Basic ATV Safety Rules

When it comes to our children, we always want them to be safe. Riding ATV's are a great way from your child you have fun when you live out in the country or if you have friends or family who do. ATV's can provide hours of non-stop excitement for your children and with a few simple rules your child will be will be safe while riding an ATV. Although teaching your child how to ride safely is the most important factor in riding an ATV, there are a few other safety rules that will help keep them safe.

Wearing a helmet is the most important safety rule when it comes to riding an ATV. Helmets can be hot and uncomfortable at times but they will protect your child in case of an accident. A properly fitted will protect your child from head injury due to low hanging branches or if they wreck.

The clothing and shoes your child wears while riding an ATV is as important as their helmets. Full riding gear is not necessary but wearing long pants, closed toe shoes, and long sleeve shirts will protect your child's arms, legs, and feet, especially if they are riding in the woods. When riding an ATV in the woods your child could be caught by thorn bushes, branches that are sticking out into the path, or it is possible for things they run over to pop up and catch on their feet.

If you have younger children, most smaller ATV's come with some sort of throttle control or rev limiter that will allow you to adjust how fast they can go. This does work to an extent. On hilly terrain, your child will need to be able to give the ATV more throttle to get up a hill than they would on a flat area. When adjusting their throttle controls be sure to test them out to make sure the ATV is getting enough fuel to be able to come up any hill they may encounter.

Smaller ATV's and some larger ones as well are also equipped with a tether. A tether is a kill switch. There will be a strap attacked to a kill switch. The child wears the strap on their wrist and if the wreck or get thrown off the ATV the kill switch is activated and the ATV will shut down. Using the tether is also a great asset when teaching young children to ride ATV's. The parent will hold on to the tether strap and walk along with the child riding the ATV. If the child starts going to fast you pull the tether and the ATV will shut off immediately.

These are just a few of the most basic ATV safety rules that if followed properly will keep you child safe. ATV's can cause serious injuries and even death if the rider does not follow safety rules. My youngest son got his first ATV when he was 4 years old. He has wrecked a couple of times but with using the throttle control, he was not going fast enough to get hurt. He has also become a better rider because he now understands what can and will happen if he is not careful.