Quads, and minimum age issue, serious discussion

[L Rider]

It's got to be up to the parents, and they have to be able to make an informed choice. We have an LT50 quad for #2 son (4.5 yrs old) and he's happy on that,though is casting envious looks at big bro's 2-wheeler, which we've said he can have a go on as soon as he can touch the ground while sitting on it. I doubt he'll ditch the quad straightaway as I don't think he'll be ready to ride it properly for a year - he just doesn't seem ready, and his attention-span makes your average goldfish look like a philosopher.

The LT50 weighs about 50kg and the replaement model with suspension & gubbins weighs a load more than that. He's only 20kg and we've already seen that quads and hills don't mix. If he's out, he's got us or another responsible adult) within 30 seconds of him, and he'll be on a kid-quad-friendly track, probably at mini-mx or the Sandpit. Mini-mx change the track for the little quads, so there's very little chance of rolling it. However, accidents do happen and kids can freeze, as described in an earlier post in here. However, there are lots of kid-savvy adults around the track.

Not that kids are the only ones who get into trouble. Adults crash quads too - and bikes and cars. The diference is that adults are supposed to be able to decide what's safe, or at least acceptably so, but nobody can foresee everything. Every parent knows that kids get into mischief, it's kind of expected. Nothing to do with age, weight or anything, sometimes just opportunity, or just wrong place/wrong time.

Gotta go now, taking the kids out for a cycle. Probably to a BMX park which should be coated in rubber so they don't fall & hurt themselves... Mitigating against the fact it may not be by taking helmets, mx gloves and band-aids. Just hope the other kids there are wearing bubble-wrap, in case they crash into us.

Hi, like your 2 boys our 2 kids go to NHMMX too. Our oldest started on an LT50. He rolled & flipped his at a race meeting held at Leightons - in one race he rolled it then nxt lap flipped it, then 2 races later he rolled it again. Once he got thrown clear & twice he was pinned underneath. I must add these offs were his own fault - he thought you could go full speed downhill & into corners. Lesson learnt even though it took 3 times!! Sometimes there isn't any telling them & they need to discover for themselves.
Not a single scratch on him (he was lucky), tough or is it crazy?, kid he is he just jumped on & started again.
Daughter on the other hand, was riding hers at at event where you camped & parked bikes in the rugby field. Small rise in the ground she went up too slow, tipped, didn't let go of bars so landed on elbow, breaking it whilst still holding the bike.

Having had these happen to me they were just 'accidents' nothing major & not really any different than a 2 wheeler or even a pushbike.
We do not take kids to places that are beyond theirs or their bikes capabilities. Unfortunately many parents do & this is when major things go wrong such as the girl at Thunder. Where she was no kid on a quad should have been.

[ukusa]

I would feel safer with my kids learning to ride a quad or dirtbike under my supervision on a track/farm, than have them riding solo on a pushbike on the road. Saying that, as a responsible parent the quad or dirtbike would be of a size & power to reflect the experience of my child.
The issue of a small child on a large quad (or dirtbike for that matter) is a no brainer, It is a parents decision to make, and if they make that decision I feel it's irresponsible. No different than letting your 15yo kid who just got their licence to go out alone in your V8 or turbocharged car.. a stupid decision.

I do feel for the poor parents in this latest case, but I feel there are enough examples of it happening over the last few years for parents to make a responsible decision based on the age, bike, & experience of there child (I don't know the exact details of this latest incident, i am making a generalisation for all parents).

Saying that, I am dead against another namby pamby ill thought out law being creating by a govt who thinks adults can't make their own decisions. Sure some can't make good decisions, but a law banning this type of thing will only fail. If there was a ban for say under 12's, what will stop people teaching their kids on private farms etc (where alot of the accidents happen). This cannot be policed.

[mashman]

Yeah, wonder what OSH and the next coroner report will come up with over this current one

Looks like they've already looked at the problem and decided it's too much like hard work (or at least they don't want to legislate against farmers).

http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and...-on-quads.html