap to the lever that are plyable thin metal wrapped in rubber. You mold it to your liking. The extra leverage allows you to palm the trottle on straight runs and rest your thumb. This doesn't make trottle response safer, but the moment your hand is off that cable springs back big time.  Had I known before ordering this thing went on with 2 tie straps, I would have made my own. You will get used to your machine and it's limits as time goes on. Our machines are 50/50 work and play, cause life shouldn't always be about working.  :D  The scenery and wildlife on the trail make it all worth it. We saw a Black Bear crossing on the trail because we were leading the group last week.  I prefer to take my chances on an ATV instead of being with the idiots on I-95. ;D

[Dave Shepard]

I have a 26 gallon sprayer for my Rincon, I only filled it up once, now I do about a half tank. I knew there was something amiss when I couldn't steer on flat ground. The pastures where I spray can be hilly. A full tank is over 200 pounds of water. I been thrown off of my Rincon, and had it land on top of me before, it isn't fun.


Dave

[Wudman]

We have a Yamaha Grizzly with a 15 gallon tank mounted on the rear rack.  It is used on a prescribed burning crew.  It definately makes the machine top heavy.  I have turned it over more than once myself.  Once was backwards when crossing a water bar on steep slope.  When it started over, I bailed off.  The machine landed flat on the handle bars with four wheels in the air.

Slide slopes are just as much of an issue.  Its probably been turned over a half dozen times in that manner.  I was traversing a side slope one day when I ran it up on a stump covered by grass.  I was at crawling speed at the time.  The machine threw me to the downhill side and I was scrambling to get away from it.  I managed to get out of its path, but it rolled over 4 times before coming to rest against a tree.  I'll give Yamaha credit where it is due.  They build some tough machines.  I set it back up and went on back to the truck.  I walked the rest of that day. 

Wudman 

[Phorester]

Two problems that contrbuted to my accident. First, I was not used to all that weight on my ATV.  I had driven it on slopes just as steep or steeper, but that day I had all that extra weight with the full grass seeder on back and the 20+ pounds of grass seed on the front rack I was not used to.  I didn't realize how top-heavy it was.

Second, and most important I think, was the fire rake I had bungy-corded next to my right leg. I had strapped it down to the rear and front cargo racks on that side.  When I attemped to bail off the thing on the first roll, that rake held me in place.  If it had not been there, I could have jumped off and let the ATV go down the hill by itself.

Learn from my mistakes. Don't put anything on an ATV that will inhibit you getting off of it.  Be aware that putting any amount of weight on top of one will move the center of gravity higher, making it easier to roll.

And, like WUDMAN, after getting me in a stokes basket and carried off the mountain, one of the guys uprighted my machine, started it right up, and drove it back to the truck.  He said that even the grass seeder wasn't damaged.  >:(

[rebocardo]

Yea, I thought about an ATV before, more because two of my kids want to ride them, the more I read the less I think about it.

[Phorester]

RECARBO, more food for thought. 
There was an 11 year old boy crushed to death up the road from me in WV a few years ago when the ATV he was riding rolled over on him.  His young chest was not strong enough to support the weight like an adult chest is.

The next morning after my hip surgery from my accident, the partner of the surgeon who had done my surgery came in and sat down on the sofa in my hospital room. He was exhausted from all night surgery.  He finally looked up at me and said, you had a 4-wheeler accident, right?  Yep.  He then said he had been operating on the leg of a 9 year old boy who had taken the family ATV on a ride around the farm the evening before, not telling anybody about it.  He had rolled the ATV in a ditch and it had mangled his leg.  He laid there underneath it for 4 hours before he was finally found.  The surgeon said that he didn't know if they could save his leg or not.  I never did hear the outcome.

Another of our employees in SW Virginia had an accident 3 weeks before mine.  His ATV had got stuck in deep dust on a steep part of a skid trail on a logging job he was inspecting.  He got off it and tried to get it out himself.  It rolled backwards, trapping his leg underneath a front wheel and breaking it.  This guy was in his late 20's-early 30's at that time.  Probably 6'2", over 200 pounds. Young, strong and in good shape.  Raced ATV's professionally when he was younger.  A full size 4 wheeler weighs several hundred pounds.  As big as he is, he couldn't handle it.  Obviously, as long as it stays on its wheels, a kid will be okay.  But if it tips over or rolls, most adults can't handle that much weight, let alone a kid.

