USA Today

queen of spodes wrote:

All that will be left are private, closed-to-public facilities and public tracks with enough business to weather the increased insurance. Lots of people will have to pick...

All that will be left are private, closed-to-public facilities and public tracks with enough business to weather the increased insurance. 

Lots of people will have to pick up hare scrambles/enduro, until the next USA Today article is written about those forms of competition

DonM wrote:

How is a professional riders union/association going to have any effect on any amateur tracks operations? The AMA is who is responsible to create and enforce...

How is a professional riders union/association going to have any effect on any amateur tracks operations? The AMA is who is responsible to create and enforce any and all safety standards for tracks. A huge issue is all the non-AMA tracks and facilities that are not following any so called rules as they make up their own. One of the biggest safety issues in this sport is many of these tracks don't have flaggers or medical personnel at the track during practice days while allowing all age groups and skill levels to ride at the same time...to me that is the most insane part of this (Yes I'm talking about Glenn Helen and many of the Cali tracks that operate this way)....on that list how many of those kids were landed on by adults on bigger bikes at tracks that allowed this? You are never going to eliminate severe injuries and/or death but by just having medical personnel mandatory at every session, separate practice schedules for age and skill levels and capping the number of riders on the track per session would have a huge impact on these numbers. It's these tracks that have put profit over safety that have caused this....shame on them and the people that support them. 

cheesehead420 wrote:

While having a professional riders union would help. The most helpful thing would be a federation of motocrossers for motocrossers. specifically one that spans all levels...

While having a professional riders union would help. The most helpful thing would be a federation of motocrossers for motocrossers. specifically one that spans all levels of participation. In order for that to work most effectively having the professional riders on board would be essential. 
Having the pros (the most visible riders) could and would steer the culture of motocross. 
 

We don’t need more rules, we need better examples. And having a federation by us and for us, could help to shape the image and subculture of motocross into one that isn’t constantly shooting itself in the foot. 

This is basically what the ama started out to do but it’s outgrown its initiative and is bogged down in bureaucracy. There’s no need to appease the law as they try to do when we can better abide by the laws and framework we lay out ourselves. The best rules are those unwritten and common sense is a fantastic thing, we just need to create a culture that values common sense. 

DonM wrote:

A professional riders union/association is to represent AMA Pro racers period, just as the NFL players union has nothing to do with High School or College...

A professional riders union/association is to represent AMA Pro racers period, just as the NFL players union has nothing to do with High School or College football....again this has zero to do with Chicken Licks Raceway...In fact all the Chicken Licks Raceways out there are to blame for these issues and if we want have a big impact that will help move the needle we as riders need to stop going to these tracks that don't follow basic common sense safety rules....if a track allows little Johnny Beginner on his 50 on the track as the same time as big bikes stop going there....these tracks either need to get inline or get the F out....

Graybeard wrote:

We are screwed when our "Governing Body" (AMA - Tim Cotter) go in front of a state governing body (Massachusetts in the story) and says we...

We are screwed when our "Governing Body" (AMA - Tim Cotter) go in front of a state governing body (Massachusetts in the story) and says we need MORE GOVERNMENT REGULAION...............WTF, AMA, that's the LAST thing you need, more Government involvement. They just want to shut dirt bikes down, you moran. AMA seems to me to be using this story to try and make EVERY track an AMA track, in a money grab.  

Pop Shmoke wrote:

Lewis brought up a great point on lvk how for sports like f1 you only get the amount of deaths that happened in f1, the numbers...

Lewis brought up a great point on lvk how for sports like f1 you only get the amount of deaths that happened in f1, the numbers dont include every single kid that died at the local go kart track. For “motocross” the numbers include enduro, trail riding, wheelie boyz, kids riding the pw at home…etc. Those are not all the same thing though. That would be total off road motorcycle deaths, not total motocross deaths. With the high school football comparison, high school football is a regulated sport that is practiced in competition for ages 14-18. A direct comparison of that would be amateur motocross racing deaths. 

early wrote:

At least the article wrapped around at the end to highlighting that the woman who lost her sister at Loretta's enjoys riding with her kids. We...

At least the article wrapped around at the end to highlighting that the woman who lost her sister at Loretta's enjoys riding with her kids. We all WANT to come home in 1 piece after a day of riding with friends and family. 

Kenny Banyan wrote:

Tuff read and video. It certainly makes you think. I have 2 new grandsons, 8 and 9 months old. Personally I don’t want to see either...

Tuff read and video. It certainly makes you think. I have 2 new grandsons, 8 and 9 months old. Personally I don’t want to see either of them racing. For me it’s a risk that’s just not worth it or necessary. There’re are plenty of other things to get my grandchildren into that are much safer. It doesn’t even have to be sports. 

Tiki wrote:

After reading the article and taking notes, here’s what I’ve found. It’s yet another hit piece built on cherry-picked information simply because it fits the narrative...

After reading the article and taking notes, here’s what I’ve found. It’s yet another hit piece built on cherry-picked information simply because it fits the narrative they want. The points below reflect facts from preliminary searches.

We all know the sport is dangerous, that’s part of why we do it. If the risk weren’t here, we’d find it somewhere else. But singling out the sport and relying on decades-old data is fundamentally misleading, especially when so much has changed for the better.

You can ostracize me if you want, but to me, this reeks of bias and intent. I genuinely hope this gets national attention, And I hope it backfires in their face.

My review is not an attack on anyone who was injured or worse. it is a criticism of the writer and the way the information was presented.
"Motocross is deadliest sport for kids"
- Updated Dec. 4, 2025, 1:25 p.m. ET
- Ashlee Sokalski onto a backboard and fitted the 19-YEAR OLD
- flew off her Yamaha YZ250
- record of the 2010 national motocross championship listed Sokalski's official result as DNF: Did not finish.

Not a child. Adult size motorcycle.

A USA TODAY investigation found that at least 158 children and teens have died on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks since 2000, more than six per year.
-----------------------------
"Around 1,000-1,200 children (under 14) die in U.S. traffic accidents annually, with recent data showing 1,129 in 2022 and 1,184 in 2021, translating to about 3 deaths per day, with teens (13-19) making up a large portion, and many fatalities linked to unrestrained travel and impaired driving."

https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/children
--------------------------------
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235904748_Fatalities_in_High_S…

According to a study of high-school and college players, football fatalities averaged ≈ 12.2 per year during 1990–2010.
Among those, the study separated indirect (medical/exertional) fatalities — e.g. cardiac failure, heat illness, etc. — which averaged about 8.2 per year, and direct (traumatic) fatalities averaged about 4.0 per year.

For high school & college football between 2005–2014, one review identified 28 deaths total from traumatic brain/spinal-cord injuries (about 2.8 deaths per year). 
CDC
Regarding exertional heat–stroke: since 1996 (so overlapping with your requested 2000–present), National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (NCCSIR) data shows 72 football players died from exertional heat stroke — though that count includes high school, college, some youth, and a few pros.
---------------------------
Approx. How many children participate in Football compared to Dirtbikes?

~5 million children and adolescents play football annually in organized leagues. This includes school teams and youth programs.
~1 million high school players take part in tackle football in U.S. high schools each year. 
National Football Foundation
~425,000 youths participate in Pop Warner, one of the largest organized youth football programs. 
Wikipedia
~500,000 participants in American Youth Football (another large youth football organization). 
Wikipedia
2.4 million kids are reported playing organized flag football under 17 in the U.S. (flag has been growing rapidly). 
NFL Football Operations
=============================
Estimated ~2.5 million children under 18 ride dirt bikes in the U.S. (according to a 2019 industry survey). This includes recreational riders, not only racers. 
https://www.frpmoto.com/blogs/why-we-ride/the-impact-of-dirt-bike-ridin…
-------------------------
Reporters scoured news accounts and online discussion boards and obtained ambulance, police and coroners’ reports to verify the number of deaths.
David Pingree, a former professional racer who covers the sport as a journalist, has become a critic of safety lapses that go unexamined.

------------------------

 

MPJC wrote:

To expand on your point, Lewis Phillips brings up a really good point in this video, and to appreciate it, consider this sentence:"A USA TODAY investigation...

To expand on your point, Lewis Phillips brings up a really good point in this video, and to appreciate it, consider this sentence:

"A USA TODAY investigation found that at least 158 children and teens have died on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks since 2000, more than six per year."

In particular, note the phrase: "on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks".  How many of those fatalities are actually motocross? The article states that 65 were at tracks that host AMA sanctioned events. That leaves 93 others. How many of those had nothing to do with motocross? Lewis makes the point that this article tends not to be careful to differentiate between motocross and other dirt bike riding. Not all dirt bike accidents and fatalities are motocross accidents and fatalities. Nothing the motocross community can do is going to have anything to do with what happens when someone buys junior a bike that he rides in ditch, on a trail, or at the dunes. These are all places that are perhaps more dangerous than a motocross track since the environment is less controlled. 

I take issue as well with the idea that since football results in a lower rate of death and serious injury that it's safer, given what we now know about CTE and how it can develop in people who, like football linemen, experience repeated low to medium impact blows to the head over time, even if none of these blows seem serious or cause any injury in isolation. That's a different kind or risk, and its one whose effects are difficult to measure.

The article does make some apt points, and as I said previously, we can accept the inherent risks of our sport while working to reduce unnecessary risks - and this article doe highlight some of those unnecessary risks. So the article isn't all bad. But there's more context to consider, and the comparison to football is, in my view, not helpful or illuminating.

 

Tiki wrote:

After reading the article and taking notes, here’s what I’ve found. It’s yet another hit piece built on cherry-picked information simply because it fits the narrative...

After reading the article and taking notes, here’s what I’ve found. It’s yet another hit piece built on cherry-picked information simply because it fits the narrative they want. The points below reflect facts from preliminary searches.

We all know the sport is dangerous, that’s part of why we do it. If the risk weren’t here, we’d find it somewhere else. But singling out the sport and relying on decades-old data is fundamentally misleading, especially when so much has changed for the better.

You can ostracize me if you want, but to me, this reeks of bias and intent. I genuinely hope this gets national attention, And I hope it backfires in their face.

My review is not an attack on anyone who was injured or worse. it is a criticism of the writer and the way the information was presented.
"Motocross is deadliest sport for kids"
- Updated Dec. 4, 2025, 1:25 p.m. ET
- Ashlee Sokalski onto a backboard and fitted the 19-YEAR OLD
- flew off her Yamaha YZ250
- record of the 2010 national motocross championship listed Sokalski's official result as DNF: Did not finish.

Not a child. Adult size motorcycle.

A USA TODAY investigation found that at least 158 children and teens have died on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks since 2000, more than six per year.
-----------------------------
"Around 1,000-1,200 children (under 14) die in U.S. traffic accidents annually, with recent data showing 1,129 in 2022 and 1,184 in 2021, translating to about 3 deaths per day, with teens (13-19) making up a large portion, and many fatalities linked to unrestrained travel and impaired driving."

https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/children
--------------------------------
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235904748_Fatalities_in_High_S…

According to a study of high-school and college players, football fatalities averaged ≈ 12.2 per year during 1990–2010.
Among those, the study separated indirect (medical/exertional) fatalities — e.g. cardiac failure, heat illness, etc. — which averaged about 8.2 per year, and direct (traumatic) fatalities averaged about 4.0 per year.

For high school & college football between 2005–2014, one review identified 28 deaths total from traumatic brain/spinal-cord injuries (about 2.8 deaths per year). 
CDC
Regarding exertional heat–stroke: since 1996 (so overlapping with your requested 2000–present), National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (NCCSIR) data shows 72 football players died from exertional heat stroke — though that count includes high school, college, some youth, and a few pros.
---------------------------
Approx. How many children participate in Football compared to Dirtbikes?

~5 million children and adolescents play football annually in organized leagues. This includes school teams and youth programs.
~1 million high school players take part in tackle football in U.S. high schools each year. 
National Football Foundation
~425,000 youths participate in Pop Warner, one of the largest organized youth football programs. 
Wikipedia
~500,000 participants in American Youth Football (another large youth football organization). 
Wikipedia
2.4 million kids are reported playing organized flag football under 17 in the U.S. (flag has been growing rapidly). 
NFL Football Operations
=============================
Estimated ~2.5 million children under 18 ride dirt bikes in the U.S. (according to a 2019 industry survey). This includes recreational riders, not only racers. 
https://www.frpmoto.com/blogs/why-we-ride/the-impact-of-dirt-bike-ridin…
-------------------------
Reporters scoured news accounts and online discussion boards and obtained ambulance, police and coroners’ reports to verify the number of deaths.
David Pingree, a former professional racer who covers the sport as a journalist, has become a critic of safety lapses that go unexamined.

