Five mile pass death

[JL Rockies]

UT has a very high CA per capita though... just sayin'

 

[ozzy702]

Shall we have a poll on who would prefer your posts to be on another board? Say pirate?

Go for it! I really am sorry I hurt your feelings and bruised your E-ego. I'll try to play nicer and only make posts that agree with you in every way.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that CA has much fewer atv riders PER CAPITA than Utah does. Back when I lived there, I only knew one person who had an ATV. Granted, I lived in Northern CA (quite a different demographic from SoCal), you'd have to drive an hour or two to find a road that was legal to ride an ATV on, unless it was private land and you knew the owner. Because there weren't many accessible, close places to ride, not many people owned ATVs. You have to remember how many people there live to work, with zero free time, and any free time they may have is spent on "eco-friendly" activities.

For the record, I enjoy Ozzy's posts. His intentions are good. He's trying to find ways to improve things. He definitely ruffles some feathers as he goes, but I enjoy his enthusiasm.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Back on topic. I had a conversation with some friends last time we were out at cherry creek. We saw about 15 atv riders, and only one of those 15 had a helmet (I remember because we cheered as he went by.) Most of 'em were going about 50 mph+ with two people, over cattle grates, gravel roads, etc. On a good note, every moto rider we saw that day had a helmet on.

I think people are lulled into a sense of security on an ATV because they feel like they're so easy to ride that they couldn't possibly be dangerous. They can hop on it on their driveway, drive down the street, and do a u-turn and head back home and they realize how "easy" it is to ride. And from then on, they think "there are 4 wheels, it's not going to tip over like a motorcycle." It's sad how many inexperienced people, living in any state, have had ATVs land on them resulting in terrible injuries.

I'm torn between the regulations. I know helmet laws in CA have saved a lot of motorcyclist's lives. But I'm torn because I don't feel like it's the government's job to make sure people make good personal decisions. Kinda like the government requiring someone to pay off their credit card before buying more clothes they don't need. It may prevent financial problems, but it's not the gov'ts job to make sure you're fiscally responsible.

I just wish that people would educate themselves before attempting potentially dangerous activities. The resources are there, people just don't seek them out. I'd like to get into river kyaking one day. But believe me, when I do I won't just go out, rent a kyak and jump in the first river I see. I'll take training, learn the safety basics, and do my research from there. Too bad more people don't have this mentality.

 

[ozzy702]

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that CA has much fewer atv riders PER CAPITA than Utah does. Back when I lived there, I only knew one person who had an ATV. Granted, I lived in Northern CA (quite a different demographic from SoCal), you'd have to drive an hour or two to find a road that was legal to ride an ATV on, unless it was private land and you knew the owner. Because there weren't many accessible, close places to ride, not many people owned ATVs. You have to remember how many people there live to work, with zero free time, and any free time they may have is spent on "eco-friendly" activities.

Exactly the point I made about accidents "per capita" above before NoTrax misread/misunderstood and wrote "You do understand what per capita means?".

I think in general people in Utah have more common sense than your average Californian and Utah certainly has much higher per capita OHV use than CA. On the flip side from what I've seen a much higher number of OHV users here in Utah are reckless when it comes to trail etiquette and safety.

The reason I bring this kind of stuff up isn't to bash Utah. As I've mentioned many times before, I really like it here. I've just seen too many trails closed and too much restriction of our sport in CA and don't want to see it happen here. If members take offense at what I say then yeah, I like to have some fun with them but that's never my intent when I start posts.

 

[ozzy702]

Back on topic. I had a conversation with some friends last time we were out at cherry creek. We saw about 15 atv riders, and only one of those 15 had a helmet (I remember because we cheered as he went by.) Most of 'em were going about 50 mph+ with two people, over cattle grates, gravel roads, etc. On a good note, every moto rider we saw that day had a helmet on.

I think people are lulled into a sense of security on an ATV because they feel like they're so easy to ride that they couldn't possibly be dangerous. They can hop on it on their driveway, drive down the street, and do a u-turn and head back home and they realize how "easy" it is to ride. And from then on, they think "there are 4 wheels, it's not going to tip over like a motorcycle." It's sad how many inexperienced people, living in any state, have had ATVs land on them resulting in terrible injuries.

I'm torn between the regulations. I know helmet laws in CA have saved a lot of motorcyclist's lives. But I'm torn because I don't feel like it's the government's job to make sure people make good personal decisions. Kinda like the government requiring someone to pay off their credit card before buying more clothes they don't need. It may prevent financial problems, but it's not the gov'ts job to make sure you're fiscally responsible.

I just wish that people would educate themselves before attempting potentially dangerous activities. The resources are there, people just don't seek them out. I'd like to get into river kyaking one day. But believe me, when I do I won't just go out, rent a kyak and jump in the first river I see. I'll take training, learn the safety basics, and do my research from there. Too bad more people don't have this mentality.

Couldn't have said it better. The majority of the people I see being irresponsible are riding ATV's as appose to dirt bikes or 4x4s. I DO NOT like the idea of Govt stepping in and imposing a nanny state. That's one of the reasons I moved from CA years ago. It's a shame too, CA is the most beautiful state in the nation thanks to it's diverse geography.

 

[proskier101]

The government should not step in and be America's "nanny". P.E.R.I.O.D.



BUT!!


People, need to accept this, if the government manage this, people will die from stupidity. Sometimes it affects innocent people. The reality is with freedom comes consequences, I for one will accept something like this in order to keep my "freedom". Bad things happen, it sucks but should be accepted. I feel bad for the kid and family and my thoughts go out to them. But the parents should be left alone. They have to live with this and not let it ruin it for the rest of us. Its not like they left their kid out to die. I have no doubt they loved this kid and didnt think. Jail is nothing compared to what they have to live with now. Let them heal and now they have learned to take the safety precautions.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Ozzy, feel free to ruffle feathers at will, otherwise people will always live inside their bubble and their skin will always be perfect....I like Utah as well since moving here 5 years ago but many of the people are complete idiots.