Why Only One Rider? - ATV Aware

Susan Harris Author

05/18/2021 Added

28 Plays

Description

Why only one rider?

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:00.000](upbeat music)
[00:00:27.730]Hi there, I'm Susan Harris
[00:00:29.230]from Nebraska Extension.
[00:00:30.930]And in this segment of ATV Aware, we are going to talk about
[00:00:35.030]why we should only have one writer on an ATV.
[00:00:39.830]So I travel the state with my simulator
[00:00:42.140]and I do lots of programs about ATV safety.
[00:00:45.630]And when I ask children or even adults,
[00:00:47.960]how many people that ATV seat is designed to hold,
[00:00:51.890]the answer is usually two
[00:00:54.500]because that long seat sure lends itself
[00:00:57.070]to accommodating two people, right?
[00:00:59.420]Well, not really.
[00:01:01.150]The seat is designed that way
[00:01:03.240]because unlike other modes of transportation,
[00:01:06.200]the unique characteristics of an ATV
[00:01:08.360]require that the operator uses body weight
[00:01:10.720]and position to stay upright.
[00:01:13.240]One thing you should never do on an ATV is just sit there.
[00:01:16.520]You should constantly be leaning and moving your rear end
[00:01:19.570]all over that seat, front to back side to side,
[00:01:22.500]just to avoid tipping the center of gravity
[00:01:24.890]outside the wheel base of your ATV.
[00:01:28.480]So what exactly does that mean?
[00:01:29.930]Well, consider this rider,
[00:01:32.070]on most ATVs the center of gravity hits a person
[00:01:35.080]at chest level, right about where his emblem is.
[00:01:38.830]Think about that, chest level.
[00:01:40.710]That's really high compared to a tractor
[00:01:43.030]where your center of gravity is around your ankles.
[00:01:45.340]And we know those can tip over.
[00:01:47.730]So imagine that spot on your chest
[00:01:50.160]swings out beyond the wheel base
[00:01:52.100]when the force of a turn throws you to the outer edge
[00:01:54.840]of the turn, for example.
[00:01:56.650]That's when you tip over.
[00:01:58.260]Or when you don't lean uphill, when you're on a hill
[00:02:00.740]you're not compensating for that change of center of gravity
[00:02:04.060]and hill has become really dangerous
[00:02:06.010]because you are a big part of the weight of an ATV
[00:02:09.640]making it top heavy, especially with the smaller ATVs.
[00:02:15.470]Sure. There's that sticker on the machine
[00:02:17.490]but why is it there?
[00:02:19.850]Here's the deal, ATVs are designed for one person.
[00:02:23.930]The manufacturer builds them with a center of gravity
[00:02:26.590]meant for that one person
[00:02:28.760]unless it's a specially manufactured seat
[00:02:31.250]original to that ATV.
[00:02:33.830]Each time you add weight anywhere to your ATV,
[00:02:37.160]it shifts the center of gravity to a dangerous level.
[00:02:40.800]We just shouldn't let them ride with us.
[00:02:43.460]One out of every four people injured on ATV is a passenger.
[00:02:48.910]Here's why.
[00:02:51.400]Center of gravity changes faster on an ATV
[00:02:54.060]than any other vehicle.
[00:02:55.490]And when you have a passenger or other weight,
[00:02:57.870]it becomes less stable much quicker.
[00:03:00.920]Loads are just like extra passengers.
[00:03:03.620]Any additional weight lifts that center of gravity
[00:03:06.170]even higher than your chest.
[00:03:08.250]I know lots of farmers and ranchers put hay bales
[00:03:10.610]or spray tanks on the back of their ATVs.
[00:03:12.805]But guess what?
[00:03:14.300]That is raising the center of gravity
[00:03:16.130]and pulling it back more.
[00:03:17.250]So attempting to go up the Hill or writing tricky terrain
[00:03:21.120]becomes even more dangerous.
[00:03:23.650]That liquid in the spray tank
[00:03:25.380]it doesn't know which way to lean.
[00:03:26.750]And in fact it's doing exactly the opposite of what is safe.
[00:03:30.030]It's leaning downhill,
[00:03:32.310]and you should always lean uphill.
[00:03:35.230]So some people think they'll beat the odds
[00:03:37.210]by placing another hay bale or weight
[00:03:39.290]on the front of an ATV.
[00:03:41.730]Contrary to what seems logical,
[00:03:44.130]that only raises the center of gravity even more.
[00:03:49.200]My colleague, Dr. Aaron Yoder does a great demo
[00:03:52.840]where he shows a miniature ATV on a tilt table
[00:03:56.010]with a rider riding sideways on a hill
[00:03:58.700]and the rider tips over at 40 degrees.
[00:04:02.260]But then he adds a hay bale on the front and on the back
[00:04:06.360]and the guy tips over at only 30 degrees.
[00:04:10.390]It's not just hills, any dips turns or some issues
[00:04:13.960]will be made more dangerous
[00:04:15.570]with extra people or extra weight.
[00:04:18.090]The thing about ATVs is that they're not made for climbing
[00:04:21.630]and unless you have a rock crawler version of an ATV
[00:04:24.360]with a lower center of gravity,
[00:04:25.900]more suspension, and lower gears,
[00:04:28.540]steep hills are just not recommended.
[00:04:31.580]If you do any hills use that body weight
[00:04:34.510]and always lean uphill.
[00:04:36.730]Even standing to go uphill to put more weight
[00:04:39.250]over the front of the machine,
[00:04:41.150]going downhill feet should be flat toward the front.
[00:04:44.300]And you lean back again uphill as far as possible
[00:04:47.910]but keep gripping the handles tightly.
[00:04:50.530]When traversing a side hill, you're still leaning uphill
[00:04:54.680]even moving your whole rear end
[00:04:56.880]over to the side of the seat.
[00:04:59.470]Remember having an extra person makes any situation
[00:05:02.550]more dangerous for both you.
[00:05:04.540]And now you know why.
[00:05:06.350]I'm Susan Harris from Nebraska Extension.
[00:05:09.540]Thanks for joining me.
[00:05:10.585](upbeat music swells)

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

Why Only One Rider? - ATV Aware

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments