How many of you wear helmets when running your side by side UTV?

[RoyJackson]

I'm just curious about this...no other reason.

I do not wear a helmet, but I don't run my Gator hard (no trail driving yet and I don't recall exceeding 15-17 MPH) and I'm almost always belted in.

 

[Sysop]

We don't use helmets, but like you we don't run them hard. 15-17MPH would be the absolute fastest we go, which wouldn't be very often in very many places. Our Rhino 450 isn't very fast to begin with, and our foreman 500 hardly comes out of the building, and when it does it's never been above 2000RPM in 3rd gear for some engine braking while coasting down a hill (in 2nd or 1st it comes to a stop on all but the steepest hills). Our typical use for them is as oversized wheelbarrows that don't need pushed...

 

[Egbert]

My Cub Cadet UTV runs about 40mph. I don't wear a helmet but, when running hard I do use the belt and it has head pads and a full roll cage. On an ATV, I would wear a helmet if I was doing more than just tooling around the farm.

 

[Tomtint]

I don't wear one on a side by side. I do on my quad, when out playing. But not in the yard. In Mass we need to wear one on street bikes and I don't like it. Just got back from a 2000 mile ride in Utah, CO,AZ and NM that had no helmet law. I find it to be more enjoyable not wearing a hat. Jmo

 

[Piston]

Tom,
Did you bring your side by side or quad out to Utah? Did you ride Moab? I'm planning on bringing my bike (KTM) out to Moab next spring with a couple other friends. We did the Transamerica Trail a few years ago together and are ready for another riding vacation.
Do you ride anywhere off road in the central MA area? Tough to find places these days.



I don't have a side by side (yet:laughing but when I do get one, I'll probably use it the same way I use my golf cart all the time now, which isn't very "fast and furious" to say the least. I won't wear a helmet on the side by side.

 

[Tomtint]

No off road vehicles out west for us. We rented Harley's in NM and took a week touring.

 

[aczlan]

We dont wear one in the RTV500, it doesn't go fast enough to be a problem. We do wear belts though.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

Not that helmets would have prevented this accident. A few years back we were all congregated at my sons house and cars were parked in the grass off the street. The neighborhood had lots of golf carts that ran the streets. One idiot lady came by with her 5-6 year old son in the seat beside her holding a small dog with a lease. The dog saw a rabbit in the grass and leaped out of the cart pulling the young boy with him. He rolled harmlessly to the grass still holding the lease, but the stupid lady baled out of the cart to run to her son rather than stop it. It was going at least 10 MPH and continued to travel across the road just barely scrapping a cousins Mercedes front bumper before plowing into my granddaughters little Mitsibushi. It caved the whole rear fender in. Seat belts would have prevented this scenario, but I have never seen a golf cart with a seat belt. The idiot ladies only excuse for not stopping was that she was worried about her son. That being the case, a simple stomp on the brake would have gotten her stopped just as quickly. Some folks shouldn't be operating motorized equipment, or knifes or other sharp instruments. At least they did pay for the repair to my Grand Daughters car.
BTW, I don't use helmets or seat belts in my UTV but I rarely exceed 10 MPH with it either and hardly ever has it been on the roadway.

 

[LD1]

I dont wear a helmet either. But I dont ride just for fun either. And its mostly flat where I live. Anytime I ride, it is usually to and from deer hunting, or tending the camera/feeder, or riding fences looking for downed trees with the saw strapped on, or jumping fields with the rifle on the back looking for ground hogs......

You get the idea.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Working around the yard I don't on the ATV, but rides for fun, or with my daughter I do as does she. Gotta set the example.