The Big Picture
A new powersports vehicle opens the door to adventure. A new partnership aims to make sure protective gear is part of that adventure from the very first ride.
Young Powersports, Mountain America Credit Union and University of Utah Health are teaming up on Gear Up and Go, a program designed to help riders obtain safety equipment when they purchase a new vehicle. The goal is to reduce preventable injuries and help more riders enjoy Utah’s roads and trails without a trip to the emergency department.
“Safety may seem like a small decision at times, but it has a huge impact,” said Christopher Gee, MD, a sports and emergency medicine physician at University of Utah Health.
What’s Happening
Gear Up and Go focuses on a key moment in injury prevention: the purchase of a powersports vehicle. By helping riders obtain protective equipment before they head out, the partnership encourages them to treat safety gear as an essential part of getting ready to ride—not an afterthought.
The initiative brings together a powersports retailer, a financial institution and medical professionals who see the consequences of crashes firsthand.
For Rad Gladfelder, director of Young Powersports, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to keeping customers safe. Bryce Weir, founder of Spotted Riding Right, also brings a perspective shaped by law enforcement and his experience responding when rides go wrong.
Why It Matters
Powersports crashes can cause serious injuries, and the equipment a rider wears can make a meaningful difference in how they fare.
Jamie Troyer, trauma outreach and prevention coordinator at University of Utah Health, said a review of the health system’s trauma registry found that 60% of patients injured in off-highway vehicle incidents were not using safety equipment. Among injured dirt bike riders in that data, only 48% were wearing helmets, and fewer than 10% were wearing protective pads.
Those figures describe injured patients treated by the health system—not all riders—but they underscore the importance of making protective gear part of every ride.
The consequences extend beyond the crash itself. Serious injuries can change a person’s life and affect an entire family, particularly when the brain is injured.
“If anything else, we can fix most everything but your brain,” Troyer said.
The Bottom Line
Gear Up and Go is about making protection part of the purchase—and part of the routine.
Before heading out on the road or trail, riders should put on a helmet and the appropriate protective equipment. The goal is not to discourage adventure. It is to help people keep enjoying it.
As Troyer put it, “Our goal is to have people get out there, enjoy what Utah has to offer.”