Biggest Safety Concerns for New ATV Riders
When you first begin riding ATVs, all the safety lessons thrown at you can be a little overwhelming. However, understanding how to avoid risks while you’re out having fun is a crucial step to off-roading and getting the most fun out of the experience. Let’s go over the most important safety concerns for new riders that simply can’t be ignored to help build confidence while driving a four-wheeler.
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Wearing Safety Gear
First, make sure you show up with the right protective gear when it’s riding day. Dressing for safety is a crucial step that begins before you even take out your vehicle, so it has to be remembered before everything else. Wearing long sleeves, long pants, over-the-ankle boots, a helmet, eye protection, and gloves is a great start to staying safe. Don’t forget to consider the elements and conditions you’re riding in so you can plan with the correct materials to stay dry and prepared for extreme temperatures. For cold weather, wearing layers is a smart tip, while riding on a hot summer day requires lightweight, breathable clothing that still covers you up.
Know the Power of Your Vehicle
Once you’re dressed properly, your focus can turn to understanding the machine you’re riding and having a grasp on basic ATV components, from controls to key parts. You need to familiarize yourself with all the controls, how they operate, and what they do. Things like the engine kill switch, light switch, brakes, throttle, and four-wheel drive settings need to be understood before you can safely operate any off-road machine. The best way to learn is to have an experienced rider walk you through this, but also don’t forget that your owner’s manual is a great resource for understanding how your machine was intended to operate.
Ask Questions and Do Research
Remember, there are no bad questions when you’re first learning, so if you don’t understand something or want to know more about how things work, be sure to speak up or do your research as you learn. Being too nervous to ask a question is common and we think keeping quiet saves us from the embarrassment of looking inexperienced; however, it’s not as bad as damaging your vehicle or suffering an injury. So don’t let that fear stop you from asking questions and understanding everything about the ATV you’re riding.
Drive with Caution
Once it’s time to get the tires turning and actually get out on a ride, it’s important to remember to take it slow at the beginning. A common mistake is overestimating your abilities too early on and driving beyond your capabilities. The faster you ride, the quicker you have to react to the trail ahead, so taking things slowly at first is necessary to teach your body the proper muscle memory for how to react to different situations. As you continue to ride, the speed will naturally increase as you get more comfortable with the feel and reaction of the machine. At that point, it’s important to be able to assess the trail you’re riding on to pick an appropriate speed for safety, as riding too fast is always the leading cause of accidents on the trail.
Develop Your Skills
Jumps, drifts, and wheelies all look great when done properly, but this type of riding also leads to many injuries, so don’t attempt any risky maneuvers as someone new to the sport. That seems obvious, but again, overestimating your abilities can happen quickly, so let this serve as another reminder to leave the stunt riding to the pros.
Rollovers
Rollovers are also a common concern for new riders as they are among the most frequent accidents that happen while off-roading. Speed once again is crucial here, as the faster you are riding the more likely you are to rollover. However, your driving technique is also an important consideration based on the terrain when preventing ATV rollovers. Turning too tightly or losing rear-end traction and then suddenly regaining it can both lead to rollovers. Both can be prevented by taking wider turns at a slower speed and reducing tire spin so as to not lose traction with the ground when cornering.
Body positioning can help you counteract a rollover by leaning into a corner, which allows your bodyweight to keep the inside wheels on the ground in a corner. Also, be sure to only attack steep inclines straight on, and if you can’t make it, back down straight without turning, as turning on a hill can easily cause a rollover.
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Vehicle Transportation and Recovery
For those that need to transport their vehicle to the trail, learning how to load, unload, and tie-down your ATV on a truck or trailer safely is critical. Technically, hauling your machine on a public road can be as dangerous as riding the ATV off-road if it’s not correctly done.
Another daunting task for beginners can be vehicle recovery when your ATV gets stuck. Inevitably, you’re going to get into some difficult riding situations, and if you have no training it can seem like a nightmare. So, make sure to learn some basic skills for how to attach towing straps, how to drive during a recovery if you’re stuck, and how to keep everyone safe in the process.
Stephen Elmer
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