Very Nasty Mini Crash

[#404's Dad]

Well last night at Delta raceway in Delta Ohio in post race Practice my son and his brand new bike fell victim to a rider that was not permitted to even be on the track as he had never ridden a quad before and was not even signed up to ride which means he like all of us other did not pay to be on the track int he first place !!

As my son and another 50 rider he races every weekend were holding their lines to make a pass on the MUCH slower child on the 80cc Raptor "Shifter" quad hit the brakes and turned directly into the side of my son that was doing prolly 25-30mph, thsi was in a very fast part of the track coming out of a sweeper !!

My son is fine even after bending his neck further back than you would think is humanly possible, This crash was bad enough that my wife did not think he was going to get up. He is perfectly fine and running around doding all the normal stuff today as he even was 10 minutes after the crash.

Damage= Helmet and Goggle both broken. Frame on quad twisted, Swing ar4m twisted and steering stem bent. With both front tires level on the ground the left rear tire is 6-7 inches off the ground !!!


Very horrifying seeing a 4 year old kid no matter who's it is being involved in an incident such as this even though we know the risks involved when we sign up for it issues such as thsi could have been prevented in my honest opinion as this child should have not been on the track for any reason what so ever and imho the referee should be removed from her duties or at the very least suspended.


Does anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with this, it is a small organization "MRA" that consists of two local tracks and the owner could give a rats *** what anyone has to say about anything, its like it or leave it in his opinion.

Also letting 90cc Apexs run with 50CC bikes is not such a good idea either imho.

Here is a link to their site, I have read over the rules a few times but don't see anything that i can use to lean on. Anyone on here have any legal background? Should I just let it lay or try and fix the problem with this I do not want to get my son tossed or put on a black list but thsi crap is dangerous and could get somebody hurt being ran this way.

http://www.racemra.com/index.html


Open to all suggestions and opinions, my skin is rather thick these days.


Corey

[kenjolly]

1st thing apex 90's shouldnt never run with 50's

i would just push to run them in diff. races for safety reasons.

the younger kid on the yamaha has every right to be their but needs to lern how to hold his line. more track time"practice"

we have several slow 50's in our 50 class and pass them 1or 2 each race. I tell my son to give them lots of room and pick a good place to pass them. he knows he better not run over one of those little guys or his night is over. no position is worth running over someone.

my 2cents

[#404's Dad]

Originally posted by kenjolly
1st thing apex 90's shouldnt never run with 50's

i would just push to run them in diff. races for safety reasons.

the younger kid on the yamaha has every right to be their but needs to lern how to hold his line. more track time"practice"

we have several slow 50's in our 50 class and pass them 1or 2 each race. I tell my son to give them lots of room and pick a good place to pass them. he knows he better not run over one of those little guys or his night is over. no position is worth running over someone.

my 2cents

I agree on the passing in the right spots and alowing plenty of room, I also agree that the 90cc bikes should not be on the track at the same time no matter what but I do not agree that the child had every right to be on the track, He was not registered, did not pay, does not ride quads and it was an 80cc shifter bike.

Being 6 years old and riding that sort of bike for the first time should be done in your back yard not ona track where peopel can get hurt .

JMHO though.

[forgiven]

The problem is that you get these gung ho dads that think they are raising Ricky Charmichael jr. and tell their kids to be aggressive etc.

I don't believe anything will change until you get a few kids are paraplegics. I sure wish someone somewhere could use some common sense.

For the MOST part it isn't how fast or slow a kid is...it is the differential. Is he considerably faster or slower than the other kids? If so he shouldn't be out there. That isn't going to happen because the track promoters want all the money from all the riders, and leave all the responsibility on the riders/parents. It is usually someone who was just starting or very novice that was told..."You just got to get them out there and they will figure it out" by another gung ho dad not stopping to think of the consequences himself.

I really believe the thing that is killing us is the very thing that helped us. Sponsorships and bigger prizes. They (the dad's) push the kids to get those things but kids can't use reason for the most part on the track. They haven't seen the bad things that can happen or rationalize why they shouldn't put someone in danger even if it means something great for them. All they know is that Dad wants them to win and he is screaming at me to get around this kid.

That is why my son does not race. I try to explain it to him, and I think he understands it to some extent but at the same time it is upsetting to me. All you need is one or two kids out there that are being pushed to...PASS HIM PASS HIM PASS HIM...and someone is going to get hurt. May not be that Sunday, but some Sunday...it is going to happen.

