Do you wear a helmet when riding your side-by-side UTV?

[hdtran]

That's the question! Or, if you want to add details:

(a) How do you use the UTV? (roads? off-road to get to trees? etc.)

(b) If you are wearing a helmet--how frequently? What type of helmet?

 

My own answers: (a) Most of the time off-road to get to downed trees, cut the trees to logs and haul the logs back for splitting. (b) Very rarely, a ski helmet and not a motorcycle helmet.

[aefron88]

Trails? Motorcycle helmet.

Riding around the yard at lowish speeds doing yardwork? Nothing or maybe a logging style hardhat if i'm doing chainsaw work

[Alien10]

Only use the UTV for work around my 10 acres.  Hard top and roll cage, and don't use a helmet.  Too much in and out of the seat for small jobs here and there.   I don't race around in it either.  Its a mini work truck.   Nice to haul rounds out of the woods to pile and then split. Then the splits down to house for the wood burner. 

 

[ibike]

No helmet. Ride around the hood mostly hardly ever exceeding 20 mph. Ride around the eight acres picking up sticks and cleaning stuff. Sometimes I wear the seatbelt. Visit the neighbors caring a beer or two. I live in a very rural area. No internet, cornfields everywhere. 

[Joe Breaux]

No..never. I do use shoulder belt tho.at 115 degrees here a helmet is not a good thing.

[ibike]

There was a video on YouTube of a couple of dudes riding wild. Rolled over and landed on his neck. Looked like it ended badly. I use the excuse that I usually only go slow, but it’s probably not smart on my part. Every person in my hood rides around no helmet. Heck one lady rides her baby in her arms around. 
My neighbor is a fireman and he seems to think people are not smart. Told us about a 73 year old couple passed out on fentanyl he had to attend to. 
 

[Alien10]

Whether we use helmets or not use helmets, the core issue is personal responsibility.   Charles Darwin had a theory about survival of the fittest, and I doubt if that theory applies only to the physical aspect of evolution.   I see ads for UTVs and ATVs with wild speeds and maneuvers in deserts and forests.   Trail riding like that might suggest a helmet might be a good idea.   Yet, no helmet or seat belt, or any safety system for that matter,  can protect anyone from irresponsible actions.    Hit a tree or bury the front end in a gully at speed,  and it just isn't going to end well. 

 

[aefron88]

To add to what others have posted the most common UTV injuries are ejections (IE no seatbelt) or arm/leg injuries where those get outside the cage. If you do roll it the cage only protects you if you and your appendages stay inside, like a ROPS on a tractor. Driver and passenger need seatbelt, feet on the floor, drivers hands on the wheel, and passenger needs to grab the grab bar (thats why the passengers side on most models has a grab bar or t-bar).

Probably not going to roll it over at low speeds on flat terrain working in the yard. Offroad trail riding can be a different story.

[ibike]

Some of the posts on here talk about rolling over and only going 20mph when the belt shreds and locks up the wheels. That’s an incentive for me to buckle up. 
I love the Darwin awards ideal. Works in the animal world and ours too. 

[Greg Kilgore]

Had a CFMoto, the CVT shredded and locked up the rear wheels. Doing 30ish on blacktop. Rolled onto drivers side. Me no seatbelt and wife strapped in. I didn't get a scratch (got very very lucky. Pulled arm in at last second) and wife was badly bruised from seatbelt.

Installed 5-point harnesses on both driver and passenger on new Axis 500.

[Redtape]

Unfortunately, we have no choice except to ride paved roads, and there is little chance for a problem except the rare possibility of collision.  We do not wear helmets, but if we were on trails where rollover was possible, we would probably change our choice.

I did research helmets just to have one if we need them, and I came to the conclusion that the weight of the helmet is very important.  I had a motorcycle, and the helmet gave me a pain in the neck.  Try to wear one around the store for a little while to judge your comfort level.

Any helmet you buy should be DOT approved to meet the requirements of any trails that require helmets.

Considering the safety factor, it is hard to suggest not wearing a helmet, but we don't just from a comfort standpoint.  

 

 

 

 

[SnowPlower]

I do low speeds on my property so I dont. Its strictly work/mini truck.