[jpgreen]

I know of 3 grown men in my area now dead from roll or flip over ATV's. I won't get one, but I got a Rokon I'm restoring instead.  I figure it will be a heck of alot easier to dump a 2 wheel drive with me on it, specially since it's so low to the ground.

I'll post my findings..   :D

[stonebroke]

The first 20,000 miles are the hardest.  Seriously, as a farmer I put on 30 miles a day on my four wheeler. The more you use it the more comfortable you get on it and the more you learn to respect it. In the woods you are more likely to be pushing the envelope. The problem is that the atv does not know when to stop, you control it. You have to look ahead at what is coming up and immediate problems also. That said I have dumped it more that a few times and the new heavy ones are nofun to get off of you. This reinforces the tendency to be more cautious next time. However onc you get one you will wonder how you ever did without one.

Stonebroke

[WDH]

Most excellent heads-up Phorester.  Nothing like the voice of experience :.  It seems that the machines are a lot tougher than the humans riding them from what I am reading here :-\.

I have a green tractor that has a ROPS that can hinge down so that it is below shoulder height.  Working with the tractor in the woods causes the ROPS to hang up on limbs and such, so I hinged it down.  Left it that way for more than a few years.  Well, my daughter is a member of an Agriclutural Sorority that held a Farm Safety Day for young FFA students in Middle and High School.  When she saw what I had done to undo the protection from the ROPS, she stood there with hands-on-hips and proceeded to give Daddy a good talking to........ ......I put the ROPS back up like it was supposed to be :.

[stonebroke]

wdh   Do you  wear your seatbelt?   rops do not do any good if you are not in the seat.

Stonebroke

[WDH]

Is that in the contract, too : smiley_contract

[tomboysawyer]

I doubt they would be practical on rough terrain. This is a common problem with the so called 'buddy seats' as well. Two up atv's are illegal in the U.S so the seats are offered by after market manufacturers as a place for the driver to sit up and stretch out after riding.
Yea right ;D My buddy's kids, both over weight young adults, escaped serious injury when the machine flipped on a hill

Riding 2 up on an ATV is not illegal in the U.S. so long as the machine is designed for 2 up riding.

Interestingly enough, only one ATV manufacturer makes one and they make them up there in the great white north.

http://www.brp.com/en-US/Products/CanAm/Showroom/OutlanderMaxLE.htm

[rebocardo]

Yea, I will probably stick to my little 4x4 trucks with a little metal around me. Though I do think about something like those 6x6 Argos from time to time.

[sawguy21]

That is because the U.S. manufacturers are not allowed to sell them. The 2 up ATV is only available here.

[tomboysawyer]

That is because the U.S. manufacturers are not allowed to sell them. The 2 up ATV is only available here.

My local ATV dealer has the two up on his floor.

Maybe Vermont really is part of Canada!

[WDH]

I can see the headlines now,

"Canada annexes Vermont with an invasion of two-seater ATV's.  Bush sends in troups....on one-seater ATV's.  Now for the weather.  It is raining in Texas.

[sawguy21]

Obviously I stand corrected. I was under the impression that Bombardier could not export the 2 up models to the U.S.

[Mooseherder]

Yep, they sell them in Florida too. ;D
I guess you could avoid an accident by never getting on one but the risk /reward percentage is low when you drive responsibly. You can't live in a bubble. I mentioned it earlier about it being alot safer than riding any highway.  I have had an accident from my own stupidity and learned from it. The 2 up law is not enforced that I have ever seen. Here is what you may be missing. I'll take my chances ;)

[Phorester]

Correct, MOOSEHERDER.  After all the posts I did on ATV accidents, I now get back on mine.  But only on level open ground.  ;D  I won't drive one in the woods anymore.

