3 wheeler stats

[esoltve]

I found a report from 2002 on ATV accident rates

21.5 % of ATVs in use are 3 wheeled
1.6% are 5 or more wheels
so that should leave 76.9% for 4 wheelers in use

The report said that about 90% of accidents/deaths are on 4 wheelers-Don't seem much safer do they

Age old debate-good stats

It also said 1/3 of all ATCs produced are in use

[esoltve]

According to CPSC, the risk of injury for rid-ers of four-wheel ATVs increased from 164.7 injuries per10,000 ATVs in 1993 to 261.8 injuries per 10,000 in2001.27This injury rate is nearly as high as it was in1988 (275.8 injuries per 10,000).

Maybe alot of you guys have seen this before, but I fight about this subject with my friends every day. The word has to get out one person at at a time

[deathman53]

I'll tell you exactly why this is so, I can't tell you how many fathers I see with 660 raptors who have no busuiness on the machine, they get it because their son has a raptor 80. This is based on what I've seen at njorvp aka chattsworth. I see a large amount of kids on warriors, 400ex's etc who have no business on the machine, two months ago I seen a 12yr old on a 250r w/ a 310 or 330, aftermarket a-arms and the whole 9 yards. This kid couldn't ride the bike, he would hit 3rd and that was the fastest he would, he couldn't handle the thing to save his life and the funniest part his father was preicing to me how unsafe trikes are, I said,"and you think that putting your 12yr old on a 60 horse power quad that he is way too small for is safe" he said," well,its a 4 wheeler" anybody see my point.

[esoltve]

Stupid people. I put my 5 year old on a 90( which I will admit is a little big for him)He wears a helmet and I put the trike in low gear(90s have Hi/low) and 1st and let him drive it around while I walk next to or behind him. Start them small and controlled and teach them the right way. My biggest concern as a father is his safety and I know better than to put him on my 200 and let him even attempt to do anything. At least if my son were to crash his 90 he would have a chance with a small top speed and not much vehicle weight

[TimSr]

I wouldnt make any arguments based on those statistics because I dont believe they are even close to accurate. 21.5% of ATVs are 3 wheeled? Thats 1 out of 5. You buy that? If you see 100 ATVs, 20 will be trikes? In 1990 150,00 ATVs were sold. In 2001 825,000 were sold. I dont have figures for 86 and 87 but the idea that enough were sold to make up 20% of all ATVs in operation in 2002 is laughable. 2.5% is probably more accurate.

Injuries per given number of riders has declined steadily over the last 15 years. The number of injuries has increased greatly because the number of riders has increased greatly.

You cant lump number of accidents with number of deaths or injuries. The machines least likely to be dumped, (large utilities) are more likely to produce injuries when they do. This is why small bodies on big mahines is a no no, not because of the speed or power they produce but because of what happens when they land on them.

Trikes are more likely to end up upside down than quads. How well you can handle dumping it will determine how likely you are to be injured. They are usually somewhat lighter than quads of similar design, which all in all makes them safer to wreck, but at the same time more to likely to be in one. When you throw around words like "safer" and "dangerous" youve really got to be specific.

I ride both and really challenge myself, and plain and simple, I dump my trike a lot more than my quad in any given number of hours ridden. Learning how to dump it and wearing safety gear makes injuries a rarity with me. If I dump my quad, my chances of injury do go up, but I dump it lot less. Ive never kept lifetime statistics, but as much as you dont want to hear it, if I ride 1000 hours on each, Im more likely to come off the trike with injuries because of the number or wrecks, even though the number of injuries per wreck is lower. If you take the TriZ out of the equasion and make it a YT125, or an ALT125, the likely for injuries goes up drastically. You take me out as the rider, and substitute "beginner" and the likelihood of injury goes up drastically.

The real to to arguing FOR trikes, is to recognise the increased likelihood of accidents, and preparing for it by learning to ride it, not riding beyond your ability and skill level, and to wear proper safety gear rather than denying the laws of physics which clearly show that a 3 legged stool tips easier than a 4 legged one. Trikes, of course, can be ridden safely, but you have to recognize, be aware of, and prepare for their own unique dangers.

