This is rediculous, way to long of a list for this early in the season. Get well soon guys!

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Seems like a lot of broken necks/this year... Get well soon!

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Meant to say necks/backs...

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OK- 33 riders. Thats 1-1/2 Full Gates in SX or Lites SX. Wonder how the racing would be if everyone is healthy. I still think making the AMA cover the riders insurance during an event would make the tracks safer or even change the engine displacement size or even allow 2 stroke race against 4 strokes in the lites class 250cc/250cc

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I think that they are just including more people than they used to. There are some names on there that we would not know if they wer not on there.

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Feld and MX Sport need to come up wtih a way to protect their biggest asset. I wonder what percentage of the net profit goes towards rider safety and purses. No big secret here but areas below are underserved,

1) Identify and remedy obstacles that produce the most injuries...SX especially

2) Develop some sort of mandatory group insurance pool

3) Better rider payout

As I've said before between all the race nite laps and weekday practice laps the odds are not with the riders.

DC, your public opinion on this is welcome

JimM
Pala 374

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Good points Jimbo. Unfortunately, they follow the model of other big corporate businesses...bottom line: "How much cash are WE making?" Like a crack dealer or a fraudelent auto repair garage on a busy corner, they probably figure "Who cares if these guys get come back...someone else will come along." It's sad. Even sadder, it's been that way forever. Difference now is that racing is big business, so they SHOULD be able to afford to take care of the racers who make the show possible.

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Ryan D - The riders are either considered sub contractors or self employed and in most cases need to carry their own insurance. Having insurance does not mean you will not get injured. Unfortunately, riders often times go with what is the cheapest coverage and not what is the BEST coverage. All of the pros I used to work with carried their own insurance so I saw this a lot. If you are self employed, then you have to take care of yourself. Having a mandatory insurance pool sounds OK on the surface, but which insurance company would you want to take on a large pool of very high risk athletes? The cost of an insurance company taking on more and more risk is passed on to the other people that have existing policies with that company.

Here is a better idea. Make sure the pro riders all have a minimum level of insurance to be able to qualify for an AMA event. If they don't, they don't ride.

Actually,none of this will matter after 2014 when Comrade Obama gets his way and we are all socialists. The problem with that is that when the government is paying the bill, they get to say whether or not you can do something. They also will determine whether or not they will pay for something you willfully took part in that you knew was dangerous.

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Redneck, let me clarify my comment...I agreed with Jimbo with regards to 1) trying to make the tracks as safe as possible within reason and without compromising the racing (it will always be dangerous), 2) riders should have insurance of some sort (as you said) and 3) most of all, if they were paid better, more of them could afford it. I don't claim to be an insurance expert, nor did I suggest the idea. One thing I think is true, and correct me if I'm wrong, but groups tend get better rates than individuals. It seems to me, again I'm not an expert, but I would think any insurance company that stands to make money would be interested - that's why they're in business. How do other high risk/dangerous jobs get insured? i.e., How do firefighters and police officers get insurance?

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If you think it's just the gov't that decides what they want to pay for or not, you're wrong. Insurance companies make those decisions independently all the time. I hate it when these forums turn to politics, but since you brought it there, the truth is Corporate Big Business (heath care system being one aspect, like Big Oil, Big Banking, Big Pharma, Big Ag, etc.) absolutely controls the gov't these days.

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Gruesome, Toyota please invent "Improved Dirt" .......fast.

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neck braces....thats all

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Between the 250 and 450 classes there must be maybe a 100 or so elite riders in the AMA? And now 36 of them can't ride because of injuries, imagine another sport where over a third of the active participants where out due to serious injury.
It's crazy!

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Man, that's too many injured SX riders. In regards to practice crashes maybe the riders need to not push the limits so hard and for so long, be a little more methodical and work a little more on technique. Instead I think most riders practice as fast as possible until exhaustion, thinking they have to keep pushing and trying harder and harder. Although this has to be done at times in practice, I don't think it's the one and only way. A boxer doesn't practice a 12 Round Bout every time he practices.

Better practice bike maintenance is another factor to consider. Many injures have been caused by the engine, chain, sprocket or other part giving out on a jump. I know that's more time and money but it's worth more then tattoos or a new stereo system.

Can there be more safety at the races? The Asterisk Medical guys deserve a lot of credit. Without them it would be even worse. One key place to help save riders is how the obstacles are built. The track builders do an awesome job but I think more attention can be focused on track safety. RV's horrific crash 2 years ago was because of his tire spinning on plywood. Another area is the Tuff Blocks. In critical areas get those covers and blocks anchored down. Canard's 3 rider mayhem was because of a Tuff Block cover. How many times have those Blocks and Covers gotten in the way? That's my 2 cents!

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BIG HEAVY 4-STROKE=MORE BROKEN BONES.

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I think Tedesco and Josh Grant are just wimps. every year they have some minor injury and sit it out for awhile.

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grant i give a pass but tedesco ride with a broken finger cmon man up a little u got 9 more of them things no big deal

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There's about a half a dozen guys that are almost always on this list- for as long as I've been reading it. Still, being an often injured pro motocross rider is way better than any of us could hope for.

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@Redneckrider......Definirtely don't wanna get into a political or "which country is better?" debate but, I am Canadian with free health care. Our government never tells us that we can't partake in certain activities. Nor do they refuse medical attention to any Canadian citizen regardless of reason for the injury. Don't get me wrong, Canada's government can kiss my white a$$, but I am thankful for het free medical system. Blew my pelvis apart and woke up in the hospital racing MX and just got the bill for the ambulance........about $75. Gotten a lot of ambulance bills over the years. 7 from MX alone.

