Danger of kids riding full-size ATVs attracts national media attention

[Quad101]

May 14 –The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather aired a piece on ATVs on May 14 that essentially reinforces what we've been saying for quite some time: that parents must take safety precautions to protect their kids.

The story told of a 10-year-old Oregon boy killed while riding a full-size ATV, and noted that the parents saw, but ignored, the warning stickers on the machine that said nobody under 16 should ride it. The news report also noted the ATV industry makes smaller machines specifically for kids.

The news report also showed children riding double on an ATV under their father's supervision. The father admitted knowing that the ATV industry warns against riding double on ATVs for safety reasons.

"But everyone does it," the father said.

Sheryl Van Der Leun, an ATV industry spokeswoman, was quoted as saying that most people follow the recommended safety guidelines for ATVs, "but there are always going to be a few who don't."

The ATVA recommends that children ride appropriate-sized machines, that parents closely supervise riders younger than 16, and that no riders carry passengers on machines unless the machine is designed for more than one rider.

© 2004, All Terrain Vehicle Association

[dirt308]

In my opinion some of the laws that have to do with this are ok the others.....well I don't know. The stickers on the fourwheelers say no one under age 16 but for example 90cc stop at 12 and blasters, 250ex,300ex, etc. start at 16 and there is nothing in between. I am now 14 and just had to move up from a blaster because I know longer fit on it. The best thing for a parent to do for their child is make sure that him/her can reach all the controls on the atv and does not look like a midget on it. The child should look as if he fits on it and is ment to ride it. Just my opinion.

[tp300ex]

yea im am 13 about to be 14 and im geting a 400ex b/c i am to big for my 300ex

[Destructo]

Yeah, I got my 400ex a couple weeks ago and it was too much for me to handle at first cause i'm used to riding dirt bikes, lol.

I ran it into a tree and broke the lower mount on the front plastic, so I know for sure kids under 16 shouldn't really ride big quads.

And you gotta be pretty damn big to be too big for a 300ex, their not small, i'm 20 years old and could ride one just fine.

But full-size quads especially with two people on them are way too much for a kid to handle. Riding Double affects the handling of the quad considerably, I know this from experience.

[quadrcr161]

there is a few things that all determin what size of atv the kid can have. at 12 i was racing a ported and bored blaster, then move to a ported 250r that winter. i have been riding since kindigarden and my parrents help train me and still give me advice at the track.

for one like mentioned, a 90 cc is too small for a 16 yr old, and there is no inbetween. another thing is parrents are not watching their kids. plus with the cost of atv's parrents cant afford to keep selling and buying as their kid grows into one, they buy one everyone can use but dont teach the kids the right thing to do on it, mainly because they dont know in the 1st place.

[LazeR]

When i was like 6 i think, i had a suzuki 50, Then when i outgrew that i went to a yz60 dirtbike, it was a lot faster but i found out i wasnt a bike person, and ended up selling it, my next thing was my 400ex, and that was at 15, it had been years since i have ridden anything and i started out on my 400ex! I was smart enough to know, not to be stupid, and i did just fine! my 3rd time out i had a friend on the back with me and knew it handled different and was very careful! Now im begging for more power at 18, and i take passengers all the time! I actually think its pretty fun to have a girl on the back ;), for more reasons than one! Once you learn the bike and know your limits those stickers seem stupid, they even seem stupid when you first get the bike/quad but are for peoples own safety because most of them don't know better! I can go anywhere and do anything i could by myself with someone on the back now no problem, when i first started though there was no way in hell i could even come close!

[Bush0102]

Originally posted by tp300ex
yea im am 13 about to be 14 and im geting a 400ex b/c i am to big for my 300ex

then why did you lie about your age in your profile?

[n00b on a 400ex]

Originally posted by Destructo
Yeah, I got my 400ex a couple weeks ago and it was too much for me to handle at first cause i'm used to riding dirt bikes, lol.

I ran it into a tree and broke the lower mount on the front plastic, so I know for sure kids under 16 shouldn't really ride big quads.

And you gotta be pretty damn big to be too big for a 300ex, their not small, i'm 20 years old and could ride one just fine.