[esoltve]

I thought the 21% seemed high, but that's what the report said. The report said there are approx 7 million 3 and 4 wheelers in use today. Now if 3 wheelers made up 21.5 percent, that would be about 1.5 million does seem a little high. As far as the injuries, the stats they had were based on 10,000 ATVs. So if I had 2 injuries and 20,000 ATVs or 20 injuries and 200,000 ATVs it would come back with the same stat the total amount would not matter, just the average. I agree with the point you are making. Don't kill the messenger, I just thought it was interesting. Here is the link to one

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:o04MCo-NAlkJ:www.consumerfed.org/Final_ATVReportLinks.pdf+Three+wheeler+durability+ accidents+deaths+CPSC&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

There is one more link I am looking for

At least it made the point that 88.5 % percent of all victims were not wearing helmets

[TimSr]

Im not shooting the messenger, Im telling you the message is flawed! That artical you linked to is so full of inaccuracies its pathetic! Their statistics are not even close to reality, and even their supposed CPSC numbers are totally incorrect. I can dispute and correct a ton of them right off the top of my head, because I researched this not long ago when a local news station did a hit piece on local dealers over this very subject. That site is an anti-ATV group with an agenda, and most of the numbers they cite are pulled right out of somebody's rear end to try to make the case for banning them. They cite a period from 93-2002 when they say accidents have doubled which is during a time ATV sales quadrupled and they call that an increase in accidents? They say more bigger engined and dealier machines are now being made without any clue that 4 stroke engines had to be doubled to perform like 2 strokes. They reference helmets and deaths/injuries without even mentioning how many are head injuries? Their statitics are bogus anyways, but if you say something like 75% of those injured were not wearing chest protectors, its premature to push chest protectors if the majority were ankle injuries.
I dont mean to pick on you, Im just telling you that site is a very BAD source of information. I commend you on researching the subject of safety, but there are better sources ouyt there with real factual data that is useful.

[esoltve]

I appreciate your honesty. After rereading it you can tell its more of a propaganda piece against all ATVs-although its still interesting what people have to say

[TimSr]

Its still a good thing to learn the other sides phony arguments so you can counter them with sound arguments. That is what can best be learned from those sites. The anti's look for their arguments on sites like this one which is why we must use caution in what we want to give them.

[esoltve]

I have owned a Polaris 6 wheeler and an old John Deere 5 wheeler as well as a couple of Polaris 4 wheelers, but nothing beats a 3 wheeler for ease of control. You can throw your weight any direction you want to alter your ride. I got rid of the others because when you pay $5000 to $6000 per ride, you can't enjoy it-you're worried too much about scratching the plastic or your resale value. Regardless of whatever any report says as long as you continue to respect the machine and the terrain as well as protect yourself you can ride whatever you want. I will admit though the stupidest thing I ever did was jump one of my Mancos after taking the seat off. The lack of suspension on a Manco makes an old ATC90 feel like your riding a cadillac. Needless to say my lack of respect for the machine caused me to smash my groin where the seat should have been :x Although top speed on these things is only 20 something-it still hurts

[87ATC250R]

Yikes, 20% or so is pretty high. The bulk of three wheelers were produced from 80-86 or so. Four wheelers have been running in good numbers from mid 85 or so to current, so that 20% figure I would assume is closer to 10% ownership, and maybe 5-8% useage.

It all bois down to your ability and responsibility. A rider on a 3 wheeler, 4 wheeler, or any other motorized vehicle is at the same risk more or less if they ride responsibly, in my opinion.

Burns my ass to see young kids on any machine that is performace oriented and large cc's.

Kris

[Trevor C.]

I don't know about the kid stuff. I was born in 73 and in 86 me and 4 other buds were riding 350x's and 250r's and tecates. We were a good group of kids who KNEW how to ride. I still have my 350x and my 250r's.

Our parents were cool about it too. We would ride every nite after school by our selves. We had a really cool gravel pit just down the road. Also had a lot of friends that had dirtbikes back then too.

We had fun and rarely got hurt. In fact some of my worst crashes happened when I when I was in my early 20's. Not when I was a teenager.

I think that this whole thing about wheelers got blown way out of proportion and I also think that parents are way over protective with the kids these days. Might explain some of the problems that kids have these days. JMO

[87ATC250R]

I guess I should rephrase the 'kids' statement. I meant like an 8 or 10 year old kid who has next to NIL riding experience and then gets thrown on a machine that is physically too large from them, and too powerful. Bad mix!

I was born in 71 so I'd be right where you are Trevor, and I rode like a bandit every day straight since I was 12 , although I didn't own a 250R until I was 17 and practically had to sneak it past my parents... they won the battle but I won the war! :twisted:

Kris

[250SX_rider]

If 1 ATC out of 3 is in use...where is the other 66,6% of the production???? That would be great to find where they all are... 8)

[eh_tee_see]

South Naknek, Alaska... thats where theyre all at, thats where i live... Honda reps actually came out here once because it is the place where the most honda ATC's were sold in the world. Back then the place was a bit larger... right now our population is a whopping 67... And the worst part is: there are no roads here, the closest CITY is 300 miles and it isnt even a city.