I think ATVs are fine if they are respected by the rider.  Look at all the stupid mistakes people do with chainsaws, but we still use'em.  I don't think kids should be allowed on full sized ATVs however.  Just my opinion.

[jpgreen]

The accidents up here all happened on inclines casue weez in the steep mountains..  :-\

I don't want to get bucked off a horse at my age neither so the way I see it, the only outback transportation aside from my 4x4's hopefully will be my Rokon.

-rokon-

-pics-

[Mooseherder]

My Mom is always careful when she backs down off the ramps/truck with my little brother on back :D ;D.

[beenthere]

 ;D ;D
Not on your life (or mine) would I back one down ramps that steep and high with an ATV, and for DanG sure wouldn't ride on the back while someone else was doing it. No way, Jose'
Front end has to be pretty light in the shorts when that comes off backwards.
Stopping while coming down likely isn't an option either.  :

But if it works for Mom and little brother, ok by me.

[Mooseherder]

I Hope you'all realize my Momma wouldn't back down them ramps. :D

[Onthesauk]

I've got an ATV, a riding lawn mower and a small diesel tractor.  Am most careful with the tractor because of the narrow wheel base.  Worry about the riding mower because I mow a lot of hillside.  Am most comfortable on the ATV despite riding it on trails and hillsides.  In a couple of years, have never had it in a situation where I didn't feel in control.

[sawguy21]

A little off topic but I came across this yesterday.Child hurt by lawn tractor.
It appears the seat switch was disconnected. IMHO, 9 is too young to be operating any kind of machinery.

[isawlogs]

  I have a lot of miles done on ATV's , best thing I ever did was to get this put on the 350 Honda...   Personaly , I think that all bikes should have one on um ...



  This bike has been flip on its side , over back wards , and on all occasions has stopped the machine from going over .
Kimpex sold these as canoe racks back then .

[beenthere]

That rack looks like it will do everything but float....it looks good.  ;D

[WDH]

  Personaly , I think that all bikes should have one on um ...

Isawlogs,

What caliber? :

[isawlogs]

  Oh  !!! I ment the canoe rack ....    But it is an old Winchester model 68 single shot , bolt action .22 cal. with peep sight . Part of the beaver population control package .  ;)

[Jeff]

I see ya got yerself a hoe. :D

[Phorester]

A local 41 year old fellow got killed last Saturday on his ATV.  From the newspaper article, it sounds like he was speeding down a gravel road, made a turn too fast, slid off the road and hit a tree on the opposite side.  Doesn't mention if alcohol was involved or not, so I suspect not.  He wasn't wearing a helmet.  Pronounced dead at the scene.  Left a wife and two young children.

[tomboysawyer]

We just had two from my hometown in critical condition - same scenario. Except, even worse, alcohol is suspected AND they were riding two up on a one person machine.

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/localnews/ci_6337682

It doesn't matter the tool. If you don't wear the appropriate protection and you don't respect it, it will hurt you. ATV's, chainsaws, tractors, big iron ... a car.

[Dave Shepard]

I have always felt in control of my atvs, right up until I wasn't. I lost control of my motorcycle one night doing 90 mph, it felt solid as a rock, until it disappeared out from under me.


Dave

[sawguy21]

A lot of us have bin dere, dun dat. ;)

[KarenKae]

We only recently got our Polaris Hawkeye for use around our 20 acre Cat Ranch, but has been worth the price.
One thing that came with our 2007 ATV was TRAINING!  Polaris gave a $100 gift certifcate to go to a 4 hour training seminar on proper use and riding technique for ATV's.
The class was open to ANYONE who had a "you are original owner" ATV, even if the machine was several years old and Polaris gave the $100 gift certificate to everyone who participated, even if the name brand was different.
You had to have a helmet, goggles and proper attire to ride, so there should not be any excuse not to wear your gear when riding.  We invested in the proper gear and spent the time both at the seminar and at home, practicing the moves of our ATV.
I highly recommend the training to anyone who purchases the machine.  It really goes over some important points and I learned a lot about doing things correctly BEFORE you get hurt.
As others have pointed out, respect for the power of these machines is very important.  You CAN operate safely ... if you WILL.

