Teenager Tragically Loses Life in Minnesota ATV Accident

He was a good friend of mine

Some thoughts on 2-3 & 4 wheelers. As a youngster longing to travel the backroads & woods the only options at the time were mini-bikes and eventually small Japanese motorcycles. The process of kick starting & keeping a bike upright in rough terrain while shifting gears with one foot, operating rear brake with the other, operating clutch with left hand, throttle & front brake with right hand, while maintaining balance & steering the bars with both hands inevitably resulted in some low speed tip overs, tumbles & bruises from which we all learned the consequences of screwing up. By the time one developed enough skill to go really fast you were at least a semi expert rider.

ATVs came along and appealed to many who don’t have the physical skills required for traditional motorcycles. It has gained them great popularity. Plop your butt down, hit the gas, and away you go. 3 wheelers were legislated out of existence due to their habit of rolling over on top of folks when they tried to turn them. Sit astride type 4 wheelers were supposed to solve the problem but are high center of gravity and still tip easily in turns or on side hills. Side x Sides with roll bars and seat belts are meant to solve that problem, we’ll see I guess.

I remember when ATVs took over from motorcycles. There was objection to allowing & licensing their use based on potential damage to Mother Earth. The ATV industry and ATV user groups laid the blame for damage on the few dirt bikers, who mostly only rode ditch banks to get to a better place. ATVs were promoted as friendly to the environment because they had those big flotation tires that promised to “tread lightly”. What they FAILED to point out was that any time those machines are not going perfectly straight, their rigid rear axle that lacks differential gearing, has both rear wheels tearing up the soil on every curve. I remember how the occasional single track dirt bike trail on the ditch bank, turned to 3 big wide tracks during the 3 wheeler era, then went back to 2 wide tracks as 4 wheelers replaced the 3 wheelers.

Minnesota being home to at least a couple major manufacturers of those ATVs, and home to ZERO makers of dirt bikes, joined with ATV user groups & was successful in legislating the dirt bikes out of the ditches and into tiny enclosed & restricted areas now known as OHM areas. (off highway motorcycles) Meanwhile ATV riders incapable of going between trees demanded & received the right to ride either on, or in the ditch next to, most secondary roads, doing so on a dirt bike gets you a ticket. Curious how the obesity rate has increased to epidemic proportions in the last several decades exactly in step with the switch from dirt bikes to ATVs. I walk several miles daily & see people getting on the ATV for a 75 yard trip to the mail box! Judging from all the washed out ATV ruts in the ditches I’m guessing thats where the majority of them get used, and a ride in the ditch, or down a gravel road, is now the total ATV experience for most users.

It’s terrible to hear about the death of young people on ATVs. How many times have you seen kids riding 2 up, or Dad rolling along with junior sitting on the tank and the 8 year old on behind. ATVs are less environmentally friendly than dirt bikes, and much less safe, mainly because of the ease with which unskilled operators can hop on them, hit the gas and have fun, until the 800 pound machine tips over and kills them. I’ve tipped bikes over & taken a few flying trips over handlebars with no more than a few scrapes & bruises. I don’t know where to find statistics on OHM vs ATV deaths and injuries, but will venture a guess the ATV numbers are astronomical in comparison.

Parents, do yourself and kids a favor. Keep them safe! Get them a minibike or little motorcycle and teach them to ride it safely and responsibly. They will take some tumbles & learn what tipping over is all about, but mostly they will learn how to avoid doing so. If they do grow into an ATV they will be better prepared to handle it in that split second when something is about to go wrong. Their increased coordination will improve all of their driving skills. They will REACT and save themself instead of simply screaming as the monstrosity rolls over on them.

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