Ralph
05-25-2004, 08:14 PM
i quickly wrote this first draft due for tommrow and i do alot of repetative writing etc so anyone is welcome to give me an opinion, revisions, errors you feel would make it better. Also i couldnt narrow down the thesis so its just a big thesis.
Ralph Nuss
Mr. Aulcino
English 10
May 25, 2004
Riding All terrain vehicles (ATV’s) On state land in New Jersey
Today in America, especially New Jersey, riding an ATV such as a Quad can be very hard due to the fact that the state government do not allow for any Off-Road parks to be opened and riding on their land is illegal. Not only is this bad for people who love to ride ATV’s, but it can also give ATV’s a poor reputation. When people cannot find a way to do what they want to do legally, they find an illegal way to do it. Then they give all the other riders who follow the rules a bad name. Another factor adding to ATV’s bad reputation is the amount of accidents that could have been prevented had the parents taken all necessary steps to educate their kids on how the principles of riding an ATV. The reputation of ATV’s has become so bad some townships even states are trying to issue a ban on all use of ATV’s in that are following the rules. ATVing is one of the fastest growing sports in America and it would be a shame to see such a wonderful sport die out.
The state should open up designated areas for ATV’s to operate so people do not have to break the law to ride. ATV’s sales had a steady increase in the last few years; 825,000 units were sold just in 2002 to be exact outselling small pickup trucks (Fialka). But with ATV sales rising, so have ATV deaths, this is because where people have to end up going to ride their new expensive toys, there is no rules or regulations, nobody there telling them they have to wear a helmet and other safety gear. Opening ATV parks around the country would create major decrease of the number ATV related deaths. Reducing the amount of ATV accidents is a very important task to be tackled because so many people do not realize the danger of riding ATV’s without proper training and proper safety equipment.
ATV’s are a great way for parents to connect with their children and create a trusting relationship. ATV’s have been getting very popular among younger kids and Manufacturers are starting to produce their products for younger children. Yet there is nowhere for parents to take their kids to ride without driving several hours witch can be a reason for people not to do it. This is why the government/state needs to stop building more and more baseball fields and tennis courts which receive hardly any use because of the abundance of recreation areas and open the land to the ATV Riders who would be more than willing to volunteering to clear out trails and help maintain such a area. All the state would need to provide is the land and a system to make sure everyone is riding safe in the area. These areas could actually turn around and generate quite a lot of money being one of the very few places for people to operate their ATV’s. This may seem like a lot to ask from a town but they could help simply by allowing private parties to open and operate their own ORV recreation areas.
As stated before, ATV’s bad reputation is formed by the numbers of ATV related accidents. But, like typically in the U.S, people are quick to come to the conclusion that these ATV’s they read about killing people are so bad. What the media does not mention is the important details, which should really cut the ATV’s a break. For example, The Article, “No More ATV for Ozzy”, is about a recent ATV related injury to the world famous rock star Ozzy Osbourne; The article goes over the accident and describes the injuries to Ozzy's body and quote “Ozzy Osbourne has been quoted as saying that he’s giving up riding all-terrain vehicles completely. The change of heart comes after Ozzy stopped breathing twice and was left in the throws of coma for nearly eight days (Menocal).” This article gives and overall bad feeling about ATV’s but doesn’t cover some important details, which defend the ATV. Nowhere in the article does it mention that Ozzy had not been wearing a protective helmet or any protective gear of that sort. It also doesn’t touch on the fact that Ozzy Osbourne is not exactly fit to ride an ATV, On his hit show, “The Osbournes”, Ozzy is portrayed as a very “Slow” person whose reaction times are simply unacceptable to be riding an ATV.
One third of all ATV related accidents are involving kids 16 years old or younger (Fialka). These numbers are convincing enough to scare away most parents from ATV’s, but parents are exactly the problem behind the majority of ATV related accidents involving teenagers. These parents are mounting their children on vehicles way too powerful and heavy for them to control. Putting a 12 year old kid on a ATV meant for very experienced riders 16 years old and up is like taking a child who is supposed to ride a pony on a leash In a circle and putting that child on a wild mustang; and on top of that most of the reported fatal accidents are from head injury which could have easily been prevented had the parents taught their children to always wear a helmet no matter what. I recently got into a serious ATV crash myself causing me to land hard on my head, had I not worn a helmet I would have been dead, instead my parents gave me strict and important rules to riding an ATV and I walked away from the accident with only a broken wrist and a few scratches.
An ATV’s reputation could easily be made into something positive if people took them more serious. The people need to work together and many lives can be saved. People need to take Helmet and protective gear laws and rules to a whole new level where there will be no doubt in anybodies mind to wear a helmet. The government laws also need to fix the rules for what age group can ride what size ATV. As of right now there is a set of RECOMMENDATION that are constructed very poorly; Children under the age of 16 years cannot ride ATV’s 100cc’s(Cubic Centimeters as in engine displacement) or higher. At 16 a person can ride any ATV no limit to engine displacement. This means a 14 year old who ways 170lb’s is supposed to be riding a ATV which goes about 20mph tops and is extremely small for the child. The government needs to construct a well thought out set of laws not recommendations which enable a person to ride an ATV they can control and also not be cramped on a little kids ATV. This along with the government supporting opening ATV recreation areas can make this sport truly shine and show how great this sport is and also greatly reduce the number of fatal ATV accidents.
Works Cited
Fialka, John “Jessica Adams's Brief Ride.” Wall Street Journal,
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93270&highlight=atv%2A+reputation
Retrieved 25 May 2004. Written 10 Feb 2004.