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@MXPete450 - That may be true that you have less out of pocket on some health related instances, however the amount of money you guys up north pay in taxes is a crime. That makes you an asset for the government instead of being an asset for yourself. I have spent a huge amount of time in Canada and love it there, and it certainly has its pluses and minuses like every place does. I also don't want to turn this into a political debate because it is pointless to do so here.

However, having said that, I am in fact a licensed health insurance agent and I hold licenses for nine states in the US and I represent my clients to 23 different independent companies. I live in Washington State and I have a group of Canadian doctors as clients that purchased a house just this side of the US border in a town called Blaine just so they could buy private insurance in the US and get access to our health care system. I don't know what that says to you about their view of the health care up north. Just saying...


@RyanD - The insurance companies by law must adhere to what the contract (policy) says. It is a contract between to parties: you and them. The problem is most people get insurance then throw the policy in a drawer and never read it or understand at all how it is supposed to work. Just like all industries, there are good and bad companies to deal with. If you have just the government, then you never have any recourse for mistakes. In fact, part of the new Affordable Care Act that Obama signed says that very thing. You cannot sue the government over your health care. Pretty scary if you ask me.

Another part of the problem is that too many people depend on their employers HR department to provide them with insurance (riders generally do not have this option) and because the employer is always looking to save money,. every time there is a rate increase they switch companies to find something cheaper. The employees rarely ever understand exactly how or what their policy covers. That is THEIR fault for not reading it, or opting out of the employer sponsored plan.

As far as rates go, all states are different (until Obama Care kills state sovereignty in 2014) Mist people I deal with every day when I quote them a rate for an individual policy are shocked at how low the rates are. Most people have been lied to so they think they can't afford it. In some states there are no health questions for group (employer sponsored) insurance plans. That means the insurance company cannot rate one person higher than another due to their health issues. So if you are a 19 year old non smoker that is on a policy with some 55 year old smokers, you are often paying an increased rate to cover the cost of the older, higher health risk people that are on the same policy.

Here in Washington State, they treat men and women the same for health insurance. This is bad because if a man is on a health insurance policy that offers maternity insurance, he is paying an increased rate for maternity coverage even though he can never get pregnant. The man cannot just say I don't want maternity, take it off of my policy. He would have to switch plans to not have to pay for it. I do this with people every day that are leaving a group insurance plan.

You sound like someone that hates big industry. Well, big banks employe a lot of people. Big oil drives our entire economy and employs massive amounts of people too. If you didn't have big oil industries, who would you trust to provide gas in your car? The government? Name one thing they run efficiently and then ask your self if you would really trust them to run that industry.

As far as health insurance goes, I find it odd that some people bash on the industry that operates in a 4-6% profit margin but they are OK with the government taking 40% or more combined income and wasting it in political payoffs to things like GM, ACORN, UAW etc...As far as the evil big oil companies go, the federal and state governments make more money off of a gallon of gas than the oil companies do. Why are you not mad at them?

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Redneck -"Actually,none of this will matter after 2014 when Comrade Obama gets his way and we are all socialists. The problem with that is that when the government is paying the bill, they get to say whether or not you can do something. They also will determine whether or not they will pay for something you willfully took part in that you knew was dangerous."

........do you think a "socialist" medical plan for our country WOULD BE A BAD THING FOR MOTOCROSSERS?

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A socialist medical society would benefit the people who see the doctor the most. Who visits the doctor more than a motocrosser? It makes me laugh when someone complains about a system that helps them.......yeah, that would be awful to have easy affordable, accessible medical care!

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Redneck "As far as health insurance goes, I find it odd that some people bash on the industry that operates in a 4-6% profit margin but they are OK with the government taking 40% or more combined income and wasting it in political payoffs to things like GM, ACORN, UAW etc...As far as the evil big oil companies go, the federal and state governments make more money off of a gallon of gas than the oil companies do. Why are you not mad at them?"

What makes you think ins co's operate on 4-6% profit?

ACORN has been long gone....thanks to Andrew Breitbart.....who is also gone, Thank you!......so no money is going to them........and

If no money went to GM they, along with 1000's of jobs, would be long gone too!......and

The UAW? Are you kidding? The middleclass in this country was built on unions!!!

Sounds like you support the anti-women, anti-gay, anti-middleclass party which makes you a fuggin diot!

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Oh yeah Redneck....."and taxed 40% of our income?" I know an individual, "My friend" who made something like 45 million dollars in 2 years and paid less then 14% taxes!

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WOW Motxdoc, nice rant and name calling. Unions time has come and gone. I know the insurance companies operate in a 4-6% profit margin because I am in the industry and the companies medical loss ratios are part of their financial records.

The name ACORN is gone, but the lawsuits against them persist, and they have been restructured into several other organizations with the exact same charters.

GM needed to go through an entire bankruptcy and didn't. When the restructure of GM took my 8,000 shares of GM stock and gave it to the UAW, I decided I would never own another GM vehicle ever. GM and the UAW can all go blow a goat. UAW which was the biggest cause of GMs issues now has the majority controlling interest in GM. Their Chevy Volt is a huge failure just like GM will be again in the next few years.

I am not part of any political party. I am a business owner that employs people all over the place (including other countries). However, your rant against what I suppose would be the Republican party is mindless and to say that there are no Republicans i the middle class, no gay Republicans, and no Republican union members really shows your ignorance.

Nice that you could be so kind about Andrew Breitbart. You must be one of those very tolerant liberals that is tolerant of anything so long as it agrees with you 100%.

BTW - A socialist medical plan for any country is bad for everyone. The best medical technology is from HERE in the USA where the private business and private enterprise can turn a profit. That technology is sold around the world too.

Have a nice day you angry little man.

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