Sunday, September 24, 2006

ATV Child Stabilizer... say what?!

I was over on eBay looking for things I might want for my ATV and found a listing for a Child Stabilizer to be used on an ATV. Now come on folks, if you have to stabilize the kid on the bike then the kid is not old enough to be on the damn bike! Thankfully the ad also says that "adult common sense must be used", but come on folks, lets take that a step further and say that adult common sense must be present. ATVs are not toys, yuo don't just slap a kid on with you and take off roaring through the countryside. I suppose that is better than the ones that slap their underage kid on one alone and send the kid off roaring through the countryside though. I get rather tired of children anywhere from age 6 to 18 zipping up over the side of the road to try and beat the cars passing them or zipping down the paved bicycle path knocking bicyclists and roller bladers off the trail without so much as a glance back.

People have no problem with their kids not being allowed to drive a car until a certain age, but they put them on an ATV and send them out to play. I think until age 16 a kid should be under direct supervision of their parent or guardian and until age 18 at least should have to pass an ATV safety test similar to a driver's license test. The DMV wouldn't even have to provide it, the test could be given by the forest service or something - they're the ones who's job it effects when a kid (and adults) go out and spin donuts in the wilderness and tear up places where the land is unable to heal itself very effectively like in Death Valley California and such.

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