Concerned Families for ATV Safety's Errant Mentality

Filed in archive ATV Safety on December 19, 2007

Concerned Families for ATV Safety, a group that uses mis-information to try to enact legislation banning children from riding youth ATVs is now taking to insulting parents by claiming that "Parents aren't knowledgeable how an ATV works - even those who ride them themselves."

As a mechanical engineer and long time rider I can assure you, I know how they work. They are very similar to a motorcycle in that they require body language to operate. Heck, my 5 year old son knows that. He's had his quad up on two wheels before. He knew it can happen and what causes it. He knew what to expect and how to handle it. He corrected flawlessly and continued on his ride around the back-yard track.

We discussed it after the ride, and went over what caused it, what he did to correct it, and discussed how to avoid it in the future. He was 4 at the time. By the way, he's been riding a bicycle without training wheels since he was three, and riding an electric motorcycle (also without training wheels) since he was four.