Alberta to implement helmet law for atv

[Geotech]

I have heard every excuse a person could come up with for not wearing a helmet while riding any off-highway vehicle. As the president of the local Calgary ATV club any person who wants to ride with our club must wear a helmet. To us it is common sense and mandatory. Our members never question the rules which also include zero tolerance for the use of alcohol or drugs of any kind (which is illegal while driving any vehicle of any kind).

Alberta has more ATVs per capita than anywhere else in the country, yet Alberta remains the only jurisdiction in Canada that doesn’t have ATV helmet legislation. We’re always the last to get on board with these safety issues as well as having a properly funded trail system. Does not make any sense at all.

There have been political reasons as to why there is not a helmet law in Alberta and that is politicians using their own personal agenda to influence their vote. Fortunately or unfortunately for some the government has changed, specifically we have a new transportation minister and I am certain the helmet law will be implemented at sometime in the future.

For those of you who argue this point that we should not have to conform to the law and do as we want will fight the law and will receive citations for not complying but in the end times change, laws change and people change eventually as well. The same arguments were made when we were forced to wear a seatbelt and when helmets were made mandatory for motorcyclists and cyclists. It is nothing we haven’t heard before but the truth is in the statistics. Helmets are the best way to reduce head injury, disability and death.

 

[arff]

 

[Kaz Dog]

As I said this is for a different thread, but trust me I have lots of questions ...rather than have the many thousand of members burning up Google , would it not make more sense for a " club member" to update us with facts , rather than the vague wild speculation that appears on this site quite regularly?
For example : the vast majority of SXS sold today out west are over 60 inchs wide . Are the club representatives okay with banning these in the future?
Again I will not continue this in this thread , as it is off the OPs topic , however i look forward to some answers to a lot of questions from club members as well as individuals that are effected....

Thanks for the input....

So, are you saying that you are not a member of a club then?

 

[lloydguy]

out of the aprox 114 deaths per year in AB 77% of them were related due to no helmet, 44% of those were not speed related and here is the kicker 43% of those were children under the age of 16. Im sure the AB gov would like to take the 16 million it spent in hospital care for atv related injury's and put it into something better.

WRONG WRONG WRONG..........144 death's in 10 year's not per year.AND....... 54% tested positive for alcohol.SO, right off
of the bat 54% of the stats are already doing something illegal.
Nowhere does it say 77% died BECAUSE they weren't wearing a helmet.
57% of children 16 and under WERE Wearing a helmet.
44% were NOT speed related? you pulled that # out of your azz I assume?
Of that 16 mil spent on atv accident health care cost's,how much is head related trama?
cause the 16 mill# doesn't mean a thing if broken arm's and leg's account for 95% of your #
100% of death's could have been avoided if they weren't allowed to make quad's for people to kill
themselves on. How is that for a stat to chew on.
If some of you need the government to save you from your own stupidity, then do the world a favor
and go and walk in front of a bus.

Even one quad death a year is an terrible thing,but not doing stupid sh*t would stop 99.99% of all
of the death's and hospital visit's.
"In 2009, of the ATV injuries recorded in the Alberta Trauma Registry just over half of the riders weren’t wearing a helmet. And of those, 6 out of 10 that were badly hurt weren’t wearing a helmet."
What they don't tell you is the MAJORITY are not head related.So,stat's are good for F all if you leave out info
you don't want people to have.

 

[WarrenG]

Looking for stats I'm seeing an average of 14 atv related deaths per year, not 114. It does look like about 2/3 weren't wearing helmets though so it's definitely an alarming rate. I'm surprised that over half are alcohol related as that's just stupid to be out drinking and driving with what these machines can do and the terrain we ride in.

 

[Lem Lamb]

I guess I would be guilty as charged since there are times that I don't wear a pumpkin bucket at all times !

If I'm doing odd jobs on the farm I go with out since my plan is riding easy, much like when I go hunting or sight seeing.

Funny how ideas change when things go south as I wear a bucket on the snowmobile all the time, seat belt in my vehicle, dozer cat, back hoe, but not when in heavy haul truck when putting on the miles.

Perhaps age has something too do with it, change of hart, thoughts of things gone wrong, and family and friends. All this has a roll to play I guess. The day will come when we get out of bed and suit up for tasks at hand.

Armored suit from head too toe in-case I leave the house, bullet proof glasses in-case the wind whips up the sand, cut & puncture proof gloves while sitting down for supper, Elbow & knee pads to check air pressure in quad tires, and fall arrest getting out of bed.

I'm open too all kinds of ideas depending what day it is, so today I will do my best too fit in where I can, not 100% sure if I get my gladiator suit on the right way, but hey,,, at least I tried.

Reporting from 7256 feet above sea level with no hand rails on-top of this mountain.

