When will safety come back into style

You can put what ever little bit of padding you want. The bikes are too damn fast  

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the neck braces fall out of favor with the pro guys because they hated the limited range of motion and view? Don’t think it was because of style.

AP looks to be the only one wearing any kind of body armor under his jersey.

Can’t fit much for safety under those fuckin spandex outfits they wear these days.

Alot of these guys wear chest protectors under their jerseys. I know Tomac does.

Protective gear like braces or chest protectors are restrictive, the more restriction you have the slower you become, riders are choosing performance over safety, as long as the AMA don't enforce protective gear, riders won't wear it. Safety rule changes won't happen in motorsport until a misfortune happens, like we have seen in MotoGP, F1...

I think Fork wears an under protector 

He does. He was wearing it last night

Here we go. Sports elevate, injuries happen. It’s a damn shame, but it’s part of it. “The bikes are too damn fast.” But you guys are the first ones to put down a deposit on the newest 450 each year.   
 

I think we’re at a good spot regarding gear, safety and training. Where the sport lacks safety is the corners cut for track building. I agree with everyone else, exposed concrete is the dumbest idea. With that said, there are 80+ riders that ride the same tracks each weekend and ride their bikes back to the pits.

Nets. 

Why aren’t safety gear pants called leathers any more?

We should be talking about Forkner making the good decision to wear a chest pro. Does anyone know what model of fox  protection he wears?

I dont agree. Professionals should be able to control machinery with double the power if necessary. The 'game' is about 'control'.

When do riders simply wise up and take fewer risks? 

 

Chest protectors aren't going to save someone from neck/back injuries.

Some extra padding in jersies/pants isn't going to do shit either.   

Bingo ,throttle goes both ways.   Local riders better sell their 450 s then lol

Because no riders want to call them nylons 

"Bikes are too damn fast"

Doesn't buy an RMZ cos MXA say its 'underpowered'!

Personal choice.  Where what you want.  

The level 2 D3O stuff is pretty good and it’s not bulky at all. When mountain biking, I’d wear the Fox vest with front and back protection under my shirt and you couldn’t barely tell I was wearing it.

People shaking their fists in the air about how they all need to be wearing some sort of chest and back protector. How do you know they aren’t? Just because they don’t look like a linebacker all bulked up with pads or a chest protector over the jersey doesn’t mean they aren’t wearing anything.

Also them not wearing anything, how does it affect your life? Pro’s wrecking themselves causing injury doesn’t stop you from living your life. Who cares what or what they don’t wear. Everybody has their own choice to do what they want. Wear it, don’t wear it, it's up to you and at the end of the day how much your body is worth it to you. 

I agree about the bulk. Like saying a ford grenada is safer than a honda accord...or something

Which is the level 2 D3O chest protector?

https://troyleedesigns.com/products/sp21-rockfight-ce-flex-chest-protec…
 

this is the one I wear, hardly even know it’s there. @Magoofan some level of back protection is certainly prudent, a misplaced handlebar to an unprotected spine can be the end of one’s walking days.

Anyone rocking the alpinestars a1 pro? Just ordered one from rmatv after that brutal crash last night. 

It's damn murder to allow athletes to be running at such speed, along obstacles like this, right beside concrete floors.   Are we going to see a death before this is addressed?  The promoters are making millions from the sport, how about, on selected areas, Circus style netting.  Sure, it won't stop you hitting the concrete, but, like an AirBag, offer a cushioning effect.  What happened on the weekend just cannot be allowed to happen.  This is a possible career ending incident... just because the careless attitude towards the athletes and basic safety.   Raw concrete as a landing area.  No way.

I fully agree on a good chest and back protector. Wearing just a jersey or a foam roost vest is just plain stupid.

Having plastic around your chest and back will spread and dissipate the impact which will lessen its effect on one acute spot on the body. As well as stopping nasty injuries from bar and lever impacts stated above.

Neck braces...... look at the screen grab of Forkner hitting the deck on page one on the Forkner thread. After that style of impact and he didn't break his neck. So how could a neck brace have helped? I honestly think they cause more harm than good by adding a leverage point which shouldn't be there. 

Good point, I wonder how AirBag technology could be adapted in our sport. Measuring speed and G-Force... if a rider detached from the bike, to deploy. Probably not suitable for Travis Pastrana & Co.

I'm not that kind of engineer and certainly no medical professional, but thinking about how much flex in the body must have been involved in Forkners crash and then thinking about if he'd been wearing a neck brace which would have limited that movement (possibly good, I don't know) but would have ramped up the force as a result and directed it into the shoulders etc... I agree with you, I also don't like the concept of neck braces.

Infinitely faster and/or smarter people than my dumb self seem to be on this train also.

I also agree the concrete isn't ideal at all, but what practical, actionable alternative is there? Netting, while I like that people are thinking, just doesn't make sense when a motorcycle and grown man, at pace, are likely gonna land on it. Also when people/riders/medical mules need to navigate the off track area.