You can't legislate common sense. A law will not stop most people from letting their child ride an ATV, as it's unlikely they'd ever get caught and suffer any consequence for breaking the law.

I think that letting a child ride an ATV is stupid (honestly, I don't really see the appeal for adults). However, I don't support yet another toothless law.

I think creation of a law will not stop foolisj parents from ignoring the law. There is a helmut law, yet daily I see kids biking without them and police not enforcing. Creation of laws that are not followed or enforced is a waste of time and money. Parents need to be educated about the dangers and accept the consequences of ignoring these dangers. As a society we are so quick to blame others instead of taking personal responsibility and it is destroying our culture and killing our children.

As the first two posters have said, a law will not stop this from happening. A large portion of the culture that rides ATVs has already proven to ignore the law. Illegal riding on protected and private land in Massachusetts is rampant. So what makes you think these parents will obey a law about kids riding ATVs?

I agree...just another instance of trying to legislate common sense. There will be even more severe penalties for texting while driving an ATV.

AKMom, As an ATV rider, I thoroughly enjoy the sport. I do it safely, wear a helmet, stay in control, etc.

Brian, the problem is that in MA, there is very little land to ride on because everyone is so afraid of lawsuits that they have closed pretty much all the land. This doesn't mean I advocate illegal riding though - just saying that there's nothing left. This is why I don't even register it in MA - I only ride it in NH and ME.

As for the topic, I agree that it's common sense to not allow kids to ride them, and no law is going to force kids to stay off. Just as Maria says, they already have a helmet law for kids and bicycles and that's not followed. Riding them myself, I know that it can be very dangerous and if I had kids I would not allow them to be in control of one of these 800lb machines.

The first 5 posters have stated my sentiments exactly.
NO MORE foolish laws just for the sake of passing them!

So, by this logic, why have any laws at all? After all, no one will follow them, so why even try? Please, folks, get a grip. this is a way to protect kids who cannot be protected otherwise. Police cannot do anything now. A law is needed to prevent people from getting hurt. Death by stupidity is OK if you are the adult and hurt no one else (unlikely unless you have no survivors). Having no law means that people can go around saying "hey, there's no law against it, so it must be okay." It's not okay and we shouldn't allow vulnerable kids to be exposed to this foolishness.

ATVs for children weigh nowhere near 800 lbs, they weigh maybe 150. ATVs for children have regulators so that you can cap the speed at as low as 5mph (most kids bike faster than that) and they max out at 20 mph, kill switches so that if the child moves to far off center the engine stops, and a pull cord so that the parent can kill the engine from behind if they want to. My kids are ages 5-11 and have a proper quad for their size, proper safety equipment, and ride only when supervised and at low speeds. Seriously, I think we have a Power Wheels jeep that goes faster than the speed at which we allow them to ride with the youngest on board.

Not all motorsports are inherently dangerous or stupid. The danger and stupidity come in to play when kids are allowed to ride equipment that is not the right size, at too high a speed, without the proper safety gear and supervision. I don't imagine that a law will prevent parents from overestimating their children's ability to handle a motorized vehicle...perhaps legalizing riding and having more places available to rent the right equipment and ride safely, under supervision, would be a better idea.

Excuse me Erica, but you are an idiot!! What an unintelligent one sided article!! Obviously by your statements that a child's ATV (or practically any ATV) weighs between 500 - 1000 lbs means you did absolutely NO research before spouting off ignorantly about something you know nothing about. Try approximately 230 lbs. Big difference huh?

If you did bother to even look at any of the manufacturer's websites you would notice that there are age recommendations for the different engine sizes of the ATVs, as well as links to various safety and training courses.

(Thanks for your input Responsible Dad. This story was only about the issue of kids riding on full-size adult model ATVs, not the smaller, youth-oriented models -- Erica )

40K (or thereabouts) people died from auto accidents last year. Some of them were kids. Kids also die drowning in swimming pools, falling off of cliffs, getting run over by cars, shot by guns, choking on food, playing with power tools, getting cancer and any number of other horrible ways.

I don't see how passing Yet Another Law will make any difference in the world. If anything, this state needs less laws.

