Stupid is as Stupid does...

Isn't that how Forrest, Forrest Gump said it!? 

So here I am , a very nice Island day, warm temperatures and little wind... I decide to have a ride on my VX 800 Gentleman's Express, and I head to the coast, catching up with route 20 to Malpeque.  I've had some bodywork done to the old F 150 that has hauled me to Baja and across Canada and I want to pay Shane for the work.  He's on my way...

Turning left at Park Corner, accelerating back to highway speeds, which on PEI isn't really very fast, I spot a vehicle in front of me about a km or so distant.  Traffic coming towards me is light and we seem to be the only ones headed west.  What strikes me is that the 'car' is really small, like maybe a Smart for two.  I'm just over the speed limit around 95kph and I am not gaining on it. Over hill and dale, around corners, I find that after about 10 kilometers he is slowing and I catch up just in time to see that it is an ATV.  That would be All Terrain Vehicle.  Soft compound low pressure balloon tires, short wheelbase twitchy steering and all. 

Now they may be legal on city streets in Phx with a few mods, and of course you can ride anything in Baja even in San Felipe or La Paz, but I know for a fact, you can't legally ride an ATV on public roads here.

Considering I have been traveling at 50- 55 mph, it must be a fairly large displacement quad.  As I close and he is slowing to ultimately turn off the pavement, I see that not only is the rider helmet less... but also shirtless. 

Now guys, I was in the biz for a long time, and I too have an ATV in my garage, but it is strictly a work unit, hauling trailers full of dirt for Brenda's garden or plowing snow in winter.  I never ride it shirtless and only without helmet in winter when I usually have a toque on, to keep my Dumbo ears warm!  If I ride it on the property, I wear a lid.  After all, Anna will eventually take to it and I need to set a good example don't you think.

Anyway, back to dude or should we call him 'stupid', he looks like maybe... 16-18 or so, and I wonder if he will make it out of his teens.  Or is he going to be another statistic giving fuel to those that think we are all potential organ donors or worse.

I remember the hub bub in the 80's when people were getting killed left and right on their atv's.  Course many were drunk, stoned, riding two up without helmets (maybe even shirts) and crashing into one another and anything else solid enough to kill or maim them for life.  There were those that wanted them banned altogether and once the US government got involved (which we followed blindly of course) three wheelers were very quickly trashed and punished.  The saying goes, "guns don't kill people, people kill people"  I don't have a closet full of AK47's Uzi's or even Winchesters, but I'm sure that logic could easily be applied to pretty much anything.  Knives, hammers, nail guns, chain saws, barbells, barbed wire fences, farm tractors, lawn mowers... you get the point.

Stupid could get you here.

Like Gump said... "Stupid is as Stupid does."