On Sunday a 26-year old Santa Maria man was killed in a single ATV accident. Details of the crash are not yet known. The alarming number of fatalities and serious injuries at the Oceano Dunes no doubt arms the anti off-road riding crowd with additional ammunition to close the beach to vehicular traffic. I'm not sure closing the beach will solve the problem. Those who love to ride will simply ride elsewhere if the beach is closed.
This message will not go into the environmental arguments over the off-road riding issues. But, from a safety standpoint, something must be done. Whether it be additional required training, safety equipment or limiting access to some of the more dangerous areas, such as "Competition Hill" where this accident happened, something must be done. Too many children and young adults are being hurt or killed. It is estimated that there are up to 300 serious accident per year at the 1500 acre off road area.
It is too easy to glibly enter this debate from afar. When your family has been personally affected by such an accident the debate takes on a completely different tone. I would love to hear suggestions from those who ride more than I do.
Have an opinion about this post? Please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Sad that you make assumptions without any information to back up your claim. You state: "...limiting access to some of the more dangerous areas, such as "Competition Hill"..."Competition Hill is not a dangerous area, if it were it would show a higher level of accidents or deaths...but it does not.Drawing a correlation or conclusion on limited information is sad. Should we assume that all lawyers are liars and child molestors since lawyers have committed these crimes in the past. I say no... but your rush to judgement shows that you think this is acceptable.If you study the accidents within the state you will see that the Oceano Dunes is one of the safest places to enjoy OHV activity. Any death or injury should not be taken lightly, but we must all realize that death and injury occurs in every activity and precautions must be taken.Who knows...maybe there are circumstances to this accident which have not been released.
You call the numbers "alarming" yet you ignore all of the deaths and injuries county-wide on highways, hiking trails and elsewhere. Yes, several hikers have fallen from cliffs lately--at least one killed. Should we ban hiking? Why not? Contrast it, please. Competition Hill is a very mild hill as far as dunes go--all of Oceano Dunes is mild. There are much much larger dunes in California. Without any specific knowledge or riding experience you equate one incident to categorically prove a fact. Bet you'd never let your legal opponent pull that maneuver unchallenged. You're obviously in a position to seek work and money off these incidents. But, I bet you'd fly either direction depending on which side hired you.
Keep up with the latest updates using your favorite RSS reader
Your question will be referred to an attorney near you. If your question is of a legal nature, then by submitting this form you agree you are not forming a formal attorney / client relationship. Read our full privacy policy.
Looking for an InjuryBoard attorney closer to home? Click here.
Enter your email address if you would like to receive email notifications when comments are made on this post.
Find an InjuryBoard Blog in your area:
Alabama
Birmingham
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Alaska
Anchorage
Fairbanks
Arizona
Chandler
Phoenix
Scottsdale
Tucson
Arkansas
Bentonville
El Dorado
Jonesboro
Little Rock
Mountain Home
California
Bakersfield
Chico
Fresno
Glendale
Huntington Beach
Lancaster
Long Beach
Los Angeles
Modesto
Novato
Oakland
Orange County
Redding
Sacramento
San Diego
San Diego County
San Francisco
San Jose
San Luis Obispo
Santa Clarita
Stockton
Ventura
Colorado
Colorado Springs
Denver
Fort Collins
Grand Junction
Connecticut
Hartford
New Haven
Waterbury
District of Columbia
Metro D.C.
Washington
Florida
Central Florida
Fort Lauderdale
Ft. Myers
Gainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach
Jacksonville
Melbourne
Miami
Orlando
Pensacola
Sarasota
Tallahassee
Tampa Bay
West Palm Beach
Georgia
Atlanta
Hawaii
Honolulu
Idaho
Boise
Illinois
Chicago
Chicago-Land
Cook County
Rockford & Moline
Springfield
Indiana
Bloomington
Indianapolis
Iowa
Council Bluffs
Davenport
Des Moines
Fort Dodge
Waterloo
Kansas
Topeka
Wichita
Kentucky
Bowling Green
Louisville
Paducah
Louisiana
Baton Rouge
Lafayette
New Orleans
Maine
Bangor & Augusta
Maryland
Baltimore
Massachusetts
Boston
Cape Cod
Stoughton / Canton
Michigan
Detroit
Grand Rapids
Lansing
Traverse City
Minnesota
Minneapolis
St. Cloud
Mississippi
Biloxi & Gulfport
Tupelo
Missouri
Jefferson City
Kansas City
St. Louis
Montana
Missoula
Nebraska
Lincoln
Omaha
Nevada
Las Vegas
Reno
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Bergen County
Cherry Hill
Jersey City
Newark
Trenton
New York
Buffalo
Long Island
New York City
Northern New York
Syracuse
North Carolina
Charlotte
Fayetteville
Greensboro
Greenville, OBX & Rocky Mount
Raleigh
Wilmington
Ohio
Akron
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Dayton
Findlay
Sandusky
Toledo
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City
Tulsa
Oregon
Portland
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Rhode Island
Providence
South Carolina
Charleston
Columbia
Florence / Myrtle Beach
Greenville
Spartanburg
Tennessee
Chattanooga
Nashville
Texas
Austin
Beaumont
Brownsville
Corpus Christi
Dallas
Galveston Bay
Houston
Laredo
McAllen
North Dallas
San Antonio
Tyler
Victoria
Waco
Utah
Salt Lake City
Vermont
Virginia
Charlottesville
Fairfax, Leesburg & Loudoun
Norfolk, Portsmouth & Hampton
Northern Virginia
Richmond
Roanoke
Virginia Beach, Chesapeake & Suffolk
Everett
King County
Olympia
Seattle
Tacoma
Vancouver
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Wyoming
Cheyenne
Tallahassee Accident Lawyers
King Nut Peanut