'No helmet, no ride': How an ATV group is putting safety first
Group founder Dean Layman says the rules and regulations reign supreme with Avalon ATV
On a sunny morning in late October, about a dozen all-terrain vehicle riders from eastern Newfoundland got ready for a family-fun ride in the woods.
For the Avalon ATV Facebook group, it's all about safety first.
"I started this in September, to just get out and enjoy the countryside," said group founder Dean Layman.
He says for a run like this, they'll plan for a particular day and time, post it online in the group, and whoever shows up, shows up.
"We see some water, we play in it. We see some mud, we play in it. We get dirty. Have fun. Like a kid at a candy store," Layman said.
For this ride, the group planned to take some kids along, and to take it easy: a ride from Northern Pond Road, across from Paddy's Pond — just outside of St. John's — along some muddy trails and into the woods near Cochrane Pond, for a boil-up in a little clearing.
Midday, with the sun beating down among the tall trees, Layman says this is why he started Avalon ATV.
"Enjoying it with my boy, with friends, [and making] new ones," he said. "Have a laugh."
But it's not all fun and games when using these machines. Layman says he knows first-hand how they can be dangerous.
He's seen accidents that he says could be caused by any number of factors: speed, a tire blowing out, or someone not knowing the road or how to properly handle an ATV.
But Layman says it is possible to enjoy ATVs safely — if you take certain precautions.
There is one main point that is steadfast for Avalon ATV.
"[Wearing a] helmet is a big thing: no helmet, no ride," Layman said, noting that he has turned riders away from a planned run if they showed up without one.
"That's the rules and regulations over everything. You got to have a helmet.… People [are] after dying on them, for the simple fact: no helmet."
Safety first
Wearing a helmet and bright safety vest, rider Kim Kelly is new to ATVs and the group.
Safety is, first and foremost, a priority for her.
"For me personally, it's definitely a determining factor for joining the group," she said.
Fatal Fun, a CBC investigation into ATV accidents in Atlantic Canada, found that over the past six years, there have been more than 178 fatalities from ATV or snowmobile accidents.
- Fatal Fun: How Atlantic Canadians are dying on recreational vehicles
- N.L.'s fatality rate in ATV, snowmobile accidents tops Atlantic region, CBC probe finds
"It's frightening. It's jarring. There are so many ATV accidents that you hear about," Kelly said.
"For people who are new riders, as I am — if you're with people who can teach them how to ride, keeping in mind speed and the factors and the terrain that you're riding on … practise safe practices, wear your helmet, you can be safe on a bike."
'Pure joy'
Being out on her ATV for a run — out in the elements, away from technology — is "pure joy," said Kelly.
"We're at an age where there's so much information coming at us all the time, that you're out there, and you're just taking it all in. Breathing the fresh air. It's beautiful.… I love it. Absolutely love it," she said.
"The wind, the rain, the dirt, the mud. It's absolutely awesome."
Layman, meanwhile, says he loves the feeling of freedom out in the wilderness.
He has some some advice for anyone going out on an ATV ride.
"Know where you're going, and be prepared," Layman said.
"Any run I go on, I have a first aid kit. You don't know what could happen."
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