------------------------

 

MPJC wrote:

To expand on your point, Lewis Phillips brings up a really good point in this video, and to appreciate it, consider this sentence:"A USA TODAY investigation...

To expand on your point, Lewis Phillips brings up a really good point in this video, and to appreciate it, consider this sentence:

"A USA TODAY investigation found that at least 158 children and teens have died on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks since 2000, more than six per year."

In particular, note the phrase: "on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks".  How many of those fatalities are actually motocross? The article states that 65 were at tracks that host AMA sanctioned events. That leaves 93 others. How many of those had nothing to do with motocross? Lewis makes the point that this article tends not to be careful to differentiate between motocross and other dirt bike riding. Not all dirt bike accidents and fatalities are motocross accidents and fatalities. Nothing the motocross community can do is going to have anything to do with what happens when someone buys junior a bike that he rides in ditch, on a trail, or at the dunes. These are all places that are perhaps more dangerous than a motocross track since the environment is less controlled. 

I take issue as well with the idea that since football results in a lower rate of death and serious injury that it's safer, given what we now know about CTE and how it can develop in people who, like football linemen, experience repeated low to medium impact blows to the head over time, even if none of these blows seem serious or cause any injury in isolation. That's a different kind or risk, and its one whose effects are difficult to measure.

The article does make some apt points, and as I said previously, we can accept the inherent risks of our sport while working to reduce unnecessary risks - and this article doe highlight some of those unnecessary risks. So the article isn't all bad. But there's more context to consider, and the comparison to football is, in my view, not helpful or illuminating.

 

Last2Stroke wrote:

You're assuming motocross riders don't suffer from CTE, there's at least one commentator who suffers from confusion and memory loss.

Kenny Banyan wrote:

Tuff read and video. It certainly makes you think. I have 2 new grandsons, 8 and 9 months old. Personally I don’t want to see either...

Tuff read and video. It certainly makes you think. I have 2 new grandsons, 8 and 9 months old. Personally I don’t want to see either of them racing. For me it’s a risk that’s just not worth it or necessary. There’re are plenty of other things to get my grandchildren into that are much safer. It doesn’t even have to be sports. 

cwel11 wrote:

Your reaction is exactly the one that most here are hoping doesn’t happen. No disrespect and I’m absolutely sure you don’t want to see your grandchildren...

Your reaction is exactly the one that most here are hoping doesn’t happen. No disrespect and I’m absolutely sure you don’t want to see your grandchildren hurt as would any grandparent, but I still stand by the fact this sport dangerous as it may be, is still hands down the most fun and rewarding sport on the planet. If you don’t want them to race, understandable, but buy them some Pdubs and just let them enjoy the ride. Hit up some trails w them when they’re older and make some memories on two wheels! Sports in general will still teach them valuable lessons, set goals, and reward through work, they won’t find anywhere else at a young age. 

zippytech wrote:

You could have a flat field and the minute you add a motorcycle it's going to start getting dangerous. Then just add another bike to that...

You could have a flat field and the minute you add a motorcycle it's going to start getting dangerous. Then just add another bike to that and then it gets more dangerous. Look at all the people that die every year just shoveling snow a quick search shows around 100. Should we band shovels? Not let people shovel it?

Not hillbilly wrote:

Do you practice absurd arguments, or are you just a natural?

Not hillbilly wrote:

Do you practice absurd arguments, or are you just a natural?

3strokemx wrote:

Sounds like you've never tried flat track racing. Those guys crash big.

Not hillbilly wrote:

Not as big as snow shovelers, it appears 🤣

Not hillbilly wrote:

Not as big as snow shovelers, it appears 🤣

zippytech wrote:

I was simply pointing out that everything is dangerous.

Not hillbilly wrote:

Not as big as snow shovelers, it appears 🤣

zippytech wrote:

I was simply pointing out that everything is dangerous.

quadzrulebro wrote:

I help run a nonprofit club track and we do it right.  Fences all around the track, flaggers and EMTs present even on practice days, and...