[KarenKae]

Update to MY own post!
Spoke TOO soon!  Was I saying something about respect?
Well.. my husband.. birthday #49 on SUNDAY no less, was supposed to be going down to pick up the mail....
Yep.. lost respect... just HAD to do a couple of DONUTS in the soft sand and gravel... flipped that Hawkeye and gouged a cut in his forearm about an inch and a half...
WIFE NOT PLEASED.
I called Arky to get prayer for said husband ..before I KILL HIM... but ..Arky says..
"It's a man thing."  I should just patch him up, kiss and make it all better and forgive him.
ahh.. the difference between Men and Boys is the price of their TOYS!!

[OneWithWood]

and the forgiveness of their partners  :D

[beenthere]

KK
How's the Hawkeye after the flip?  And how did the helmet fare?   

Gotta admire the wisdom of that Arky.... ;D     ..and OWW ;D

[KarenKae]

KK
How's the Hawkeye after the flip?  And how did the helmet fare?   

Gotta admire the wisdom of that Arky.... ;D     ..and OWW ;D

The Hawkeye lost the seat, but he put that back on.  Oh and the thumb control goes ALL the way around " See here, honey".. I just pulled back into place   Helmet was NOT on.. (another annoyance to wife) he lost his $390 glasses but FOUND them fortunately.
Once he got it righted.. it was a little hard to start, but he came back to the house all bloodied up on it.  I patched him up and then he STILL had to go back down and get the mail.. SAFELY this time!

[Bibbyman]

Son Chris worked in the "step down unit" (that's where you go if you make it past Emergency and Critical Care wards") in one of three major hospitals in Columbia Missouri.  He said the emergency room receives over 300 cases of ATV injuries a year.  That's just one of three major hospitals.  There are a number of smaller ones plus clinics, etc. in the county that probably also treats injured people.  Then too,  how many just "walk it off". 

[WDH]

I was doing some hack and squirt Monday after work on my property.  It was so hot that Miss Scarlet was lying under the truck by the water pan I brought.  Well, I heard an engine and realized it was a trespasser on an ATV.   I saw him riding throught the trees, and when he came out on the woods road about 100 yards from me, I yelled and began waving my arms to get his attention.  He saw me and stopped (first mistake).

It was a young boy about 13 or 14 years old on an old 3-wheeler.  No helmet.  He could see the stern look on my face and immediately began to apologize saying he thought he was on someone's else land (of course this is what all the trespassers say).  Anyway, when he stopped, the 3-wheeler shut off.  He said it would not crank unless it was pushed off.  He said that he had just got it, paid $25 for it.  After our trespass and respecting other people's propery discussion (he liked to slide on the pine straw he said.......tears up my property I said) he pushed the 3-wheeler down the woods road with one hand on the seat and one hand on the handle bar trying to start it in a high gear.  The 3-wheeler was spitting and popping, and finally caught up.  As he was running alongside the running 3-wheeler trying to mount, I thought about this thread.  He was gone before I had time for a safety discussion. :

[Bibbyman]

I couple of years ago I seen two ATV come out of my creek (yes – MY creek,  it's too small to navigate with a boat so it's private property) and head across one of my field up into my woods.  I grabbed my 1911 and jumped into the Durango and went up the road to my folks and down the ridge to cut them off.  I was too late but I knew where they were heading so I went up the county road where they cut out from crossing my cousin's property.   They looked back and "got on it".  Up at the intersection one went straight across without stopping and the other made a quick turn to the right.  I followed the one that went to the right.  He went about a half mile then turned around.  I stopped him in the county road.  It was a young man about 16-18 years old. He lived right there and he and another guy (probably his dad) had turned their two acres into a pig pen playing with the ATV for about a year.

I gave him an opportunity to give me an explanation for why they were on my property.  I asked,  "Did you have some business being down on my farm?"  He admitted he didn't.  I told him to stay off and to tell his buddy to also stay off and that went for my cousin's property too.  (They are absentee land owners since my uncle passed away and they depend on me to watch the place.)

