The Quickshift
- Engaging in powersports comes with inherent risk, and it's our responsibility to have fun in the safest, most responsible manner.
- The ATV Safety Institute makes this a bit easier with new online courses that are free of charge.
- The online courses include beginner training, as well as training for parents and guardians of youngsters looking to learn how to ride.
It goes without saying that engaging in any type of powersports—be it motorcycling, ATV riding, or heck, even e-bike riding—carries with it some degree of risk. But of course, said risk can be mitigated in many ways, some of these include getting the proper gear and building the skills needed to ride these machines safely.
I’m sure that most if not all of you who read our stuff here on RideApart are advocates of safety. Perhaps you’ve even taken a class or two to help hone your skills aboard your machine of choice. But if you haven’t, and you’re looking to get in on the fun of ATV riding, well you just might be in luck.
The ATV Safety Institute has just released two new online courses geared towards improving safety, specifically for young and beginner riders. And despite being headquartered in Irvine, California, the ATV Safety Institute’s courses are available to anyone anywhere in the world, provided you’ve got a stable internet connection.
Scott Schloegel, the acting President and CEO of the ATV Safety Institute, explained how ATVs are tons of fun but also require skills to operate in a safe manner. “Riding an ATV expands how you can enjoy the outdoors, but it takes skills and safe-riding techniques to get the most out of your ride.”
Furthermore, Schloegel emphasizes that the online courses aren’t meant as standalone training for novice riders, but are meant as precursors to hands-on training sessions. But hey, if all you have access to are these online courses, plus a safe space for you to get the hang of driving an ATV, I’d say that this is much better than hitting the trails with no training at all.
The ATV Safety Institute's two new online courses consist of the ATV eCourse and the Coaching Young Riders program. The first of which is designed for all beginner riders, and focuses on the fundamentals of operating an ATV. It also includes safe riding strategies and basic troubleshooting, preparing you for the challenges of off-road riding. It’s entirely online and self-paced, and your progress is automatically saved as you go along.
Meanwhile, the Coaching Young Riders program is designed for parents and guardians supervising youngsters learning the ropes of ATV riding. Instead of coaching the kids themselves, the program trains their guardians to keep them safe, although the institute recommends that both kids and adults take the course online together. All it takes is just 30 minutes for you and your youngster to be armed with the knowledge needed to stay safe out on the trails.
It’s definitely exciting to see more structured training programs offered to powersports enthusiasts. Not long ago, folks just hopped on their bikes and quads and ripped up the trails, hell for leather, full speed ahead. As a result, there were tons of crashes, injuries, and collateral damage.
And so naturally, these days, safety plays a much bigger role in pretty much everything. And if we want to keep enjoying our adrenaline-filled passions for as long as possible, well, we might as well do them as safely as possible, am I right?
