The ATV industry is advocating an ATV as being the perfect gift for children as young as five. This creates the use of ATVs as a family activity. Children involved in ATV accidents are becoming an epidemic, according to recent studies. We are losing
150 youth a year to ATV accidents, and thousands more are being seriously injuried. Children under 16 should not be allowed to operate them, according to both the Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Surgeons.
Even the
Consumer Product Safety Commission began getting involved, as early as 2005. At that time over 1/3 of the 6,000 fatal ATV accidents reported since 1982 involved children under the age of 16.
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| Even adults often suffer serious injury on ATVs |
And then there is this headline:
ATVs are more deadly than Motorcycles. The researchers said that even when the severity of injuries was the same, the patients who had been riding ATVs were 50 percent more likely to die, and 50 percent more likely to need treatment in an intensive care unit, as compared to the motorcycle riders.
Regulations are in place in the state of Massachusetts and in Canada that require operators to be 14 years of age. This brings up a personal delima for me. Do we legislate morality? Parents should be responsible for the raising of their children, and this requires the common sense to say no to dangerous activities. I personally don't believe that we need laws to create a safe environment for children, but we need laws that make a parent or guardian responsible for ensuring they learn common sense.
Birds: My blog got mentioned in a blog in the UK, I often enjoy reading
Pigeons as Pets. A different approach to having pigeons than I am used to, but maybe one that works well for them...and that is what the hobby is about: the pleasure we get out of it individually.
Honey: Time to start the next batch of wine...still waiting for suggestions from friends, but the response to Backyard Blonde tells me I have to make another batch of that.
My cousin was killed in an atv accident about 13 1/2 years ago she was about 12. It rolled on her and two of her friends they lived, but she was not so fortunate.
ReplyDeleteI have an incredibly hard time letting the government mandate restrictions because some parents or people do not teach appropriate behavior. I live in ATV country and yes, we have one or more fatalities a year on the Oregon Dunes due to ATVS and ignorance, I would say the ages are mixed. I have seen little kids who are more responsible than adults on ATV's, but then they were children (I assume) who were taught respect and responsiblity. I would say those little kids aren't in minority or there would be more injuries out here.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if we could legistlate intelligence and responsible behavior. Now that I would back.