Upon further investigation I found that they had smashed down a fence to get onto my cousin's property and then another to get onto my property.  They had cut brush and hacked limbs to connected old logging roads for about a mile and had marked the trail with ribbons.  I also later found out that the neighbor two farms down the valley had been having trouble with ATVs trespassing and knocking down his corn.  That very day he had shot over the heads of two trespassers. 

My cousins came up the following weekend and we repaired the fences and put up some barriers where they had crossed.  And a pot load of "no trespassing" signs.  My cousin went over to the offending neighbors and visited with them.  We've had no more problems. 

[Larry]

Well...it's all Honda's fault.  If memory serves me correctly they introduced a 90cc 3 wheeler, but within couple of years it was a 110.  Shortly thereafter a 185 which I couldn't resist and just few months later the 200.  Now the race was on and Honda came out with the 250R...something else I couldn't resist buying.  Couple thousand more dollars and I had a 3 wheeler that would run 70 MPH.

I guess I'm lucky...no major scars.  Me and the kids putt around slowly on 4 wheelers now, but I really prefer the Gator type machines or my little 4 wheel drive tractor.

[WDH]

I don't want to offend the ATV purists on the Forum, but I have suffered several "ATV attacks" on my property.  The attackers usually run in herds, and chew up the land.  They come in fast, and they leave fast.  It is almost always young boys without property, so they rove the neighboring environs.  I guess that is just the way young teenage boys are, but it is irritating that they do not respect others property :-\.

[Bibbyman]

To be fair,  my son brought an ATV back with him from Arizona. He used it when he hunted. He left it here on the farm for a couple of years.  I would use it from time to time to keep from walking so much.  Also hauled out a couple of deer with it and put a sprayer on it to kill multi-floral rose bushes. He sold it to a friend with a couple of teenage boys.  One boy was giving his buddy a ride. When he went up a steep band it rolled it over backwards.  He walked away with a broken arm.

We rent our pasture out to two brother farmers.  They check and feed their heifers every day.  Many times they use one or two ATVs because there live across and down the valley only about a mile away as the crow flies but about a 10 mile drive to go by road.  They have permission to cross through two farms to get to ours.  You'll never hear them run them over a putt, putt, putt.  They use them to do all kinds of farm chores. 

[Warren]

Folks,

(beware, rant follows...)

I spent 15 years in EMS.  In our rural county of 12,000 people we average 2 to 3 ATV fatalities each year. Every year, at least one victim is a child who was not wearing a helmet.  Lemme tell ya, as an EMT, it is absolutely no fun working on a dead child. And it is even less fun working on a child who died in an ATV accident when you know that a $100  helmet probably would have saved their life...   

I'm not talking about drunks doing face-plants into a tree at 60 mph.  A 12 y.o. girl bouncing off of the back of grandpa's ATV while checking cows landed head first on a rock. A toddler hit a fence post head first when dad lost control of the new ATV he was showing off. 

If adults want to ride without a helmet, so be it.  They are adults.  They can make adult decisions.  But letting a child ride a $4,000 to $6,000 machine without spending $100 for a decent helmet...  I just can't understand...

To me the only thing worse than being an EMT working on a dead child would be to be the parent of a child who died on an ATV and knowing I could have prevented my child's death by spending an additional $100 for a properly fitted helmet and enforcing it's use...

(end of rant...)

Warren

[KarenKae]

Follow up on the husband doing donuts.
He has LEARNED his lesson.. no more donuts.  Helmet when riding down the road, ( no helmet ok on chores near the house under 5 MPH) Shirt with sleeves and good riding shoes.
Of course he KNEW all this ahead of time, but this little spill has brought it home.
He was very sorry to have upset me and promises faithfully to be more careful.
As related,we live on 20 acres WAAAAY far from town, so had he been seriously hurt, it would have cost a lot to get him to a doctor.
So, he is forgiven, patched up and kissed to make it all better 

[Phorester]

Good points, WARREN.  Further reinforces what we've been saying. Some accidents are un-preventable, most are preventable.