Would an ATV Ban For Kids Work?

By Dan Nitzel

          Would proposed new federal rules to keep kids off or adult sized ATVs be effective?  In this authors opinion, not really. 

          The problem here involves the actions of adults.  Adults are the ones who purchase an ATVs and allow or encourage a child to ride it.  I’m sure there are not many instances where a kid who hypothetically may be 12 years old goes into a dealership and buys an ATV.   

          Adults also can have control of the keys to ATVs.  Is it really intelligent to leave the keys to the ATV in the machine when young kids are around and adults are not?  No.  But it happens all the time and often times adults don’t think junior will dare to mount the machine, or they don’t realize that junior can get killed on these machines.  Eighty six percent of the ATV deaths in the US occur to kids on adult sized machines. 

          In some instances, maybe it’s time to place some of the blame of the kids deaths on the adults who own the ATVs and allow the kids to ride the machine either knowingly or unknowingly. 

          Check out the web site “www.atvsafetynet.org” and read some of the stories that these parents tell.  The accidents that killed these kids are really sad, and really stupid.  The parents exclaim in horror that “I didn’t know these ATVs were dangerous machines” or “I didn’t know he or she was on the machine”.  Pretty darn lame excuses if you ask me! 

          A large number of the kids killed on ATVs occur on roads in rural areas.  Kids on big, powerful ATVs out here in Nebraska flying down a gravel road is as common as the weather changing and about half of the ATV deaths in Nebraska are kids on roads. 

          Let’s see if we can’t help stop a tragedy and help reduce these terrible deaths to kids on ATVs!  This is an adult problem, not a child problem!  Here are some ideas rules that I hope adults can “live” with. 

>> Avoid the urge to let the kids ride ATVs un-supervised. 

>> Remove the keys from the ATVs when you are not home or are not available to watch the kids ride. 

>> Don’t allow small children to ride adult sized machines.  Small children do not have the physical dexterity to handle an big adult sized machine.  If they can’t reach the handle bars adequately, stand on the foot pegs, and if their feet can’t reach the foot pegs while they are sitting on the machine, then they are too small. 

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This page was updated on Tuesday, August 01, 2006