Menocal, Peter “No More ATV for Ozzy.” Defy Magazine,
http://www.defymagazine.com/articles/20040103/No_More_ATV_for_Ozzy/
Retrieved 25 May 2004. Posted 3 Jan 2004.
Ralph Nuss
Mr. Aulcino
English 10
May 25, 2004
Riding All terrain vehicles (ATV’s) On state land in New Jersey
Today in America, especially New Jersey, riding an ATV such as a Quad can be very hard due to the fact that the state government do not allow for any Off-Road parks to be opened and riding on their land is illegal. Not only is this bad for people who love to ride ATV’s, but it can also give ATV’s a poor reputation. When people cannot find a way to do what they want to do legally, they find an illegal way to do it. Then they give all the other riders who follow the rules a bad name. Another factor adding to ATV’s bad reputation is the amount of accidents that could have been prevented had the parents taken all necessary steps to educate their kids on how the principles of riding an ATV. The reputation of ATV’s has become so bad some townships even states are trying to issue a ban on all use of ATV’s in that are following the rules. ATVing is one of the fastest growing sports in America and it would be a shame to see such a wonderful sport die out.
The state should open up designated areas for ATV’s to operate so people do not have to break the law to ride. ATV’s sales had a steady increase in the last few years; 825,000 units were sold just in 2002 to be exact outselling small pickup trucks (Fialka). But with ATV sales rising, so have ATV deaths, this is because where people have to end up going to ride their new expensive toys, there is no rules or regulations, nobody there telling them they have to wear a helmet and other safety gear. Opening ATV parks around the country would create major decrease of the number ATV related deaths. Reducing the amount of ATV accidents is a very important task to be tackled because so many people do not realize the danger of riding ATV’s without proper training and proper safety equipment.
ATV’s are a great way for parents to connect with their children and create a trusting relationship. ATV’s have been getting very popular among younger kids and Manufacturers are starting to produce their products for younger children. Yet there is nowhere for parents to take their kids to ride without driving several hours witch can be a reason for people not to do it. This is why the government/state needs to stop building more and more baseball fields and tennis courts which receive hardly any use because of the abundance of recreation areas and open the land to the ATV Riders who would be more than willing to volunteering to clear out trails and help maintain such a area. All the state would need to provide is the land and a system to make sure everyone is riding safe in the area. These areas could actually turn around and generate quite a lot of money being one of the very few places for people to operate their ATV’s. This may seem like a lot to ask from a town but they could help simply by allowing private parties to open and operate their own ORV recreation areas.
As stated before, ATV’s bad reputation is formed by the numbers of ATV related accidents. But, like typically in the U.S, people are quick to come to the conclusion that these ATV’s they read about killing people are so bad. What the media does not mention is the important details, which should really cut the ATV’s a break. For example, The Article, “No More ATV for Ozzy”, is about a recent ATV related injury to the world famous rock star Ozzy Osbourne; The article goes over the accident and describes the injuries to Ozzy's body and quote “Ozzy Osbourne has been quoted as saying that he’s giving up riding all-terrain vehicles completely. The change of heart comes after Ozzy stopped breathing twice and was left in the throws of coma for nearly eight days (Menocal).” This article gives and overall bad feeling about ATV’s but doesn’t cover some important details, which defend the ATV. Nowhere in the article does it mention that Ozzy had not been wearing a protective helmet or any protective gear of that sort. It also doesn’t touch on the fact that Ozzy Osbourne is not exactly fit to ride an ATV, On his hit show, “The Osbournes”, Ozzy is portrayed as a very “Slow” person whose reaction times are simply unacceptable to be riding an ATV.
One third of all ATV related accidents are involving kids 16 years old or younger (Fialka). These numbers are convincing enough to scare away most parents from ATV’s, but parents are exactly the problem behind the majority of ATV related accidents involving teenagers. These parents are mounting their children on vehicles way too powerful and heavy for them to control. Putting a 12 year old kid on a ATV meant for very experienced riders 16 years old and up is like taking a child who is supposed to ride a pony on a leash In a circle and putting that child on a wild mustang; and on top of that most of the reported fatal accidents are from head injury which could have easily been prevented had the parents taught their children to always wear a helmet no matter what. I recently got into a serious ATV crash myself causing me to land hard on my head, had I not worn a helmet I would have been dead, instead my parents gave me strict and important rules to riding an ATV and I walked away from the accident with only a broken wrist and a few scratches.
An ATV’s reputation could easily be made into something positive if people took them more serious. The people need to work together and many lives can be saved. People need to take Helmet and protective gear laws and rules to a whole new level where there will be no doubt in anybodies mind to wear a helmet. The government laws also need to fix the rules for what age group can ride what size ATV. As of right now there is a set of RECOMMENDATION that are constructed very poorly; Children under the age of 16 years cannot ride ATV’s 100cc’s(Cubic Centimeters as in engine displacement) or higher. At 16 a person can ride any ATV no limit to engine displacement. This means a 14 year old who ways 170lb’s is supposed to be riding a ATV which goes about 20mph tops and is extremely small for the child. The government needs to construct a well thought out set of laws not recommendations which enable a person to ride an ATV they can control and also not be cramped on a little kids ATV. This along with the government supporting opening ATV recreation areas can make this sport truly shine and show how great this sport is and also greatly reduce the number of fatal ATV accidents.
Works Cited
Fialka, John “Jessica Adams's Brief Ride.” Wall Street Journal,
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93270&highlight=atv%2A+reputation
Retrieved 25 May 2004. Written 10 Feb 2004.
Menocal, Peter “No More ATV for Ozzy.” Defy Magazine,
http://www.defymagazine.com/articles/20040103/No_More_ATV_for_Ozzy/
Retrieved 25 May 2004. Posted 3 Jan 2004.