I am sorry to see a kid lose his life for another kid's poor judgement, enabled by regrettable judgement on the part of the parents.
I had a lovely friend once.
"Had? I hear you say."
"Yes, had."
Stay tuned.
My friend was driving an ATV around on friend's property one day, larking around. Her ATV hit a small hole and the resulting crash flipped her on to the ground. She sustained severe head and neck injuries. She spent months in hospital, and years in rehab. She lost her job and had to change work as a result. She moved home so that her mom could nurse her. Her fiancé stayed with her and married her. She was young, had superb reflexes (used to breed horses and race them for fun). I have no idea how many IQ points were shaved off in that instant, but it crushed a personality. She still walks with a cane. She has no memories of who we are, and what we used to do together. She is very apologetic about not knowing us, which makes it even more sad.
I had another acquaintance who flipped his ATV hitting a ditch. He leapt to his feet with both hands in the air in a "TaaDaa" move, and collapsed. He was dead before anyone got to him. As I heard it, he had crushed various organs, but death was probably caused by a ruptured spleen.
I understand that lots folks use ATVs for work, and for fun. That doesn't make them safe, and I, for one, would be behind changes like
@MikeFarm mentions to make them safer. I would like to keep more of you all around.
Who needs to lose friends and relatives? We have ROPS on our tractors, and there isn't a sunny day that I am not thankful for it, but given my uneven land, I am thankful for it nearly every second for safety reasons.
Yes, I believe in the importance and utility of safety belts, air bags, and helmets. For those of you who choose not to wear helmets, thank you, too, but please sign your organ donor cards. You all are the
prime source for quality donor organs.
Be safe out there.
Stepping off the soapbox now...
All the best,
Peter