Can You Ride Go-Karts While Pregnant?

While go-karting has previously been dominated mainly by men, the motor sport has seen significant growth with women over the course of the last few decades. It’s fantastic to see the sport growing over the years, especially with the increasing ridership of women. This has also brought on a number of new and interesting questions relating to women and go-kart racing.

One question that has been posted fairly regularly is if it’s okay to ride go-karts while being pregnant. It’s definitely not recommended to ride go-karts while pregnant, due to a number of reasons that will be discussed in more detail below.

Now, you may argue that early in pregnancy the risk is much lower of anything happening to you and your baby. While that is correct, the question you should be asking yourself is, why risk it? Go-karting is a fun activity, especially when you do it professionally. However, you should set boundaries on risks and not take them unnecessarily. Let’s go into more detail.

What Is the Concern With Go-Karting and Pregnancy?

As you should know, go-karting is a motor sport, which means that there is a risk of colliding with objects and even other karts on the race track. When that happens, kart drivers can get exposed to serious injuries, even though they may not have caused the accident. If a pregnant woman is involved in an accident on the go-kart track, it can cause placental abruption or miscarriage, in the worst case scenario. It’s therefore not recommended to race go-karts while pregnant. I’m sure you want to know why exactly this isn’t a good idea. 

Here are some examples of what can lead to pregnancy related injuries:

1. Go-Kart Collisions Are Common

It’s extremely common that go-karts make physical contact with each other and objects on the race track. Go-karting is a competitive motorsport and every kart racer will try his or her best to overtake the person in front of them. Overtaking in go-kart racing can often lead to minor kart collisions, which increase the chances of an accident. 

Also remember the following, even if you are pregnant and drive carefully, other driver’s may not be aware of this. That is risky for you, as they will tend to drive aggressive enough and may overtake in unfavorable situations.

2. Go-Karts Have No Suspension

Go-karts are designed to be light in weight and fast on an even surface. This means that they are not equipped with any suspensions and can cause a bumpy ride. Go-karts do not have a high threshold of absorbing bumps on the road and often you’ll easily notice any type of uneven surface. 

Although off-road go-karts have suspensions, you should definitely not consider off-road go-karting while being pregnant.  

3. You Can Get Flung out of Your Kart

In certain scenarios, it’s possible that your go-kart can flip and you are flung out as a result of it. Certain go-karts are not equipped with a safety belt. If your go-kart does have a safety belt, this will greatly increase the risk of damage to your baby if you’re pregnant. If you kart does have a safety belt, you can still easily get hurt, so it’s not worth the risk.

4. Other Drivers Can Be Reckless

While you are in direct control of your own driving style, you aren’t able to control other drivers. If you’re unlucky, an inexperienced driver may collide with you, leading to an accident. 

Don’t forget that go-karting is a competitive motorsport. People will try to get every single advantage they can, to overtake you. That’s just part of the game, and the issue is, that they do not know your situation. So if you’re pregnant you may put you and your baby at risk. Think twice and it’s always better to be safe than sorry!  

Conclusion

I hope that you’ve come to realize that driving a go-kart while being pregnant isn’t the best idea. In fact, it can lead to serious injuries that you don’t want to risk happen to you and your baby. Even though there are some people saying that in early stages, it’s fine to ride go-karts, I strongly recommend against this. 

It’s certainly not worth the risk and there are so many factors that are not in your control. Pregnancy can usually be confirmed within 1 month and once you’ve reached that stage it’s best to sit out go-kart racing and take care of yourself. After that, nothing should stop you from going full throttle!


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About Gerrit

Owner, Researcher, Writer & Editor at GoKartGuide.com

Hi, I'm Gerrit. I have been racing go-karts competitively and recreationally for the past 20 years. Apart from actively growing local karting communities, I run GoKartGuide and write comprehensive articles, guides & reviews about go-kart racing. I race, build, mod, & discuss go-karts whenever I find the time. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the read!

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