When the go-kart first showed up at our door step my mom was not very thrilled. You may think :‘’Why? Why would your mom not be thrilled that you had a go-kart?”
Well you got to think like a mother. A go-kart has a lot of smoke, tire squealing, darting in and out of vehicle, that in a mother’s eyes is danger spelled g-o-k-a-r-t or death spelled g-o-c-a-r-t.
Go Karts Are Dangerous
Gokarts are dangerous. Let’s be real, go-karts are very dangerous. Just like bikes can be dangerous if you ram them in to a tree, or a child running out in front of a car can be very dangerous, as well.
There are danger are in our world, and bridging the gap between hysteria and invention is very important is for our society. We can isolate ourselves from the dangers and never actually step out and risk anything and never actually invent anything.
Why is Mom Hysterical?
So I don’t blame my mother for being what I call in the title “Hysterical”, because that’s how I viewed it as a kid. But let’s be real again. Was she being hysterical? No, she wasn’t.
In order for invention to proceed forward the ideas need to flow out from situations of creation. For instance, you need to be able to get in to the problem and work on it. You need to be able to get in and pull the engine apart, and put it back together again. Test it again.
The question in your mothers mind or any adult’s for that matter is “What dangers are there associated with this exercise that he is going through?”
What are the Dangers?
Well the dangers are manifold when things are on and spinning.
So the general rule to bridge the gap, to start is safety. Safety obviously is the first step. Safety in all things.
The second step is to have good organizational capabilities especially in the shop. Make sure the shop is clean. Make sure that having the shop clean and in good order is the top priority. Because then it shows that you are serious about being clean, therefore you are serious about being safe.
Well how do safety and cleanliness have any thing to do with each other? Well, if you take attention to be clean then you are going to take the attention to look out for spinning things, that is the theory.
Additionally, when you are working in a shop make sure there is always an adult nearby. It is a good idea to have a father or at least an older sibling around to help. If something is running, always make sure that there is somebody else around.
Adult Supervision is Required!
As a general rule if some thing is running an adult is always to be present and is supervising anything that has to do with the running system. For instance a saw or a lawnmower. A go-kart is the same way. If the go kart is running an adult needs to be around and make sure that hands get into the mechanism or a kid is going to get run over.
Also if there is a go-kart by itself, the general rules need to be taken into place. Safety is really what we’re talking about here, you want to approach the gap between hysteria and invention.
How Do I Cover Myself?
The other issues to think about (I was 16 year old when I brought my first go-kart home, and my mom wasn’t really thrilled) is insurance. What do you do from an insurance standpoint?
In other words if you get into an accident and you do get hurt what happens then? How does it get covered?
Those are questions that come in your mothers mind. I mean, the next thing she knows you flipped the go-kart and manked up your arm and you have to go to the hospital, and you have to get it set because you broke it . Now the questions come to mind “How in the world do we pay for all this?”
And the complications can come in: The insurance says you are not covered. Now all of sudden a $4,000 bill that your mother has to pay, that she didn’t have to pay before. So she is not really thrilled about that. There is a lot of risk involved now, that you introduced this new device to the household.
How Do I Get My Mom To Not Be Hysterical?
Thirdly, make sure that everybody is on board and understands the risks and that if something should go wrong that there is a backup plan.
The other issue is just plain commonsense. Children don’t really think. They don’t think about what’s going to happen next. The go-cart can make help you be a little sharp and make you think about what is going to happen next. The key to understand that you do not want a go-kart to go any were near a hundred million miles per hour right at the out set, because the child is not going to be able to handle that.
Calibrate and Regulate The Go Kart
So you need to understand that a go-kart is to be detuned if, you will, and the risks again made lower. Use safety equipment. Wear a helmet. Use safety glasses if needed. If need be put a seat belt on the go-kart. Put a roll cage on it. All spinning shafts should be covered so no one gets sucked in. Or hair or clothing gets sucked in.
We don’t want to stifle creativity here. But the creative process really involves problem solving. So problems should be showing up on the go-kart especially when you are designing or making it. That is the idea.
Creativity, Inventiveness Is Essential!
Encourage new things to put on the go-kart. Encourage new ideas to enhance the go-kart. For instance adding a mirror, adding a generator for lights, adding a new brake system, adding new tires, making the seat different or more comfortable.
Just think of all the variables you could put on a go- kart or change. Those are the inventive areas. If you want to start a new go-kart, do that. Start a whole new go-kart and have them be involved in that. Encouraging the inventive process the problem solving process.
So three things to keep in mind are safety, safety, and safety. You are basically trying to minimize all risks and make sure that they are covered.
For more information on common sense and things to look for, refer to the Go Kart Building 101 course which gives you ten things to chew on and think about before even buying, making or designing a go kart.
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