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Selecting the Right Vehicle for your Child

Youth ATVs (often broken down into categories like ages 6+ or ages 12+) remain a constant safety issue for the industry, as many parents prefer to invest in a machine that their kids can "grow into" rather than one that is appropriately and safely sized for small riders. Parents aren't the only ones to blame. A recent survey of Virginia dealerships done by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) showed that, in marketing ATVs, only 30% of the dealerships surveyed warned the prospective purchaser of the age recommendations and recommended against the sale, 45% warned the prospective purchaser, but discounted the warning and encouraged the sale, and 25% percent tried to sell the ATV without any explanation as to the age recommendations.

After years of teaching kids and adults, instructor Eric Dennison has rarely seen small ATVs for rent but judges the safe and correct size vehicle for his classes by students' height and weight, not their age. 

Unfortunately, recent legislation has made youth-sized off-road vehicles even harder to come by. After the Chinese lead-based toys scare of 2008, the CPSC banned the sale of anything to children under 12 whose lead content exceeded 300ppm. Since that ruling effectively prevented off-road vehicle manufacturers and dealers from offering child-sized products to anyone under age 12, the CPSC has requested a stay on enforcement of the rule, so that smaller ATVs and dirt bikes – the safest vehicles for kids who are into “dirt” sports -- can continue to be sold.

Notes the Honorable Thomas H. Moore in his CPSC ruling (April 16, 2009): "American parents seem to be willing to accept the risks of their children riding these vehicles, so it's the agency's task to ensure that the vehicles are as safe as possible.  One safety rule the agency has stressed is keeping kids off of adult-sized ATVs." 

Tips from the Pro's to Get Kids Started

In order to start young riders off right, Dennison  recommends that parents purchase a small ATV and give kids exposure to the sport in their own backyard. ATVs with 90cc engines are often sold with a remote control that allows adults to shut off the unit from a distance, regulate the throttle or enact other precautionary measures. Getting used to the machine under adult supervision is essential before heading out to a public park and encountering traffic, Dennison says.

Raymond Ropa, Editor/Owner of www.BucketRiders.com and father of two sons, ages 5 and 8, is committed to ensuring that kids grow up to be motorheads. He suggests that parents start with adequate safety gear. “Minimum is helmet, neck collar, chest protector, knee guards, boots, gloves and goggles.

Ropa notes that his son Will doesn't mind putting on essential safety gear "because dad wears it and we ‘look cool’ according to him." 

“Gear is expensive," he adds. "So I have a network of parents and we swap gear or buy second hand on some of it for a fraction of the cost. You can cut costs a lot by networking with other parents of young riders. Helmets are the only thing I don't buy used. We only wear new helmets and we replace them every 3 years or when they outgrow them."

Families use favorite blogs and resources like CraigsList to find used geat at value prices. "The gear is a great tool for keeping the fear factor down too with kids,” adds Ropa. “They will wreck and when they do, it doesn't hurt so much and they are not afraid to get back on.”

Just as encouragement and repetition are part of learning to ride a bicycle, Ropa notes that “There’s nothing wrong with a bump on the knee to help learn respect and limitations of a machine… but you don't want injuries that frighten them.”