Lem. Did someone say the thread needs pictures ?

 

[Zrock]

my mistake on the yearly thing that was just a typo.. The stats were pulled right off a government brochure... It doesn't really mater what the 16mil was spent on it was spend on stupidity for the most part. The gov should not be spending that kind of money on your stupidity. It should be spending a portion of that on getting and maintaining a trail system and local clubs. For a province that has the highest capita of atv they should be leading in management and safety not trailing behind

 

[mareshow]

my mistake on the yearly thing that was just a typo.. The stats were pulled right off a government brochure... It doesn't really mater what the 16mil was spent on it was spend on stupidity for the most part. The gov should not be spending that kind of money on your stupidity. It should be spending a portion of that on getting and maintaining a trail system and local clubs. For a province that has the highest capita of atv they should be leading in management and safety not trailing behind

you dont want to see the costs of drunk driving then...

 

[lloydguy]

you dont want to see the costs of drunk driving then...

Apparently Mare , there is zero cost's because it's illegal.So, it magically went away.
Just like the long gun registry made it impossible to use a gun "unlawfully" because
the serial# was on a piece of paper in a file somewhere..............POOF all of our problem's
solved.......Thank god for the gov. telling me when it's ok to cross the street. Other wise we
would all be dead.

 

[Zrock]

you dont want to see the costs of drunk driving then...

Nop... have no use for people that see the need to drink and drive.

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[lloydguy]

Great picture LEM, but I see several potential problem's
1 No guard rail infront of you
2 No fire proof coverall's to save you if you spontaniously combust
3 No heat resistant gloves (if that is a warm beverage)
4 No tether on your cup ( it could slip out of your hand and kill someone below)
I will stop there because I assume you are wearing a fall arrest harness and other PPE.
I also assume you used a government approved trail to get to where you are.
(otherwise how could you have done it without killing yourself)

 

[arff]

Remember they also make very comfortable helmets now and light weight.

Really can't tell you are wearing one.

Play safe

 

[wolverine68]

I always wear a helmet when I'm out for a ride as does everyone that I ride with. When I load or unload the quad from the toyhauler...or move it across camp..or maybe haul some wood I may not be wearing a helmet. This is where the fishcops hang out and I'll get a ticket. I guess we should all be wearing helmets on riding lawnmowers as well then.

 

[Absledder]

I'm all for safety, I know at least 3 people who have had head injuries that could have been prevented with a helmet. But will I get a ticket for plowing my driveway at 5km/h? That's a little ridiculous if you ask me.

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[Murminator]

If you don't like it you could always wear a turban and try to be exempt from the law....just sayin

Should turban-wearing Sikhs be exempt from motorcycle helmet laws? - CityNews

 

[Ronaha]

This gent never wore helmet

 

[troy]

Dam it and he lived

I like the idea of helmets but don't want the government in my life .



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[Ron H]

Remember they also make very comfortable helmets now and light weight.

Really can't tell you are wearing one.

Play safe

...one time I had mine on backwards,,,and I could tell....
...however I must admit it didn't hurt when I bumped into a wall so suffice it to say I too am in favour of helmets...

 

[leonard]

If i'm riding past 20 or so kmph i will have a helmet.

I use a helmet when ever i'm out Riding essentially.

I am a bit torn on this Law enforcement side of it all though.

So if you get caught backing your ATV out of your garage or loading it on a trailer without helmet on your going to get a ticket? or using the atv for work on a trail and its too hot to keep it on in the summer when moving so slowly.

I can see the good and the bad reasons for this law.

I think its Good to make sure parents have to keep kids helmeted , i think there's too many parents cheaping out of these things i see it quite often and kids are the worst since they drive like they are invincible and don't know any better.

As someone who basically always wears their helmet i find it easy to agree with the idea, but lets say someone is doing something where its not needed like putting down a groomed trail in a side by side at pedestrian speeds then i can see their arguments also since helmets do get hot and stuffy.

I think it should definitely be a law if your under 18 you need a helmet just to instill good practices but i know that's a hard law to do because parents should lead by example.

I know people who literally putt in side by sides unless they are on a backroad and even then they only do like 50kmph max , Those people are not going to get hurt they all have doors on their sxs and windshields.

But some people fly and speed causes most issues anyone who says OHV accidents aren't like 80% speed related is full of it.

And with guy's/gal's who like to go fast , its more about mitigating the eventual damage that is bound to happen. Not preventing the crash in the first place.

Thus helmets

And thats why im a bit torn about Laws enforcing something like this on everyone with fines attached.

 

[turbo392]

If you ride in a CanAm SxS, you need a helmet to prevent hearing damage from the gear whine. That's enough reason besides the obvious safety concerns.