We have all kinds of laws for children that are followed everyday. Carseats, seatbelts, buying cigarettes and alcohol, and the biggest one of all...children driving automoblies! ATV's are more dangerous than cars yet the laws we have now allow a child to drive one. Are all of you that say a law won't work not obeying all these laws that already exist? Don't fool yourself and others by saying an ATV age law won't work....most people ARE law abiding and if this will help save a child's life then its totally worth it. Believe me, an ATV is not worth losing a child over. .

Why don't we just have a law to prevent us from doing anything enjoyable. We don't need more laws in this country, we need fewer. I am an adult and understand the risks if I was going to let my 8 year old ride a atv. I dont let him ride by himself, only if I am driving at a slow pace. People need to make decisions for themselves. I am also against the seatbelt law. I fully know all of the risks involved by not wearing one and if I want to make that decision I shouldn't have big brother telling me to click it or ticket. Its just another way for states to make more money

What many of the posters just don't understand is that the proposal is to prevent children riding dangerous ATVs. If an adult wants to make a foolish and dangerous decision, that is theirs to make (although the costs of that bad decision are borne by society). A child is not legally or morally able to make those decisions. If you want to see anarchy with no laws, I would welcome you to visit Somalia. However, don't make me pay for your idiotic decision to ride a dangerous "toy". Pay for the hospitalization and disability costs yourself.

Kids get hurt - even killed - playing youth sports such as baseball, soccer, gymnastics, ice skating, swimming, etc - every day. Should we pass laws forbidding those, too?

My objection to a law is that it's not going to change anyone's behavior. The responsible people already put their kids on appropriately-sized vehicles, teach them how to use them safely, supervise them, etc. Their kids aren't getting hurt any more than kids doing anything else. They'll be the ones being punished by a new law. The people who put their kids on oversize ATVs and turn them loose aren't going to stop if a law is passed, and their kids are still going to get injured and killed. Slapping a grieving parent with a fine or jail sentence still isn't going to solve the problem.

The laws we already have need to start getting enforced, then we can think about adding new ones.

Parents need to protect their children, not legislators. Society today has made it so the parent doesn't even have to parent any more. Should my child read this book? I don't know, what's it rated? Should my child watch this TV show? Is it rated for his age? Should my child play this video game? Listen to this music? Check the rating first. That way parents don’t actually have to get to know their kids or even get to see what their kids can handle at each age. And they don’t have to actually think: Since the Government hasn’t made (insert activity here) against the law, it must be safe – therefore I as the parent – don’t have to a) think about it or b) be responsible. Let Dora The Explorer teach the kids manners. Let Lady Gaga teach them how to dress. Let Eminem (er, is that how you spell his name?) teach them what to think of women. Make sure you put “juicy” on their butts so any last shred of self-respect goes away and for the love of god, Don’t Raise Your Kids. Protect them from icky things like funerals (after all, if a child sees how people mourn the death of a loved one that child might accidentally develop empathy…which is what really keeps kids from shooting up malls). Make sure they only play games where “Everyone wins” (you wouldn’t want your child to learn how to handle disappointment – they might accidentally become stronger for it instead of shooting up a school when something doesn’t go their way).

Yes, I’m an angry, bitter mother. I have a teenage daughter. I don’t lock up my wine or hide my weapons, I personally bought her Grand Theft Auto to play – and she refuses to touch the alcohol, understands what a weapon can do (I should also add that we’re both martial artists), and thinks GTA is so unrealistic, its funny.

Since we have so many laws telling us how to think, nobody knows how to think anymore. Its sad.
yoshimi

Mr. ED, Children can't make any decisions for themselves, I guess. Kids get hurt and killed every day for all kinds of reasons. Driving in a car with their parents, going to amusement parks, riding their bikes, riding on school busses. I could go on and on. Maybe we should all just have our kids live in giant bubbles until they are 18 and can legally make decisions for themselves. You shouldn't call someone an idiot because they enjoy doing something you don't. I am sure you could get hurt at the ballet. As far as you paying for my decisions, I make more than enough money to care for myself and I also pay for my own medical insurance. It's my opinion that laws like this and the seatbelt law are created because of highly paid insurance lobbist.(My child always wears a seat belt) I think that people should start making their own decisions and not count on needless laws. It seems to me that you would love to live behind a rock your whole life, but what happens when that rock rolls over on you? Is riding a motorcycle idiotic? How about riding in a plane or going for a boat ride? How about swimming, maybe that's dangerous also. We as parents should make the best decisions for our own kids. This world is not a one size fits all. I am sure if you have kids, you have done things I wouldn't do and I am sure I have done things you wouldn't do. Life experiences is what makes us different.

