Lifestyle Action Sports

Parents

Obliviously, no parent wants to see their child get hurt, or for that matter hurt someone else’s. However, sometimes even the best intentions can contribute to a situation that can lead to injury-causing accidents. This is most likely to happen when parents:

• Have unrealistic expectations for their child
• Communicate these expectations to their child in a way that embarrasses him/her into doing things they aren’t ready for
• Push their children to ride above their experience level
• Criticize their child in such a way that destroys their confidence in their riding ability
• Support unsportsmanlike conduct on the track
• Fail to maintain the bike in a safe manner
• Make bad decisions when selecting the classes their child should ride
• Do not invest in the proper safety gear for their child or do not replace damaged gear

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Motorcycle

A lot of times it is the bike itself that is the biggest contributor in an injury causing accident, simply because the rider or rider’s parent has failed to maintain the bike properly. Even though it is the rider’s or the rider’s parent’s responsibility to choose and maintain the right bike the proper manner, we must remember that the bike can, and does contribute to injuries in the following ways.

• By being too big or too powerful
• Being poorly maintained
• Poorly functioning or weak brakes
• Worn out throttle cables
• Worn out or improperly inflated tires
• Damaged or badly tuned suspension
• Loose nuts and bolts (axles, controls, engine and suspension)
• Improper fluid levels
• Not enough gas for the ride duration
• Not enough oil which can lead to engine failure
• Low engine coolant leading to engine failure
• Gas turned off (can lead to engine failure on a jump or other obstacle)
• Improperly maintained engine (leading to failure at a bad time)
• Worn out piston, rings, cylinder or bearings
• Weak or poorly adjusted valve
• Dirty or leaky air filter
• Poorly maintained drive train
• Extremely worn front and or rear sprocket
• Excessively worn drive chain

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Safety Gear

Unlike the motorcycle, safety gear is seldom a major contributing factor in injury-causing accidents, but we should be aware that it can be. Usually it is the lack of appropriate gear that contributes to the severity of the injuries. Some of the most common ways that safety gear can contribute to an injury are:

• Poorly fitting gear
• Poorly maintained gear (goggles that are severely scratched, boots that are excessively worn out)
• Failure to wear a quality well fitting helmet
• Not replacing a damaged helmet
• Failure to wear a quality neck bracing device

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Pit Behavior

In the pits is by far the most common place of foolish, unnecessary and often tragic injuries and death. There are two factors that heavily impact pit behavior: what the promoter or track owner do to express and enforce expectations, and the cooperation of the riders and parents. Serious injuries are most likely to happen in the pits when:

• Race organizers fail to publicize the acceptable code of conduct or rules regarding pit behavior
• Who can ride what and when
• First gear/idle speed ONLY for all vehicles
• Requirements for helmets on all motorcycles and ATVs
• Race organizers fail to enforce pit behavior rules
• Parents fail to enforce and reinforce strict rules for their children’s behavior in and around the pits
• Inexperienced or reckless riders speeding through the pits
• Riders blowing out their engines, testing repairs in the pits or near other riders rather than in appropriate areas

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Track Preparation

It is worth saying that it is the riders and or the parent’s responsibility to assess the track and the current conditions along with the obstacles that will be present to determine if they are capable of negotiating the track conditions that exist at that time on the track that they are at. While evaluating the track surface and its ability to contribute to injury-causing accidents, parents, riders, and track officials should consider:

• The amount of moisture present on the soil
• The extent of soil preparation (has the track been tilled, plowed, or otherwise groomed, or is it hard packed)
• The types of soil conditions present (sandy, rocky, hard packed, clay, etc.)
• Severity of ruts, breaking bumps, and acceleration bumps
• The presence and severity of kickers and ruts on jump faces

Note

Ruts, braking and acceleration bumps, and other rough conditions are to be expected and considered normal. Many experienced riders consider them a major plus when deciding where to ride. Riders that expect to compete at Regional and National events must learn to negotiate virtually every type of rough condition. Therefore it is unreasonable to expect tracks to be free off ruts, braking and acceleration bumps and other such conditions. Rather, riders must be aware of these conditions, which often change from one moto to the next, and change their riding style and line selection accordingly.