You can view the page at http://www.3wheelerworld.com/content...cident-Reports
Power User
Just too addicted
You can view the page at http://www.3wheelerworld.com/content...cident-Reports
First Time Rider
Arm chair racerNew to the board
I see there are no comments on these 3 wheeler accident reports. I just read though every last one of them. Hasn't anyone else? Why wouldn't anyone leave a comment? Doesn't anyone think this is worth commenting on?
I've been into dirt bikes and ATCs my entire life. I've also had bicycles, skateboards, motorcycles, cars, sleds. You name it. I've had a crash of some kind on everything I've owned. Heck, I've even had a "crash" just going down my basement stairs when I knocked my head into the overhead beam at the bottom of the stairs. And I mean HARD! Knocked me out. I've even done the "dumb sh*t" that a lot of the dead people who were riding these 3 wheelers were doing at the time. And by this I mean drinking (or other) while riding. Or doing stupid things (stunts) on the trike. Yep, most of us have done stupid sh*t while riding, both sober and not so sober. Are we lucky that we didn't have a fatal accident while doing so? You bet! But, what does that mean? Toyota cars aside, does it mean that when we run a red light and plow into the side of another car that it is the car's fault? Either car? Can any rational person truly believe that is the case? Of course not!
The bottom line is that most things that we do in life have an inherent risk of injury or death. By just driving your car through an intersection where you have the right-of-way, you run the risk EVERY DAY that someone else, traveling on the intersecting road, will blow that red light or stop sign and end your life, theirs, or maybe both. That can happen at anytime. And it does. Every day. Why aren't automobiles banned?
Anything carries risk. Its just the way it is.
After reading through the ATV accident reports its pretty clear to me that a lot more was at work than simply relying on accidents in order to come to a consensus to ban three-wheeled off-road vehicles. All that happened was the CPSC took the easy road to appease those hell bent on seeing the vehicles banned no matter what the accident reports conveyed. And the manufacturers, all of them, played a huge role in making that ban a reality. Why wouldn't they? They had nothing to lose really. In the deal making that happened in the back rooms, the manufacturers new that their next products would have four wheels. Its a win-win for them, really. They're still selling off-road vehicles, but now they have four wheels. Big deal. They're more expensive to make and have higher profit margins. Two wheels, three wheels, or four wheels, it wouldn't make any difference. If you drink and act stupid on it, you might die. If you blow stop signs on one and get broadsided by a pickup, you might die. The likelihood is no different. And I'm sure most of the legal payout to survivors of the deceased was under a class-action lawsuit, which really meant that once the legal bills were paid and the award divided up, it was merely a pittance.
Obviously, there was a lot of politics involved in the decision to ban three wheelers. One can see after reading through the accident reports, that that decision surely wasn't based on facts or reason. It was the easy way out.
Always finding new and exciting ways to not give a hoot in hell
Catch me if you can
I think that is a great reply concerning the issue. When Richard first posted these reports and I started reading through them myself, I was completely dumbfounded. If anything is to blame, its the lack of intelligence on the part of the rider in 99% of the cases. Maybe I'll even go out on a limb and say ALL of the cases.Originally Posted by FourtyCaliber
Please stay tuned to this section, as we have a lot more information on the Consent Decree and the CPSC coming in the near future.
Power User
Just too addicted
I will give a background as to why I requested the reports. Simply put I wanted to know why they were considered death traps. I ride them and I feel safer on them vs quads and dirt bikes. A lot of people criticize me for riding them and even supporting them. Some even get a little upset that I let my kids ride them. I hear all day long how bad these atv’s are. Till I decided to request the reports all I had ever heard was from people that where against them. Never a story or source for the hatred. Just a blind hate for them. Some even said they never rode one and never would/will. You ask why they hate them so much and they say things like: because they kill people. Like stated by FourtyCaliber people are killed every day by automobiles. Why are these not outlawed??? Same thing with the SUV and the Ford Bronco (my other love). People feel safer on bigger vehicles or in this case more wheels then a 2 wheeler. They drive thinking they can do anything and be safe. No. Plan and simple. Commonsense seems to fail a lot of people. It really is sad but people just do think. There is no fore thought. They just fail to use their brain. Then you get blood sucking lawyers looking to make a quick buck even if it is truth or not and schemes running in the background no one ever knows about. It just makes me ill.
Once I sat down and started reading the reports I was shocked. I than stopped and asked myself why was the 3 wheeler ban? If any normal thinking person was to read those reports, which by the way you can request for yourself at any time, they would say the same thing. The difference here is they would not say it in public for fear of being ridiculed for their opinion and rightfully so. I mean look if any of us who use or even own a 3 wheeler we are immediately called wacko’s. This is not a statement, it is FACT. I know because I am one of the said wacko’s. All because I choose to ride a 3 wheeled atv. I have brought up many times on the forums and in life the examples that are posted above and while they are completely true (referring to car wrecks etc..) they are still dismissed as “it is not the same things”. Dam how can you say it is not the same tings!?!?! They don’t outlaw suvs and quads and they kill people every day. The response it 9 times out of 10 “it just is”. How stupid is that. It is just those kinds of individuals that caused this whole mess. People looking to make money off someone else sorrow.
