Basic UTV Safety
Before you hit the trails or the dunes, you need make sure you understand some basic UTV and rider safety. Polaris® of Benton, located near Paducah and Bowling Green, Kentucky, wants to keep you have the most fun possible as safely as possible. If you follow our tips below you'll be sure to have a blast and avoid any trouble with your rides.
Wear the Right Gear
The first thing you can do to ensure your safety when you head out in a side by side is equip yourself with the right gear. Make sure you've got an appropriate helmet in good condition (No half Helmets!), long sleeve shirt and pants, sturdy boots, and a good set of goggles. Of all of these, your Helmet needs the most attention. Make sure you have a helmet that protects your face from impacts, because a sudden dive can send your face into the dash in a heartbeat. Branches and other trail hazards have no problem jumping straight through the ROPS and smacking you in the face, so protecting your eyes is also critical, and can prevent a disaster. When choosing goggles, a comfortable fit should be your first priority, with strong anti-fog capabilities being a close second. Make sure that the clothes you choose for riding would also be appropriate for hiking, because if your UTV quits on you, that's exactly what you'll be doing.
Stay on Trail
Side by sides have a few places where they really excel. Roads are not among those. Most side by sides may have some lights but they're far from street legal, and they're certainly not built to withstand an impact with a car. It's also important to your safety to keep your UTV on authorized trails. Bushwhacking may be really fun at first, but it won't take long before you turn yourself into a ditch you just can't drive out of, or find a rock hiding in plain site, and now you're high centered in the middle of the woods with no help on the way. Ride smart and stay on the trail.
Drive Sober
There are books of statistics on how driving under the influence increases risk of death and injury, and reams of data showing that your likelihood of injuring yourself and others while driving intoxicated is sky high. We're not going to beat you over the head with this information, just be smart and ride sober. Please.
Hands in
"Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle until we've come to a complete stop". It may be fun to throw your hands up in the air as you barrel over a hill, or feel the air flowing over your hand as you cruise down the trail, but it's not a great idea. The large lugs on UTV tires are likely to send a rock flying into your arm in the best case scenario, at worst you can get your arm stuck in the middle a pushing contest between a tree and your ROPS, and in that contest no one wins, and you lose. If you have to grab onto something UTVS come with handles just for that, so use them.
Pick the Right Side by Side
If you're heading out to ride in the woods using a side by side that's equipped for the dunes, you're going to have a bad trip. Likewise, bringing a sport side by side with paddle tires to ride on a trail is going to be an unwieldy driving experience. Make sure you know the capabilities of your UTV, and the equipment you outfit it with.
Whether you're in the woods, on the road, or tearing up the dunes, make sure you're wearing the proper gear, that you keep to well known trails and have decked out your UTV with the equipment you need to keep you safe, and keep your hands and feet tucked in, you'll have a blast no matter where you ride. Visit Polaris® of Benton today in Benton near Hopkinsville, and Louisville, Kentucky; and Clarksville, Nashville, and Paris Tennessee, and we'd love to walk you through our tips of safe and fun riding!