Crowdog
09-19-2002, 04:05 PM
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/highway1/la-hy-wheels18sep18.story
YOUR WHEELS
ATV Fans Call Media Scrutiny Unfair
All-terrain vehicle riders, responding to calls for limits, say the recklessness of a few people is skewing public perception.
By JEANNE WRIGHT
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
September 18 2002
Ross Buchanan is an avid all-terrain vehicle rider who bemoans the reckless behavior and ****-raising by a few that have tarnished the sport he and his family love so much.
"Ninety-nine percent of people out there riding all-terrain vehicles are very cautious and responsible about how their kids ride," says Buchanan, who's been riding ATVs in California for close to 20 years.
"It seems the troublesome riders or the relatively few people who get hurt get most of the attention."
Quading, as riding the four-wheel off-road vehicles is commonly called, has become a big family sport, enthusiasts say.
"It's so cute," Buchanan says. "You see the mom and dad riding, and the kids following behind them like little ducklings."
But the sport recently has come under intense scrutiny by safety, medical and environmental advocates who worry about the number of children killed each year in ATV-related accidents.
Some want a federal rule barring riders younger than 16 from using adult-size ATVs. Others want a complete ban on use of ATVs of any size by children younger than 16.
Their call for a federal inquiry on ATV safety by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, reported in a Sept. 4 Your Wheels column, has angered many ATV fans. Some say they fear the sport would suffer under the proposed ban and stricter rules.
Advocacy groups, including the Consumer Federation of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics and various environmental groups, note that the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently reported that there have been 4,541 ATV-related deaths nationwide in the last two decades and that 38% of those killed were children younger than 16. More than 800 of the youngsters killed in ATV-related accidents were younger than 12.
With its popular sand dunes and desert recreational lands, California is a major ATV market. That is perhaps why, according to the Consumer Federation report, California leads the nation with 278 ATV-related fatalities.
Buchanan, a Simi Valley resident, was one of several readers who wrote in response to the Sept. 4 column ("Coalition Targets Youths' ATV Use").
Most complained that the sport is getting a bad rap in the media and said the column unfairly sensationalized the actions of a relatively few irresponsible parents and ATV riders.
Reader Don Williams said all the column did was "regurgitate the press releases of the anti-ATVers who are nothing more than environmental extremists who pose as safety advocates."
Williams, of Malibu, identified himself via e-mail as the managing editor of ATV Action magazine. The magazine's Web site says the call for a federal inquiry on ATV safety comes from "a very disturbing alliance of trial lawyer-dominated 'consumer' groups and envirokooks out to end ATVing."
Buchanan, too, worries that pressure by environmental groups to keep certain areas off-limits to ATVs will put a damper on his family's vacations and weekends.
During the winter, he says, he takes his wife and two children, ages 12 and 16, ATV riding nearly every other weekend, usually at the sand dunes near El Centro or in the desert near Death Valley.
He says his family has never witnessed an ATV-related accident and attributes that to stepped-up enforcement of safety rules in popular recreation areas. But he acknowledges that accidents do happen and says that alcohol, reckless behavior and people driving their ATVs at night are often the causes.
Under the rules of the Bureau of Land Management, no alcoholic beverages are allowed while riding ATVs or other vehicles on BLM-regulated lands. And under California law for off-highway vehicles, helmets must be worn and children must be supervised by parents.
Though there are special, child-size ATVs available from most manufacturers, there are no laws requiring children to use them, and some ATV-enthusiast parents see them as too limiting.
Buchanan, for example, says that though his son, Trevor, 12, rides one of the smaller, child-size vehicles, it's too small for his 5-foot-9-inch frame. He says Trevor really needs to move up to a larger, adult-size vehicle that would better accommodate him.
As for Trevor, he says ATV riding is "really fun ... especially when the sand is soft and gives you a smoother ride."
The Buchanans say that they don't let Trevor and his 16-year-old sister ride double on ATVs and that they make sure both children wear full protective riding gear, including special padded pants, boots, helmets, goggles and gloves.
"We are very safety-conscious with our children," Buchanan says. "We love it all--the camping, the campfires and the riding.
Nothing beats a wonderful family vacation, but adults also must heed the concerns expressed by physicians who treat youngsters injured or killed in ATV accidents.
"It is time to say enough is enough, and put the safety of our children first," says Dr. Rebecca Brown, assistant director of services at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.
*
Jeanne Wright cannot answer mail personally but responds in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. E-mail: jeanrite @aol.com.
