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Tips to Keep Your Kids Safe on the Trail

By Kavan Wright | Behind The Wheel on May 23, 2018
6M READ
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There are few things better than seeing a big grin on your child’s face. It’s only natural that you would want to include them in a hobby that brings you so much joy. So when you pack the kids up, stick them in the RZR, and hit the trail, you know you’re in for a day full of giggles, smiles, and a whole lot of fun.

Before long, the kids get comfortable and start making their own decisions and asking for a turn behind the wheel—or maybe they just take a turn without asking. No matter what they do, it’s important that you and your kids have a healthy dose of fear and caution when operating a UTV or ATV. These things aren’t just big toys—they’re heavy-duty machines that require just as much care to operate as a road vehicle. Make safety your number-one concern every time you ride, and you’re guaranteed to have many smile-filled days ahead.

DISCLAIMER: You’re responsible for following the law. Know the rules and regulations for your state or province before taking your kids on the trail. The opinions below are just that—opinions, not professional advice.

Helpful Rules of Thumb

How Small is Too Small?

When do you start taking your kids on a ride? Polaris puts stickers on all their vehicles stating that passengers must be at least twelve years old, but local laws may be more or less lenient, so check them out! Generally speaking, if your kid can’t reach the grab bar and set their feet flat on the floor, they’re probably too small, legally speaking. That guideline is precisely what the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) recommends for state laws. It makes a lot of sense and considering Polaris, Can-Am, and the rest of your favorite UTV manufacturers are members of ROHVA, you shouldn’t go ignoring advice like that.

child at Rally On The Rocks
The best way to find out if your child is too small is to look at the stickers on your ride, or you can check out the ROHVA guidelines for some peace of mind.
Photo by SuperATV

We’re confident that regardless of what a sticker or the law says, you’re going to do your own thing on your own property, and you want your kid out there with you as early as possible. So let’s start at the extreme end of the spectrum. If your child can’t hold their head up on their own, they’re too small. If your child is still in a rear-facing car seat, they’re too small.

Let’s say your child has reached that forward-facing age. At this point, you can think about installing a specially-designed UTV child seat, like a booster seat. Once they can reach the floor and a grab bar while belted in, they can move to a regular seat.

Can-Am Maverick X3 MAX at Rally On The Rocks
This little booger (pun intended) has that dad every child wants! While a car seat isn’t our number-one choice for child UTV safety, there are plenty of other ways to keep your little one safe so they don’t have to miss out on rides.
Photo by SuperATV

In all cases you, can’t go all out and drive like a madman. Bumps, jumps, or rollovers that you think are no big deal might do serious harm to your small child, which brings us to the next item on our list.

Wear Helmets and Neck Collars

Every rider should wear a helmet on every ride, without exception. Even the most cautious riders roll over every now and then, and even an easy rollover can have devastating consequences if you neglect to wear your helmet. You put a case on your iPhone that you replace every two years, so why not protect your head the same way? That brain is the only one you’ve got, and it’s your responsibility to make sure your kid’s head doesn’t get bonked.

You should also consider purchasing neck collars for your kids. These are usually reserved for competitive riders, but they give much-needed support to keep your small child’s head from bouncing all over the place and straining their neck. Like we said, it’s easier for them to strain their neck than it is for you.

Throw in some eye protection, like goggles, while you’re at it. Of course, dust and debris are bad for your eyes, but so are June bugs and horse flies. Keep those critters out!

WEAR YOUR HARNESS

The bare-minimum ride insurance you have is your stock standard seat belts. They’re on every new UTV out there, and there’s no excuse for not wearing them.

We recommend upgrading to a good four or five-point harness. They’re magnitudes safer for them (and you) than a stock three-point seat belt. You don’t want your kid to rollover, but if they do, a good aftermarket harness will keep them safe in their seat.

Get the Right Side-by-Side Car Seat for Small Riders

If your kid is too small for the stock harness, you’ll want to consider a booster seat. Remember: if they can’t put their feet flat on the ground and reach the grab bar while in their harness, they need a booster. If you don’t use a booster, a small child could slip out of their harness or the harness itself could hurt them. Not to mention, they’ll be more comfortable in a seat designed for their small frame.

