BOSTON --For Katie Kearney, a legislative effort to stop children from riding all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles is more about improving parenting skills than it is about punishing kids.
Her 8-year-old son, Sean, died a year ago when he and a friend fell off the adult-sized ATV they were riding in Plymouth. The vehicle was owned by the friend's father.
"When you drop your child off at someone's home you expect them to be supervised and do age-appropriate activities," Kearney said. "We knew nothing about ATVs. We were horrified. The laws in place right now are not working."
Under proposed legislation, Massachusetts would have the toughest restrictions in the nation on ATV and snowmobile use by children. The measure sets the minimum driving at 14 and aims to hold parents accountable.
Violations would trigger a child welfare report against parents who let underage children drive an ATV, as well as result in the suspension of a parent's drivers license. Currently, parents are subject only to a $100 civil fine for most violations.
"All across the country we've been lax," said Rep. Matthew Patrick, a Falmouth Democrat who wrote the bill, which also prohibits 14- and 15-year-olds from driving adult-sized ATVs.
Nineteen states have no minimum age requirements. North Dakota appears to have the toughest minimum age restriction, 12 years old.
Lobbying has stepped up on both sides of the issue. Kearney and her husband, Mark, were at the Statehouse last week speaking to lawmakers, while opponents plan to deliver a petition to Beacon Hill on Thursday.
Janet Delfuoco, a Northwood, N.H., resident who grew up in North Reading, has meetings Thursday with legislators. Her 5-year-old and 7-year-old sons compete in motocross events around New England, including at a Southwick track. She wants to preserve that right.
"We're the racing world and we want to be excluded from that bill," she said. "We've spent thousands of dollars on training, supervision and safety gear."
As is, there's confusion about the minimum age. State law says no one under 14 can operate a recreation vehicle unless supervised by an adult. But regulations put in place to implement the law state that no one under 10 can operate the vehicles under any circumstance.
"It needs some clarity," said Lt. Col. Roger Arduini of the Massachusetts Environmental Police.
There are 25,667 registered ATVs in Massachusetts, triple the number from a decade ago.
Nationally, sales of all-terrain vehicles have leveled off. Industry figures show that 912,000 were sold in the United States in 2004, compared with 856,000 last year.
Injuries to children riding ATVs have doubled since 1992, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Snowmobile usage is way down, Arduini said. There are 13,361 snowmobiles registered, compared with 65,000 in the mid-70s, he said.
"The snowmobilers are much more organized, they make it a family oriented sport," he said. "With ATVs, parents buy the ATVs for youngsters, they get home from school, they jump on the ATV and they take a ride. They go on private land without permission. That's when they run into problems."
Patrick says he's open to amendments to allow for properly trained children to participate in sanctioned events. He said Rep. Joseph Wagner, House chairman of the Transportation Committee, told him that the committee will approve at least a version of his bill. Wagner did not return a call to comment.
Mike Mount, spokesman for an industry-funded group called the ATV Safety Institute, said the key is supervision, training and keep children off adult-sized vehicles. Kids as young as 6 years old can safely operate small ATVs, he said.
"With training, they can have a safe and fun experience," he said.