Although I personally hate ATVs with a passion (noisy, irritating, and tend to damage beaches and wildlife) I agree that legislating against them for kids will do nothing. We can't bubble wrap our kids so that they come out of childhood with not a single scratch, nor should we try to.

And just for the record, since Erica seems to think all anti-law folks are rabid ATV enthusiasts - I have never ridden an ATV, and have no desire to. Personally, I'd love to see a ban on all ATVs, snowmobiles, jet skis, and other motorized toys that ruin my enjoyment of the great outdoors, but I know that's not going to happen, and nor should it, really. I'm just being selfish about that. I do think that people should be forced to take personal responsibility for their actions, and by extension, parents should be forced to take responsibility for parenting their children. I do agree that I shouldn't have to pay for the care of someone who makes dangerous choices and winds up maimed.

An adult can make a foolish decision. However, letting young children make decisions that are inherently dangerous (i.e. signficantly more dangerous than average things in daily life) is not wise. Sometimes you need laws to get people to stop and think first. otherwise, why have laws at all? Some parents are good at putting the appropriate level of safety on their children adn others completely abrogate that responsibility. Society has some responsibility to protect children from those parents. Otherwise, children will suffer from parents' decision. That is what the law is for because children cannot make these decisions legally. I am glad there are some laws on the books such as seat belt laws. Sure, there's individual liberty, but bad decisions affect everyone. No one is suggesting that kids should live in a bubble, but keeping kids off something inherently dangerous is a reasonable protection. Stretching advocacy to protect against a real danger to other activities is a straw man. No one is suggesting protecting kids from every conceivable danger. Look at the actual stats for death and dismemberment for kids on these things.

Ed, parents make bad decisions every day. Some parents in my neighborhood don't bother to make their young kids wear bike helmets, skateboard protective gear, seatbelts, etc. They let their kids play in our (farily busy) street. The list of bad decisions go on. I know we have helmet laws, yet that doesn't seem to affect people. I am certain that if they own ATVs, their kids ride them in unsafe ways, and I don't see how a law will change that. It's sad, but maybe there ought to be a law about who can be a parent...now that's a law I could get behind.

I think each of you who have taken the time to leave a comment should google ATV accidents and deaths of children. You will be shocked to see how many children are hurt each year. Children who has lost limbs, broken bones, permanent brain damage, head trauma or death. All preventable!!

Those who feel this is a family sport, I have never known anyone who has been hurt, my children love to ride, how dare you tell me what I can and cant do with my children. Did you also know that if your neighbor or friend puts your child on an ATV, your child is hurt of killed, they will not be held legally responsible. What they will get is a citation. Put yourself in the shoes of families who have lost children and tell me, your view would be the same.

It is our job as parents to keep our children safe. There is a reason kids can't drive cars until they are 16. There is a reason they can't smoke, attend R rated movies, or be medically treated until they are 18.

This law is meant to keep children safe. Stop thinking about being told what to do, and think about what needs to be done.

I support laws against children riding atv's and I support tougher enforecement of existing laws. As a parent of a child who was killed in a horrific and brutal atv accident, ANOTHER adult put my child on an atv without my consent. I never saw my son alive again. This happens more often than you may think. Parents putting other people's children on an atv, without the knowledge or consent of that child's parent/s.

No, the laws may not prevent some ignorant fools from doing it, but there must be a law in place before a penalty can be set forth. And then, the idiots who do this may have a deterrant to their actions, since a child losing their life seems not to be deterrant enough for them.

I think this is major b.s. they get hurt because they don't no what there doing. I have been riding quads my hole life and never have been hurt. so you just blame the quad not the child. Same thing with guns you can't blame it's an object. So just shut up.

Thats the worst (expletive deleted) idea ive ever heard to make so kids cant ride atvs me and a bunch of my friends all race what are you gonna tell us sorry all your years of hard work are just gonna have to wait unttill ur older?