It will definitely never cease to amaze me how reckless some fellows are when it comes to their own safety while riding and ATV or side-by-side.
For reasons that still elude my understanding, some people will always think that only because the vehicle they plan to ride has four wheels instead of two, nothing bad can happen. Or, in the worst-case scenario, the chances that something goes wrong are infinitely smaller than when riding a motorcycle... which is not exactly true.
Funny thing, I talked to other riding buddies and many of them seemed to confirm this hypothesis. People who do not ride motorcycles, often believe they are exceedingly dangerous, most likely because of the speed-balance factor.
However, as far as a four-wheeler goes, the same people tend to see it as being a much safer vehicle, most likely because it will not do 180 mph (290 km/h) and it wold not fall to the ground.
Unfortunately, these chaps ignore the fact that one doesn't need to travel at straight line MotoGP speeds to crash in a very nasty way, and the video after the jump is just the perfect proof. Frankly, I am amazed each time when I see hard, nasty crashes and people walking off unscathed, even though they don't wear any protective gear.
As for tumbling SxSs, if you ever rolled in one, you know how hard riders can bash their heads against the headrests and all. And I am not even talking about having one of your hands caught under the ROPS (roll-over protection structure) can even lead to amputations.
Just wear those helmets, would you, even though you're not going to slice the desert aboard the 2016 Yamaha YXZ1000R.
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