Does it make since to sew the company that makes the fork you put in your mouth because you jabbed your tongue? Hell no it doesn’t. Yet every day people jab their tongue or roof of their mouth. I have been in contact with the cpsc and I will have more data that will shock you all. Billy can attest to that. My whole goal was to educate the public with real world experience and truth. I am going to give one more example and then I am done. In a post I replied to on 3wheelmecca thesis, could you imaging the attention that would be brought up if 20/20 or 60 minutes did a 20 minute clip on “Where have the 3 wheelers been and where they really dangerous?” There would be such a public outcry to read those morbidity reports that it would take 3ww offline from a DoS. With that I say when the site is updated with all the coming news we should contact one of the news stations and ask them to run a story on them.
-Richard
New to the board
Arm chair racerNew to the board
I'm amazed how many people weren't wearing helmets. The few I seen that were wearing helmets were doing something idiotic like going fast down a gravel road, or hitting a tree at full speed. In the words of my cousins dad "Society today doesn't allow people to be stupid anymore. It's someone elses fault that you're an idiot."
4 Motos, 3 Wheels, 2 Classes, 1st Place
Arm chair racerJust too addicted
My bad for not seeing this earlier.I read 20 or so. I take responsibility for my own actions,choice of terrain and riding skills.Ron White-You can't fix stupid.
Power User
Roostin Away
DAM 4 wheelers15 YEAR OLD MALE SUSTAINED A LACERATION TO HIS HAND AND BRUISES TO | HIS LOWER LEG AND ELBOW WHEN HIS 3 WHEELED ATV COLLIDED WITH A 4 | WHEELED ATY. THEY WERE RIDING OUT IN A FIELD WHEN THE 4 WHEELER CUT| IN FRONT OF THE VICTIM AND HIS 3 WHEELED ATV OVERTURNED. HE WAS | TREATED AND RELEASED FROM THE EMERGENCY ROOM. |
Power User
Roostin Away
3 wheelers cause drownings.....OBVIOUSLY.A 16 YEAR OLD MALE STUDENT WAS DRIVING HIS 3 WHEEL RECREATIONAL ATV |DOWN AN EMBANKMENT ALONGSIDE A CREEK. HIS 11 YEAR OLD SISTER WAS |RIDING DOUBLE BEHIND HIM. WHEN THE DRIVER NEARED THE WATER, HE |BRAKED. THE WHEELS SKIDDED ON THE MUDDY SURFACE AND THE VEHICLE |ROLLED OVER SIDEWAYS ONTO HIS CHEST. HIS SISTER WAS THROWN INTO |THE CREEK WHERE SHE DROWNED. THE DRIVER'S INJURIES WERE SUPERFICIAL.|
These reports make me angry, I am going to stop reading them.
Power User
Roostin Away
Ok, I lied
They should OBVIOUSLY make them to be impervious to bouncing after collision.....THE OPERATOR OF A THREE-WHEELED ATV BECAME A THROWN RIDER WHEN THE |VEHICLE BEGAN TO BOUNCE AFTER THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL OF HIS ATV RAN UP |OVER THE LEFT REAR WHEEL OF ANOTHER ATV. |
Power User
Roostin Away
Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet, Not wearing a helmet, Victim was not wearing a helmet,
ALCOHOL WAS INVOLVED.
Good night.
Power User
Roostin Away
Surely 4 wheelers would save you from this uncertain fate.TWO TEENAGE BROTHERS DRIVING ILLEGALLY-OBTAINED MOTORCYCLES IN THE |DARK, WITHOUT LIGHTS, ON A ASPHALT ROAD MET A 3-WHEEL ATV AS IT CAME |AROUND A CURVE. THE FIRST MOTORCYCLE COLLIDED HEAD-ON WITH THE ATV. |THE DRIVER OF THE ATV WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE OF THE ACCI- |DENT. THE DRIVER OF THE MOTORCYCLE WAS HOSPITALIZED WITH INJURIES.
Power User
Just too addicted
Glad to see people are reading them now, better late than never I always say. Here is the original thread I started when I received the reports:
http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthr...her+WTF+thread
Maybe one day that thread will be a sticky
At The Back Of The Pack
Arm chair racerFirst time rider
I've been in my fair share of 3 wheeler accidents.... never once was it the machines fault... other that the fact that it would go forward when I pressed the thumb throttle... soo danagerous.. they should get that fixed...lol
Registered User
New to the board
Wear your protective gear, safety check the bike before riding and when you get that "i'm getting scared" feeling, slow down...I have only been seriously injured once on any atv and it was completely my fault, in fact I remember waking up from being knocked out (I was wearing a helmet) to my dad yelling "I told you not to ride through the tall grass!!!"
First Time Rider
Arm chair racerNew to the board
I was only 9 or 10 when ATCs got banned, so I heard all of the negative press, but never knew how the accident reports read. It is clear that most of the incident reports don't prove that ATCs are dangerous, but that there are a bunch of people that took risks while riding their ATCs. I crashed my 1985 Kawasaki 160 three wheeler and broke my shoulder. I never blamed my three wheeler for my accident.Anyway, I just laugh when people tell me that ATCs are dangerous.
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