There are a variety of UTV child seats out there, but the safest ones tend to use your already installed harness to anchor your child. In that situation, your child is using the same frame-mounted seatbelt to hold them in place as you are—the booster just gets them in the right position to make them safe and comfortable.

Enforce Strict Guidelines on Kids Driving

The stickers all over your machine say you must be sixteen years or older and possess a valid driver’s license in order to drive. That’s a good rule! These aren’t Big Wheels we’re talking about—these are powerful machines that require a great deal of responsibility to drive safely.

riders at Rally On The Rocks
Once you reach that age to operate a UTV, you’ll be all smiles. So trust us, it’s worth the wait!
Photo by SuperATV

That being said, you know your kids. You know how well they make decisions and follow rules, and we know that you’re going to let them drive no matter what anybody says. Everybody remembers sitting on their parent’s lap and steering the truck on a private drive or back road. It’s easy to give your kid that kind of limited control and keep them safe. It’s not so easy when they want to gas, brake, and steer with you sitting shotgun.

We know you want to give them their shot behind the wheel, even before they get their driver’s license. Just remember: Ride with them every time! Don’t let them ride the way you do! Know their limits! This is serious stuff. Kids have an amazing ability to hurt themselves when you’re not looking.

Don’t Tow Your Kids

There are a lot of people that like to tow their kids on saucers strung to the back of their ATV or UTV, and maybe you’re one of them. This can be incredibly risky for a number of reasons. Kids can get caught up in the tow line and dragged or strangled. They can fly off and slam into an obstacle or get cut up just from skidding across the ground. They can even crash into objects while on the sled if the driver loses the slightest bit of control. It’s just too hard for a driver to keep tabs on the kid at the end of the rope.

This is one situation where I’m not going to say, “If you do it, you should do it the safe way.”

Rather, our advice for you here is simply to not do it. Save it for the lake.

Set the Rules

These young riders need rules. For example:

Never get in the seat without a responsible adult present.

Never start the engine.

Always keep your hands inside the vehicle.

These are just a few good places to start when it comes to keeping your child happy and healthy.

You have to lead by example, too. Don’t ask your kid to wear a helmet and then cruise around without a helmet yourself. They’ll pick up on that in a heartbeat. Likewise, don’t hang your arm out the window and expect your child not to do the same. (You shouldn’t be doing that, anyway!) Kids are smart, perceptive, and impressionable. They will do exactly what you do every time. If you follow the guidelines on this page, so will they.

Ready to Ride?

Riding UTVs makes all of us feel like big kids. Maybe that’s why so many kids gravitate towards riding so quickly. Their joy is infectious and makes going for a ride that much better. Just make sure you remember who the adult is when you have a kid in the cab. Keep them safe and keep them happy. If you do, you’ll have some of the best rides of your life.

RELATED CONTENT: safety26 youth6
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5 Comments

  1. Avatar for Mary Britt Mary Britt says:
    November 7, 2020 at 12:02 pm

    You preach about helmets, but no one in the accompanying photos is wearing one.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Tyler Lichlyter Tyler Lichlyter says:
      November 10, 2020 at 1:59 pm

      Hey Mary, we do preach helmets. These photos were actually taken at an event of people who do not work for SuperATV. We do recommend wearing helmets, but it is a choice. Thanks for the support!

      Reply
  2. Avatar for Sandy McKinnon Sandy McKinnon says:
    March 23, 2021 at 7:41 am

    Ppl who don’t wear helmets… we call them donors!

    Reply
  3. Avatar for Amy Amy says:
    August 18, 2021 at 10:32 pm

    Where do you find state laws on riding rules? We have tried calling DNR and talking to the cops, but no straight answers. We are just cruising but want to take our 2 year old sometimes.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Tyler Lichlyter Tyler Lichlyter says:
      August 19, 2021 at 11:21 am

      Hey Amy, thanks for checking in! It really does depend by state, and even sometimes by county, but check out this guide to help get you started: https://www.superatv.com/offroad-atlas/how-to-make-an-atv-or-utv-street-legal/ This has been a tricky topic of interest for us as well, as we would love to provide these resources for our readers. We are actively working on finding general regulations at even the state level to help with this. I’m hoping that as the recreational industry grows, these rules will be better defined for all to participate. Hopefully you are able to find what the rules are for your state! Thank you for tuning in.

      Reply

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