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[Joe Breaux]

On 7/6/2024 at 11:17 AM, ibike said:

Some of the posts on here talk about rolling over and only going 20mph when the belt shreds and locks up the wheels. That’s an incentive for me to buckle up. 
I love the Darwin awards ideal. Works in the animal world and ours too. 

That sounds like a class action lawsuit if it flips just because a belt broke. I don't see how that happens. Locking the wheels just makes you stop

[ibike]

Yeah. I struggle with how you lock it up and roll over? Maybe if the front axle is locked in? Also seems like the belt would be the weak link and shear. Dunno. 🤷 

[hdtran]

1 hour ago, ibike said:

Yeah. I struggle with how you lock it up and roll over? Maybe if the front axle is locked in? Also seems like the belt would be the weak link and shear. Dunno. 🤷 

When wheels lock (usually the rear), the locked wheels usually break loose from the pavement, and will want to go faster over the road than the non-locked wheels. If they are the rear wheels that go faster over the road, your UTV will go sideways. If you slow down and/or steer poorly, you will get a moment (a torque) that may tip you over--especially if the UTV is top-heavy.

I guess I'm getting confirmation bias to continue not to wear a helmet, especially when riding in my wooded 8 acres to collect downed trees and/or cut undergrowth, dead trees, etc. 

[ibike]

Makes sense. 

[Redtape]

They talk about belt spreading, but I don't think Honda Pioneers even have a belt to shred.   I have never wanted to have a belt to worry about on any machine - snowmobile or ATV/UYV.  But a lot of people with more experience than I have choose belt driven machines.   It's hard to say Polaris and Ski-Doo aren't really popular even in Alaska.

[Joe Breaux]

sorry, but are you saying locked wheels will go faster than rolling wheels?  😮      I m still not wearing a helmet  but do wear shoulder belts

[hdtran]

5 hours ago, Joe Breaux said:

sorry, but are you saying locked wheels will go faster than rolling wheels?  😮      I m still not wearing a helmet  but do wear shoulder belts

Yes, Joe--when braking very hard, locked wheels will travel faster over pavement (or dirt, mud, etc.) than rolling wheels. If you're interested in the details, look up "coefficient of kinetic friction." If you're not braking, you still have control issues--the skidding wheels do not steer, and do not resist sideways motion as well as the rolling or driving wheels (the math gets really hairy for me, look up "nonholonomic systems"--that's where I gave up in school 🙃).

[Joe Breaux]

12 hours ago, hdtran said:

Yes, Joe--when braking very hard, locked wheels will travel faster over pavement (or dirt, mud, etc.) than rolling wheels. If you're interested in the details, look up "coefficient of kinetic friction." If you're not braking, you still have control issues--the skidding wheels do not steer, and do not resist sideways motion as well as the rolling or driving wheels (the math gets really hairy for me, look up "nonholonomic systems"--that's where I gave up in school 🙃).

What?   they dont steer I agree but go faster than rolling?  Not a chance  .. Proof....go out and lock your park brake and see how far you can push it.  DOWNHILL!  .. now unlock brake and watch it roll away . locked wheel create drag far more than a rolling wheel. 

[Travis]

my skull is thick enough i don't have to....

[Joe Breaux]

there was a time I  could say my HAIR would protect my head... not  any more

[Joe Breaux]

On 7/6/2024 at 7:04 AM, ibike said:

There was a video on YouTube of a couple of dudes riding wild. Rolled over and landed on his neck. Looked like it ended badly. I use the excuse that I usually only go slow, but it’s probably not smart on my part. Every person in my hood rides around no helmet. Heck one lady rides her baby in her arms around. 
My neighbor is a fireman and he seems to think people are not smart. Told us about a 73 year old couple passed out on fentanyl he had to attend to. 
 

You would think that if they were stupid enough to use fentanyl  at 73, they would have died years ago crossing the street🫡

[Joe Breaux]

I dont get it..  I type fentanyl  and auto correct changes it to fantasy?  more AI nonsense?  It thinks it knows what  I meant to say??  I changed it back to fentanyl...

[mac66]

In my state you don't need a helmet if there is a roll cage and seat belts so seat belts but no helmet when riding off the property.  On the property at low speeds I don't use the seat belts either.

[Joe Breaux]

We call motorcycle riders with no helmet....organ donors