Helmets for go-karts?

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I'd recommend a full face motorcycle helmet if it were my son. Anything less will have you wondering if you should have done more. The full face motorcycle helmet is as good as it gets and I'm sure that's what you want for your son's safety.

If there is no seat belt it's a good time to put in a good four point driver restraint system. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mrproducts.com>M & R Products</A> offers driver safety items for the racing industry and probably has something smaller for go karts.

 

[DocHeb]

I like the full helmet idea, stops the teeth from getting knocked against the steering wheel.

High back seats are great. I also love seat belts, and shoulder belts are even better. It doesn't take much energy to cause problems. At work in the last couple years I can think of a golf cart driver and a go-cart driver - both drove into immovable objects and ruptured their spleens on the steering wheel.

Set a good example. It's pretty hard for kids to wear helmets on their bikes, etc. when mom and dad don't. Every time I ride the bike I wear my helmet. My kids don't fuss as much when they see that.

 

[frank_f15]

WILL: my thoughts? roll bar don't do u any good if u are not strapped in(preferable is harness type) HELMET a must, with face shied, a bug in the eye is bad enough but a stone or twig is worse. would absolutly frobid him to ride with out it. just mho.

 

[Tractors4u]

Everyone has put there 2 cents in on the helmet issue so Ditto here too. As for your chain. Typically the chain is tightened as someone mentioned by loosening the engine mounting bolts and sliding the engine forward. Check to make sure that the bolts have lock washers on them. How old is the cart? The chain may have stretched. Sounds unlikely but a drive chain can stretch.

 

[Stonewall]

What Frank said (again). My Father was very saftey concious. He had the dealer put a ROPS and Seat belt on our Massey in 1967 (they thought he was crazy). Later I got a go-kart no ROPS but a seat belt and a helmet. When the dirt bikes showed up the helmet got better. The deal was if I got caught on any of these without using the saftey equipment I lost my riding privileges for a while, no ifs, ands or butts. To this day I feel naked if I get into a car and can't put on a seat belt. I've had my share of scraps and crashes and I was never sorry I had my gear on!

 

[TresCrows]

You should be able to pick up a motocross/offroad type full face helemt for about 60 dollars low end. These have removable visors and some still have snapon mouth guards. They look like a full face helmet but the mouth guard can be removed or swiveled up and down slightly. In any case, I think a couple of such a helmets would be a good investment. Unless he is belted into a steel cage with padding using a 4 point or 5 point competition harness there is a strong possiblity he would be thrown out of the go-cart in a roll over or impact. There was a recent case were a pilot lost his engine on take off and made a 180 back to the runway. He stalled and the airplane impacted wing low and it spun around. He was ejected through the bubble canopy and then the airplane ran over him. He survived and is expected to make a full recovery. The airplane is repairable--kinda. If he had not been thrown form the airplane he would have walked away with nothing more than sore muscles instead of bunches of broken bones and major road rash. Why was he ejected?---despite the aircraft being equipped with a competition 4 point harness the hapless pilot chose to wear only the lap belt portion. Upon inspection of the crash the lap belt was found to be still hooked together and appeardd to have been adjusted such that it would have been very snug on the pilot. Moral--don't count on seat belts in a cheap go-cart--get a helmet. J

 

[Mike_Dumond]

Well, might as well put in my two cents. I do this for a living, and if I never pick up another kid without a helmet, it won't be too soon. Kids have the "It'll never happen to me" attitude. Unfortunately, some parents have the same attitude. I can still hear some say, "But they don't go that fast", or another good one is "A bike helmet is good enough". But, the one's that stick with me are the one's that say, "Someone should have told me". Consider yourself told.

Ask anyone in EMS if they think it's OK without an approved helmet or restraint system. If they give you a dirty look before they answer, it's because they've picked up at least one, if not more kids because of it. Five miles an hour in a go cart, with a quick stop is enough to cause their head to strike the steering wheel.

Not trying to be mean or obnoxious, but I've been doing this for 16 years and I've picked up more than a few.

 

[popeye]

I have been a firefighter for 28 years and have also seen few head injuries from an unprotected head meeting the pavement and or ground. <font color=red>Get him a helmet or better yet two, and make him and anybody riding with him wear it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!</font color=red>. Just my .02
Mike

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

SEAT BELT AND HELMET.../w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif

 

[Will]

Re: Helmets for go-karts? Picture!

Here's a picture of my son with his new helmet. I'll add a seatbelt within a week. Thanks again.