I understand it is a dangerous sport in general, but there is a lot we can do to help the situation. Off roaders for the most part are a little more crazy than most and are generally risk takers but you really need the experience and maturity to be able to stick them all together and let them race or bad things are going to happen. I am not advocating people hide under a rock either. Much like the competition committee's getting together and rethinking the opening straights because of Jerimiah Jones type incidents.

I am not saying people shouldn't race either...not at all. But when we are out there and we are "encouraging" our kids...we need to be the voice of reason. They have their whole lives ahead of them. It is a devastating thing to either be paralyzed or have paralyzed someone else. Sure it doesn't happen all the time, but it does still happen. Spleens here and broken backs there...I am sure many of you know someone personally.

BTW Corey...this is not directed at you but this topic obviously gets me fired up. I feel terrible about your situation and only hope the best for your boy and the other boy involved. Hopefully there are no long standing neck issues. I just wished we could find a way to be safer for our children. They are our most precious commodity. If something or someone had gotten hurt badly all the posts about gee we are really sorry and perhaps a few thousand bucks raised and passed to the individuals is NOT going to be any real consolation.

They should NEVER let 50's and 90's like in that case be on the same track. I am sure they are covered legally but they put you in the situation...do you miss out on points and nothing will probably happen or do we let them roll and take our chances. How am I going to explain this to my boy or girl?

This is not meant to flame anyone or say we should all sit around in rubber suits and do nothing. I am not saying we don't let our kids race (although that is the choice I made) but we have to have the track people make it safe as possible. Personally I think the race track owner/manager should have never allowed bikes of that varying speed to be out there. I am sure some would defend it.

Lets keep our kids safe!

[kenjolly]

I missed the part about not registered,sorry. Maybe you can educate the parents on quads and that a 80cc shifter is not a good quad to start on. And then let them practice with you and other racers.

[racedad26]

Im pretty sure if it was a raptor 80quad by Yamaha it is an autoshifter just like the honda 90, but much slower. As for the quads and bikes being together that will always be a huge no no. If a bike falls over and a quad is near it is very hard for a quad to change direction or stop safely for both riders. As for the slow riders out there with the fast riders it is gonna happen no matter where you go. I know your concern and have been there but we race with kids faster and slower every event. It was said earlier the best teach your kids to pay attention to everyone on the track and its safer for all. The slower kids can become the faster kids soon and there will be new kids that are slower coming out soon., Glad your son is doing well, best of luck.

[wvspeedfreak]

First off,glad your kid is ok!Secondly,accidents can and will happen but it is a shame when one happens that could have been prevented and it sounds to me like this one could have.It sounds to me like it was the tracks screw up big time.I would try to talk to whoever is in charge and try to make sure they don't do it again.
I also agree that on a track is not the place to let a kid ride a quad for the first time.

[#404's Dad]

Thanks everyone, Trevor is doing just fine, no issues that I see.

I tore his body off the bike today and it apears the swing arm took the blunt of the damage but the frame is slightly tweaked and the stem is bent, I am ordering a new unit int he morning and this one is on its way to the frame shop for a pull.


The biggest issue with the incident was in my opinion that the child was not registered and had not paid to be there along with not having any riding experience on a quad BUT does on a 2 wheeler as he gets 1st place every week so he knows the rules of the track!!!

Then to boot he is on a 80cc Raptor that DOES have a shifter, not a manual clutch but DOES have a shifter, regardless it could have been prevented and the referee is at fault in my honest opinion and something should be done to her for letting this child on the track, had he not been on the track this would not have happened, period.


I agree on the aggressive parenting and that is NOT me, I want my boy to do his best but to be safe first of all, if he wins, Awesome, if he looses, Awesome so long as no body gets hurt and they all have fun.



Again, Thanks.

[bulldogfallon]

Sorry to hear about the crash, but it is good to hear he is ok

[ATKnewbie]

If the crash was that bad, I would take your boy in to see a Doctor just in case.
He could have fractured something that has not shown physically, you need to know this before he gets on the track again and then really hurts himself.

Regarding the track, I would have a face-to-face with the owner.
If the kid was not registered, then I have to believe they are liable for this.
I am not one for litigation, but the threat of it may be what pushes this person to tighten the rules up a bit.