Go Karts Are Fun, But Are They Safe?

Go karts are fast, exciting and easy to handle, and there are tracks all over the country catering to every age range from kids to teens to adults. Gokarts are generally easy to drive, easy to control and are how you can experience the excitement of Formula One racing without as much of the danger.

Go-karts are just beginning to come into their own and are geared toward beginners in either off road or paved track go kart racing. They are built to withstand years of use and abuse and are terrific when it comes to performance, styling and low maintenance.

There are many types of vehicles that are built for fun. These include ATVs, dirt bikes, scooters, mopeds, mini bikes and go karts. If you are looking to find some excitement with 4 wheels then you have to discard the dirt bike, scooter, moped and mini bike. And the all terrain vehicles are typically made for traveling off road. That leaves the go kart. If you want to go racing like the big boys, with a mighty gasoline powered engine and relative safety, go karts are what you will want to be racing.

Whether you just want some cheap racing fun or would like to someday become a professional race car driver, the go-kart is a great way to begin. Many NASCAR drivers today got their start by racing go karts when they were as young as five years old.

Carts have been around for a lot of years, but have increased in popularity only recently. Back in the olden days, carts were only available at the neighborhood Family Fun Center or Amusement Park. And these gokarts only had two speeds, slow and slower. But were they safe? Let’s just say it wasn’t easy to get hurt traveling at just 5 mph.

But even at the slower speeds they were still loads of fun. Imagine the thrill you can experience now with the faster speeds and the bigger and better track selections. Great go-cart tracks have been sprouting up all over. But have the increased karting speeds made the go carts unsafe?

They used to be so terribly slow that no helmets were even required. But with the speeds attained today helmets are required at tracks everywhere, even the kiddie’s tracks. But don’t let that scare you, they are still extremely safe and there is never any need to go faster than your own comfort dictates.

You can control, for the most part, the amount of danger you experience in a go kart. Your decisions, from the go kart you buy, to the safety equipment you use, to your level of caution expressed on the track, determine how safe you will be. The faster you go the more chance of sustaining a substantial injury. So taking every safety precaution is always a smart idea.

Carting is generally very safe if you follow a few simple rules. The number one rule is “always wear a helmet.” In the event of a crash it can spare you from a serious head injury. Also, never forget to fasten your safety harness. This will prevent you from being tossed out during a roll. Never race at speeds that you don’t feel comfortable with. If speed is not your thing you should remain in the lesser levels of racing groups.

If you decide to race, even in a kid’s competition, you should be wearing a fire safety suit, racing shoes and protective gloves. The shoes and gloves should also be fire retardant. There is not much gas in a gocart, but if it should happen to catch on fire the fire-safe equipment you use could save you a lot of pain and discomfort.

Gocarts today all have roll bars that rise above the driver’s head. In the event that you lose control, causing your go kart to flip over, the roll bars and safety harness can keep you from harm’s way. You may think that it could not happen to you because you are such a great driver, but the other racers on the track may not be so great. This is the reason why a gokart has side bars that will protect you in the event that another racer loses control and rams your kart.

With all of these precautions how can anyone get injured? It’s possible, but the chances of experiencing a serious injury are severely limited by simply following a few safety rules. Go karts are just about as safe as you want to make them.

Friday, August 14th, 2009

How to buy one cheap! Fast and furious go karts!

Go karts can make your heart pump like almost nothing else. If you’re hooked on the thrill of go karting and you are dying to purchase a sleek new go kart there are a few tricks you need to learn. With a little patience go karts can be bought for as much as 50% off of the regular retail price. They are incredibly fun, and they’ve become extremely popular these days. You can find go karts at just about every family fun center or amusement park.

Racing go karts or off road gokarts are just plain fun. But you already know how exciting go karts are so let’s get to the nuts and bolts of how to purchase a go kart at rock bottom discount prices.

Finding cheap go karts is a lot easier than you may think, you just have to wait a little longer before you buy. But don’t worry, not too long. It’s really a simple tactic that I call price shopping. Price comparisons are certainly something you have already heard about, but if you do it right you can find some great discounts.

In the olden days you had to call up different stores or actually go visit them to get some price comparisons for racing or off road gokarts. But today we have the internet which makes it a whole lot easier. It still takes a little work and some patience, but the savings can be well worth the wait.

First, go to Google.com and type ‘go karts,’ ‘go kart,’ ‘go kart sale’ or ‘discount go karts’ into the search box. You may also want to try ‘go carts,’ ‘go cart,’ ‘gocarts,’ ‘gocart,’ ‘gokarts’ or ‘gokart’ spelled differently or enter some different gokarting words that may be appropriate. This will yield an unbelievable amount of online dealers. Check out about 10 or 20 of them and make a note of the different models and prices that they offer. Also, you’ll notice on the right side of the Google search web pages there are many sponsored ads. Companies pay a lot of money to advertise there. Many of these sites have great prices and they should be checked out too.

Second, do the same thing Yahoo.com. Find a few go kart sites that offer the types of go karts that you are searching for and make a note of the models and their prices. Once again, look at the sponsored ads on the page and visit some of them too. Keep track of the cheapest prices you can find.

Third, visit Froogle.com. Froogle is an offshoot of Google. It is a giant shopping site where you can find lots of different models. Search for ‘gokart’ and ‘gokarts’ just as you did at Google and Yahoo, making sure to write down the cheap discount prices you find for the go kart models you are most interested in.

Fourth, go to ebay and do another similar search. Look at the different auctions and notice the prices that go karts are actually selling for. This is one of the best ways to determine a selling price. You may have to keep track of a few auctions for a few days, but it will give you a good idea of the value for different types of go karts.

Do you get the idea? All you’re doing is spending a little time locating all of the best prices you can find online. Then you’re keeping track of these prices so that you can compare them. Now here’s the hard part. Wait a week or two and then do it all over again. I know that waiting is hard, but if you try to avoid an impulse buy you can usually find lower prices. After a couple of weeks you will have determined which go kart dealers offer the best prices.

Saving up to 50% on the price of a great go kart is worth waiting a couple of weeks for. Once you’ve done your homework you just might be rewarded with a wonderfully cheap gokart. And once the work is over, it’s fun time.

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009