But full-size quads especially with two people on them are way too much for a kid to handle. Riding Double affects the handling of the quad considerably, I know this from experience.

i had practically no riding experience when i bought my trailblazer last winter 250 at 14. at 15 i bought the 400ex, with no manual clutch experience either but i have yet to shift without it. 2 of my friends were also 15 with they bought their preds. it all depends on age and experience

[mephyst]

Yeah, like when I was 12 they expect me to ride a 90? LOL, me and my dad laugh about it all the time cuz my sister is 7 and has an 05' 90. They expect me to ride a 90 up to 15 yrs old? Dealers won't even sell you the bike if you mention oh yea it's for my daughter. If they go how old is your daughter and you say 7 they won't sell it to you. Yeah so I went from a cr80 at 12 to a cr125 and then a 400ex, now I'm 16 on a 450r.

[muddkitten]

i just got a 05 predator 90 for my son for christmas. but i'm gonna be there with him the whole time he's riding. it's not like i'm gonna put him on a mx track at 5! like all have said before......the media and dr's are always gonna try to find something wrong with anything and everything people do.:grr:

Thats an awesome newscast for ATVs because theres been alot of negative reports over the years about kids getting killed on ATVs and that shows htat these kids and their parents are blatently ignoring safety precautions when they let their kids go out and kill themselves on their 700 4by4s.

[MY450R]

i rode machines that were way to big for me as a kid but i never got hurt badly
and i was never supervised
boy times have changed but i guess its for the better

[muddkitten]

i've been lucky so far not getting hurt. i think i've hurt my ride more than anything. lost 3 pairs of handle grips and at ncmp i broke the snorkel. i'd rather fix the ride and not me! lol:D

im with you, MY450R, i rode all kinds of machines back in the day when i was far too young, but with that came responsibilty and i knew my limits. Its these kids that just jump on their parents machines without understanding what theyre doing and go on the road and get whacked by cars.

Im ure theyre still are plenty of underage kids that ride quads that are over 90ccs and handle them great. Its the 10% that cant that we have to worry about.

[big_poppa49]

I'll have to disagree with this thread. I have rode a quad that is the 'correct' size cc for me when I was probably about 13 or so and my knees rubbed the fenders and now sometimes they hurt. Then I got my 400ex, may have been a Recon and it was such a relief. So much more room and I could reach everything just fine. Had full control.

I say, like somebody said earlier, if you can reach all the controls, steer it good, dont look like a midget on it, I say you can ride it! My cousin has a Recon and his 9 year old rides it just fine...:rolleyes:

[dunnonuttin]

Originally posted by LazeR
I actually think its pretty fun to have a girl on the back ;), for more reasons than one! take them over the whoops section:p ;) :devil: :D

[LazeR]

Originally posted by dunnonuttin
take them over the whoops section:p ;) :devil: :D

My best friend and i both had a girl on the back and raced across whoops on the hauser sand road (for those of you who live in oregon) i was 3rd girl *edit*(gear, what was on my mind) pinned ;) We both just stand up and i go for it :devil:

[tp300ex]

Originally posted by Bush0102
then why did you lie about your age in your profile? b/c i didnt know if the site would let me in if i was 13 i tryed geting into another one befor this one it siad 16 and older only

[LsMxRaCeR]

well im 14 and i can control my quad just fine :)

[450Racer]

if 10 year old kids can race an 80cc bike that has endless capabilities but a quad rider who is ten can't even have a 90cc 4 stroke quad!

you know...i raced C class last year on my stock 400ex when i was 14 and i won the championship, everyone was shocked. i think this is an issue of age discrimination if anything. my brother is 6'2 and he's 13 years old. not strong enough to handle a 250? grow up...they can all go to helll because this was my second year of not only riding a race quad but racing it against people of age. this year i got 3rd in b class.

one of the BIGGEST reasons quad racing isn't taken seriously is because there is no begining, you jump on a 450 and hope you're good. what ever happened to 50-65-80-85-125-250-450 slowly progressing to higher levels gaining skill with each bike? there's 250 trail bike or 450 race quad. take a pick. however, in years to come, there WILL be anti-quad prejustice where from the age of 6 and up quad riders will progress and be pros.

look at all the current young guns, Randy Lehr, Dustin Wimmer, Jeremiah Jones, and others. this is our generation of racing right here and if we don't step up and do some stuff that may not be "tree hugging friendly" our sport is going down the popper. however, it's looking bright as ever right now and i encourage all quad riders to ride underage will responsible parents and safety. this is America. why should be have to wait until we can drive to ride a little 250cc trail bike. gues what? WE DON'T and we WON'T.

feel free to support me or tell me how wrong i am.