UTV Safety
Your UTV helps you get all your hard work done during the week and provides you with thrilling off-road adventure on the weekends. However, it’s essential that you and your friends and family stay safe and use some common sense while you’re on your UTV, whether it’s for work or play.
Langston Motorsports, located in sunny Perris and nestled in the Inland Empire, has prepared this guide to riding your UTV or other side by side safely. If you’re interested in checking out some great UTVs for sale, including the latest Yamaha UTV models, come and see us today!
Drive Sober
Whenever you’re operating heavy machinery, it’s vital that you have 100% of your focus and reflexes available to handle any problems that arise or obstacles in your path. Just as drunk driving is forbidden when you’re driving a passenger car, so it is with operating a side by side. Alcohol isn’t the only substance that can impede your judgement and reflexes, either -- some prescription medications and health conditions also make operating a UTV inadvisable. Check with your doctor to know whether you can drive a side by side on your particular medications, and know how they affect you before you get behind the wheel. Your life and the lives of your passengers are at stake, so make sure you stay sharp and sober when you’re operating your UTV.
Gear Up
Another way you’ll need to protect yourself and your passengers in your side by side is by providing and using the appropriate safety gear. Helmets are the most important safety equipment you can have, so make sure you have an appropriate helmet that’s DOT-rated and protects the face for every rider on your UTV. Motocross helmets are an ideal option for UTV riding as they’re lightweight and breathable while offering the kind of protection needed in an open-air vehicle riding in extreme conditions. If your helmets lack face protection, you’ll want to get goggles for every rider to keep dust and kicked-up debris out of their eyes, too.
Every rider should also be wearing gloves and long sleeves and pants with closed-toe shoes, preferably boots that go to the ankle, since the lack of sidewalls makes you vulnerable to whatever obstacles line the trail. Make sure your UTV also has a first aid kit, too, so you can deal with cuts and scrapes as they happen.
Supervise Kids
UTVs are a great choice for families since they often provide seating for up to six passengers, and kids love the thrills of riding dunes and cruising through the forest as much as adults do. Very young children should never be taken in a UTV, as these vehicles don’t provide space for car seats. Some state laws may have age restrictions for UTV riding or require that your kids participate in a safety course or training before they operate a side by side. You’ll want to be able to supervise them and that means riding next to underage riders and guiding them. For teenagers who are allowed to operate UTVs on their own, you’ll still want to make sure you know where they’re going if they leave your line of sight and that they wear the proper gear, don’t use drugs or alcohol, and are well-versed in safety rules.
Stick To The Beaten Path
Tempting as it may be to head off into the forest or hills and abandon established paths, when you’re on a UTV, it’s best to stick to the available trails, particularly on public lands. You don’t want to damage fragile ecosystems with your vehicle or tear up ground unnecessarily. The predictability of the path lets you be safer and then you can go faster, which isn’t a bad trade-off. Unseen obstacles off the trail like holes or ditches can wreck your suspension or worse, send you and your passengers flying, so it’s better to avoid going truly off-road if you can.
Ready to get your hands on a new or used UTV for some adventuring at the weekend? We’ve got a good selection of side by side brands in our showroom, including Yamaha, so come and see us to get your UTV questions answered. Langston Motorsports serves the whole of the Inland Empire and neighboring Orange County with our convenient Perris dealership. If you’re seeking a brand-new Yamaha side by side and you’re in Temecula, Riverside or San Bernardino, California, we’re here to help you find it!