ATV Safety and Responsibility
In my daily trudge through the muck that is misinformation about ATV safety, I came across an article saying to "keep kids off ATV"s.
The article starts off by saying that this lady's son was killed when she left him with a friend that let the kid ride on an adult sized ATV. She didn't know anything about ATVs, so she said. Personally, I'm not comfortable leaving my kids with anyone I don't know in and out, so it is beyond me how this lady could leave her kid with someone and not know they had an ATV.
Be that as it may, I can't blame the mom for her son's death. But I'm not about to let her blame the ATV for it either. It sounds like she's trying to get kids banned from any ATV. Even the ones designed for kids. (shown above)
The parents that allowed the kid to ride on the adult sized ATV were negligent. Ban the parents, not the kids.
14 de November, 2007 at 9:27 am
I find it puzzling that people are so quick to throw blame at the parents. If you saw a race car in someone driveway would you ask please don’t let my child drive that car today, it is against the law and my child has no experience. The adults that owned this machine and allowed two 8 year boys on this ATV unsupervised should be held accountable. I support this bill and adults that allow children under age, unsupervised, on adult machines, should be held accountable. This a nation wide problem, and anyone that is trying to prevent other children from being seriously hurt or killed should be a praised, not torn apart. Just an opinion.
14 de November, 2007 at 11:11 am
I see what you mean. I did not blame the parents. I blamed the owners of the ATV. As for your comment about the race car, that’s a stretch. But if I drop my kid off where there’s a pool, motorcycles, a trampoline, a dirt track (that indicates ATVs, motorcycles etc), a half-pipe, or any other number of things, you can bet I’d tell them not to let my kid do certain things! The problem is not that kids are riding, it’s that they’re riding without being taught and supervised.
7 de December, 2007 at 10:15 am
In this country there are age limits on kids driving vehicles. Why should it be any different with ATVs? An ATV is classified as a VEHICLE (its not a TOY!)- just like a car or a truck. Some of these things weigh in excess of 500lbs and get up to highway speeds. Not all parents buy age appropriate ATVs for their kids. Economically it is not feasible for families to buy all different types of ATVs for the whole family. Usually they buy one adult sized ATV and everyone rides that.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics have come out very strongly against ATVs for any kids under 16. They are on the front lines of the disastrous effects of an accident. No amount of training will help a kid when they get into a situation they can’t handle. Thats why they call it an ACCIDENT, because you just don’t see it coming. Over 40,000 kids are severely injured every year riding ATVs – and don’t come back with the crap about pools, trampolines, etc…that only dilutes the issue and surely doesn’t make ATVs any safer to ride.
We will work until we see a federal mandate in place to prohibit kids under 16 from riding ATVs.
The taxpayers end up footing the bill for accidents, not to mention the pain and suffering of the victim and their families.
Know what you call kids under 16 whose parents allow them to ride adult sized ATVs?
ORGAN DONORS or DISABLED.
Parents should have the right to decide what their kids do for recreation – but by the looks of the amount of accidents, proper parenting and supervision is severly lacking. The government needs to step in and start pressing charges on negligent parents…its about time!
8 de December, 2007 at 9:38 am
See my reply here:
http://www.undermyhelmet.com/50226711/we_get_comments.php
7 de May, 2008 at 2:13 am
safety is very important to our kids specially when they are playing outdoor or even inside the house.
27 de April, 2009 at 5:38 pm
IT SEEMS REALLY FUNNY PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT ATV’S CAN DEMAND LAWS BE MADE TO RESTRICT THEM I’VE BEEN RIDING ATV’S SINCE I WAS ABOUT 8 YEARS OLD I AM NOW 34 AND YES I HAVE HAD ACCIDENTS THEY WEREN’T BAD THOUGH I GOT UP AND CONTINUED TO RIDE NOW I ENJOY TAKING MY DAUGHTERS OUT WITH ME AND YES THEY RIDE ON A MACHINE WITH ME AND ENJOY IT THEY RANGE FROM 3 TO 10 AND I HAVE A YAMAHA WARRIOR 350 FULL SIZE MACHINE WE WEAR HELMETS AND OTHER PROTECTIVE GEAR WHY SHOULD THEY SUFFER AND NOT HAVE THAT DAD TIME BECAUSE SOME LADY DECIDES SHE WANTS TO PAWN HER CHILD OFF ON SOME OTHER PARENT AND NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING PROBABLY NEVER RODE AN ATV BEFORE GET ON A BIG MACHINE AND HAVE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT WHERE WAS THE MOM? MAYBE AT HOME SLEEPING FOR ALL ANYONE KNOWS YEAH SHE HAS THE NERVE TO SAY HEY HE DIED BECAUSE OF THIS MACHINE SO LETS MAKE A LAW SO NOBODY UNDER A CERTAIN AGE CAN RIDE THAT IS STUPID WHAT DOES THIS MOM LEAVE HER KIDS IN A CAR WHILE SHE GOES IN A STORE TO SHOP OR EVEN LEAVE THEM AT HOME ALONE WHAT ABOUT KIDS THAT COMMIT SUICIDE USING KITCHEN KNIVES I THINK WE SHOULD BAN STEAK KNIVES THAT IS WHAT THIS IS COMING DOWN TO AND IF YOU DON’T WAKE UP AND REALIZE IT SOON WE AREN’T GOING TO HAVE ANYTHING THAT AIN’T ILLEGAL TO DO OR SAY MAYBE SOME PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE RESPONSABILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS AND NOT BLAME EVERYONE ELSE GROW UP
27 de April, 2010 at 1:50 pm
To: “AREUSTUPID” … You ought to read Matt’s post “ATV Safety Boils Down to Commen Sense” dated 12/17/2007 or redirect your screename question to yourself! … “I enjoy taking my daughters out with me and yes they ride on a machine with me and enjoy it – they range from 3 to 10 and I have Yamaha Warrior 350 full size …” Ridiculous! So much for common sense both in the comment and in the decision to post.
13 de September, 2010 at 2:29 am
The major accidents are caused by faulty driving by the youngsters. I think there should be a law enforced on driving the ATV’s. The small childrens should not be allowed to drive the adult ATV’s. I had seen an accident where a kid was injured due to the malfunctioning of the adult Atv. Accidents tend to happen anytime but the best option is the precaution which can be taken by us by enforcing some strict laws for such Atv driving.
Used pickup trucks
4 de October, 2010 at 2:10 am
Mostly this kind of accident happens because of carelessness of youngsters. They have loss there life and damage there body part because of making competition with each other like they do motorcycle race or atv race. According to me for preventing this kind of accident the best option is stop giving permission to drive this king of vehicle till certain age.