My observations on Track vs. Trail Riders

[Riding the Metro]

It seems that most of the injuries are happening on tracks, according to the requests submitted here on RiderDown.org. My personal observation is yes, I see it happening at the tracks today.

Are these riders not experienced enough for tracks?
Are tracks are too dangerous for mini's?
Are we facing a new "Little League" syndrome of Dad pushing Jr. to race before he's ready?
Are these injured riders a result of improper instruction?
Are riders not using proper riding gear?

Below are my findings. You may be suprised!


I've been doing an informal survey at the mx parks and whenever I chance encounter riders on the trail and have some interesting results.

When polled about how long they have been riding and age:

1. 35 trail riders polled. 28 had been riding more than 10 years and were between the ages of 30-50. 7 were between 15-25 and had less than 5 years riding experience.

2. 35 track riders polled. 21 had been riding less than 4 years and were between the ages of 12-20. 5 had 2 years or less and 2 had 1 year or less. 7 had 5 years or more.

3. Of all 70 riders polled only 6 had attended any safety courses That's less than 10%.

4. Of 70 riders observed. 18 had were not properly equipped with riding apparel.

Needless to say I was amazed and these numbers and the correlation between trail vs. track riders vs. age.

Riding the Metro

[Don M]

Need less to say, one very important question left out of this poll was the question of insurance. I am amased at the number of people that are out riding and racing w/o proper medical coverage. I know first hand that it is tough to obtain coverage sometimes, but as an ER nurse, I also know the extremes of the treatments for injured riders. I am not here to preach, but I know that new health care and EMS guidelines are causing the medics to bring people to the major medical centers.The mechanism of injury guidelines REQUIRE a minimal level of care, therefore there are times when the closest ER is not where the Down Rider may go.In turn, this leads to higher cost of care, therefore making healthcare insurance a major component of safety apparel.
Maybe someone with insurance knowledge could figure a way to design a plan that riders could buy into ( maybe through the AMA) as a type self insurance plan .........most large universitiy hospitals do this.Just a thought.............anyone know about insurance policies and plans???
.............Don