I help run a nonprofit club track and we do it right.  Fences all around the track, flaggers and EMTs present even on practice days, and practices split up by skill level and bike size.  I started my riding in So Cal and I remember being at GH on Thursday afternoons and watching little Johnnie on his 65 riding by followed by Ricky Carmichael.  As a sport, we all need to do a better job if we want to be around in 10 years.

quadzrulebro wrote:

I help run a nonprofit club track and we do it right.  Fences all around the track, flaggers and EMTs present even on practice days, and...

I help run a nonprofit club track and we do it right.  Fences all around the track, flaggers and EMTs present even on practice days, and practices split up by skill level and bike size.  I started my riding in So Cal and I remember being at GH on Thursday afternoons and watching little Johnnie on his 65 riding by followed by Ricky Carmichael.  As a sport, we all need to do a better job if we want to be around in 10 years.

Beagle wrote:

100% this.I'll second the Aussies and Euros here finding crazy that there seems to be no safety standard for many tracks operating outside AMA regulations (or...

100% this.

I'll second the Aussies and Euros here finding crazy that there seems to be no safety standard for many tracks operating outside AMA regulations (or maybe even just outside AMA events?): mixing classes, kids and adults, skills levels, lack of flaggers and/or medical assistance... You have to be really badly used to this to accept it as "normal" and even consider riding in such conditions.

Anyway, this article screams "get involved if you want to future-proof the sport". If you're equally afraid of an external body imposing strict safety rules and of insurance hikes killing the tracks/events, you can be part of the solution: get involved with your local track or race organizer, help them improve their safety standards, give some of your time and flag when you're not riding for instance. 

Flaggers and track volunteers are the unsung heroes helping the sport so much. We need to acknowledge that, we need to improve their training, and we need more of them.

MPJC wrote:

To expand on your point, Lewis Phillips brings up a really good point in this video, and to appreciate it, consider this sentence:"A USA TODAY investigation...

To expand on your point, Lewis Phillips brings up a really good point in this video, and to appreciate it, consider this sentence:

"A USA TODAY investigation found that at least 158 children and teens have died on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks since 2000, more than six per year."

In particular, note the phrase: "on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks".  How many of those fatalities are actually motocross? The article states that 65 were at tracks that host AMA sanctioned events. That leaves 93 others. How many of those had nothing to do with motocross? Lewis makes the point that this article tends not to be careful to differentiate between motocross and other dirt bike riding. Not all dirt bike accidents and fatalities are motocross accidents and fatalities. Nothing the motocross community can do is going to have anything to do with what happens when someone buys junior a bike that he rides in ditch, on a trail, or at the dunes. These are all places that are perhaps more dangerous than a motocross track since the environment is less controlled. 

I take issue as well with the idea that since football results in a lower rate of death and serious injury that it's safer, given what we now know about CTE and how it can develop in people who, like football linemen, experience repeated low to medium impact blows to the head over time, even if none of these blows seem serious or cause any injury in isolation. That's a different kind or risk, and its one whose effects are difficult to measure.

The article does make some apt points, and as I said previously, we can accept the inherent risks of our sport while working to reduce unnecessary risks - and this article doe highlight some of those unnecessary risks. So the article isn't all bad. But there's more context to consider, and the comparison to football is, in my view, not helpful or illuminating.

 

Last2Stroke wrote:

You're assuming motocross riders don't suffer from CTE, there's at least one commentator who suffers from confusion and memory loss.

MPJC wrote:

I why do you think I’m assuming that? I know that a lot of riders suffer from brain injuries due to concussions. The difference with football...

I why do you think I’m assuming that? I know that a lot of riders suffer from brain injuries due to concussions. The difference with football is you don’t need to sustain a concussion to develop CTE if you’re experiencing repetitive small impacts. Lineman are especially susceptible to this type of injury which can happen over time even if no impact is severe enough to be concerning taken in isolation. Even soccer players who practice heading the ball can develop CTE from repetitive small impacts. In motocross, if you’re suffering a brain injury something has gone wrong (concussion due to a crash). A football lineman can develop CTE without anything going wrong, in the normal course of playing the game - thus my point that it’s not necessarily safe.