Division I - Safety
25
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Sound Judgment
Be aware of prescription and over-the-
counter medications. Drowsiness and
impaired judgment can be caused by a
wide variety of medications. The same is
true of allergy, cold, flu, and headache
medications. Your physical size and
weight can’t protect you... just one anti-
histamine tablet can affect your judg-
ment.
If your sense of adventure persuades you
to do illegal drugs when you’re riding
your ATV, this is a reality check. Some-
thing to think about—there can be legal
consequences that will take away all that
freedom you love. Don’t use alcohol or
drugs before or during your ATV ride.
Your Physical Condition
Being physically exhausted is like being
drunk. Try to do something that’s detail-
oriented when you’re really tired, and
you’ll feel totally uncoordinated.
Reckless Riding
If you are involved in an ATV accident
when you’re speeding, you have a 25%
chance of landing yourself in the hospi-
tal. The faster you go, the more likely
you are to destroy your head and internal
organs, and skip the wheelies, jumps,
stunts, and any other showboating.
Laws and Regulations
Any police officer will tell you that igno-
rance of the law is no defense. Your best
defense is to check out your local, state,
or provincial ATV laws before riding.
It’ll also make sure that you can continue
to ride in your favorite areas. The quick-
est way to have a land area closed is by
riding over the regulations.
Group Behavior
People always do crazier and riskier
things in a group than they would con-
sider doing by themselves. When you’re
ATV riding with others and things start to
get out of hand, decide whether you’re
willing to be injured or see your friends
injured.
SIPDE
By themselves, none of these safe behav-
iors and sound judgments will go very
far. But when you put them all together...
when you’re paying attention to how you
feel, when you’re monitoring the move-
ments of your ATV, and when you’re
constantly evaluating your environment,
then you’re practicing SIPDE. SIPDE is
an acronym that stands for:
THE EFFECTS OF
ALCOHOL*
The Number of Drinks that Impair
Mental and Physical Abilities
1-2 DRINKS
Mental processes such as restraint,
awareness, concentration, and judg-
ment affected; reaction time slowed;
inability to perform complicated tasks.
3-4 DRINKS
Depth perception, glare recovery, eye
movement, and focus affected;
decreased judgment and control.
5+ DRINKS
Coordination deteriorates, loss of criti-
cal judgment, and impaired memory
and comprehension.
*According to the ATV Safety Institute.
Don’t ride:
1. When you’re tired
SI PDE
SCAN/
SEARCH
IDENTIFY
HAZARDS
PREDICT WHAT
WILL HAPPEN
DECIDE WHAT
TO DO
EXECUTE THE
DECISION
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