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. For information about reprinting this article, go to www.lats.com/rights.
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YOUR WHEELS
ATV Fans Call Media Scrutiny Unfair
All-terrain vehicle riders, responding to calls for limits, say the recklessness of a few people is skewing public perception.
By JEANNE WRIGHT
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
September 18 2002
Ross Buchanan is an avid all-terrain vehicle rider who bemoans the reckless behavior and ****-raising by a few that have tarnished the sport he and his family love so much.
"Ninety-nine percent of people out there riding all-terrain vehicles are very cautious and responsible about how their kids ride," says Buchanan, who's been riding ATVs in California for close to 20 years.
"It seems the troublesome riders or the relatively few people who get hurt get most of the attention."
Quading, as riding the four-wheel off-road vehicles is commonly called, has become a big family sport, enthusiasts say.
"It's so cute," Buchanan says. "You see the mom and dad riding, and the kids following behind them like little ducklings."
But the sport recently has come under intense scrutiny by safety, medical and environmental advocates who worry about the number of children killed each year in ATV-related accidents.
Some want a federal rule barring riders younger than 16 from using adult-size ATVs. Others want a complete ban on use of ATVs of any size by children younger than 16.
Their call for a federal inquiry on ATV safety by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, reported in a Sept. 4 Your Wheels column, has angered many ATV fans. Some say they fear the sport would suffer under the proposed ban and stricter rules.
Advocacy groups, including the Consumer Federation of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics and various environmental groups, note that the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently reported that there have been 4,541 ATV-related deaths nationwide in the last two decades and that 38% of those killed were children younger than 16. More than 800 of the youngsters killed in ATV-related accidents were younger than 12.
With its popular sand dunes and desert recreational lands, California is a major ATV market. That is perhaps why, according to the Consumer Federation report, California leads the nation with 278 ATV-related fatalities.
Buchanan, a Simi Valley resident, was one of several readers who wrote in response to the Sept. 4 column ("Coalition Targets Youths' ATV Use").
Most complained that the sport is getting a bad rap in the media and said the column unfairly sensationalized the actions of a relatively few irresponsible parents and ATV riders.
Reader Don Williams said all the column did was "regurgitate the press releases of the anti-ATVers who are nothing more than environmental extremists who pose as safety advocates."
Williams, of Malibu, identified himself via e-mail as the managing editor of ATV Action magazine. The magazine's Web site says the call for a federal inquiry on ATV safety comes from "a very disturbing alliance of trial lawyer-dominated 'consumer' groups and envirokooks out to end ATVing."
Buchanan, too, worries that pressure by environmental groups to keep certain areas off-limits to ATVs will put a damper on his family's vacations and weekends.
During the winter, he says, he takes his wife and two children, ages 12 and 16, ATV riding nearly every other weekend, usually at the sand dunes near El Centro or in the desert near Death Valley.
He says his family has never witnessed an ATV-related accident and attributes that to stepped-up enforcement of safety rules in popular recreation areas. But he acknowledges that accidents do happen and says that alcohol, reckless behavior and people driving their ATVs at night are often the causes.
Under the rules of the Bureau of Land Management, no alcoholic beverages are allowed while riding ATVs or other vehicles on BLM-regulated lands. And under California law for off-highway vehicles, helmets must be worn and children must be supervised by parents.
Though there are special, child-size ATVs available from most manufacturers, there are no laws requiring children to use them, and some ATV-enthusiast parents see them as too limiting.
Buchanan, for example, says that though his son, Trevor, 12, rides one of the smaller, child-size vehicles, it's too small for his 5-foot-9-inch frame. He says Trevor really needs to move up to a larger, adult-size vehicle that would better accommodate him.
As for Trevor, he says ATV riding is "really fun ... especially when the sand is soft and gives you a smoother ride."
The Buchanans say that they don't let Trevor and his 16-year-old sister ride double on ATVs and that they make sure both children wear full protective riding gear, including special padded pants, boots, helmets, goggles and gloves.
"We are very safety-conscious with our children," Buchanan says. "We love it all--the camping, the campfires and the riding.
Nothing beats a wonderful family vacation, but adults also must heed the concerns expressed by physicians who treat youngsters injured or killed in ATV accidents.
"It is time to say enough is enough, and put the safety of our children first," says Dr. Rebecca Brown, assistant director of services at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.
*
Jeanne Wright cannot answer mail personally but responds in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. E-mail: jeanrite @aol.com.
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. For information about reprinting this article, go to www.lats.com/rights.
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