Post by Wyldcomfort on May 16, 2007 23:42:57 GMT -5
Jeff Manning: 503-294-7606; jmanning@news.oregonian.com
My response.....
Truth has only one story. Senate Bill 49 seemed a sneaker bill that went to the very heart of a wonderful family activity. Supervision, training, and rider fit were not part of this bill – only banning. It was an attack brought on by Sue Rabe and special interest groups without any consideration to the families safely participating in this sport. Long ago she began a National campaign to prohibit children under the age of 16 from operating ATVs. This was based not on actual statistics identifying real problems, but rather passing blame to dealers, manufacturers, the Safety Vehicle Institute, and riders. I personally took it as an insult to responsible parents. To protect my children and my family from the loss of their participation in this sport I began to research every aspect with the true desire to find out the risks, numbers, and most importantly the truth. . I have the right to defend myself, search for and share that truth. As a parent it is my responsibility to become educated in the benefits as well as the risks of an activity that involves my children. Is there a risk for my children riding an ATV? Yes. That is so obvious, or at least it should be. So my children wear safety equipment, we have spent days providing training, hours researching what type of bike would be the safest, evaluating our children’s abilities and riding to suit them rather than us. But the most important aspect is providing constant supervision and direction to them. ATVs’ are not the only activity with danger and risk. My children swim, ride horses, ride bikes, play sports, ski, sled, roller-blade, hike, and have picnics under trees endangered by a falling branch. As parents we are responsible for taking precautions – life jackets, helmets, a safe environment, safety equipment, training, but most importantly active supervision. You can not purchase an ATV for a child, hand them the keys to ride at will, and allow them to ride without taking into consideration the precautions needed to reduce this risk. Just as you don’t hand your little kid a lift ticket and drop them off at the Mountain for the day or drop them off at the river with or without a life jacket. When parents do these things children become the victims and as a community we should protect the children rather than the parent. It is ironic the first two days of this story pointed out the liability and responsibility a neighbor, cousin, and a grandpa had in the deaths of these kids – heck, we will even encourage lawsuits against them. But when a parent, with the ultimate responsibility for the safety of their child, does the same exact thing we will protect them. This isn’t about the parents – it is about the child who was put in danger without the parent taking the proper precautions. If we don’t start holding them accountable, if the media continues to protect and actually elevate the character of these parents and put blame and our attentions elsewhere, children will continue to be the victims.
How do you stage a successful ATV smear campaign? As we have seen over the last few days you start by first discrediting the police, Federal Safety Officials, Manufacturers, dealers, national and local clubs and organizations, and of course, the parents who are riding safely with their children. It also helps to villanize anyone who presents hard fact and truth. Then you need to only tell the part of each story – the part that suits your views then sensationalize it a bit... This article failed to show the other side. This article neglected to focus on SB101. Maybe because it would show the positive side of the ATV community, maybe because it would offer real solutions requiring Supervision, Safety training, and Rider-fit concepts to keep children on appropriate sized ATVs that they could safely operate. Maybe it was because everyone came together for a great solution rather than a complete and radical ban. At the public Hearing there was no opposition to the bill, only a tremendous amount of support by the very same “evil” dealers, manufacturers, riders, clubs, etc. that showed immense force against SB49. Why, because Senate Bill 101 was an honest bill that included everyone in a team approach.
CPSC is a Federal Agency who have been backed into a corner by the same special interest groups that have been backing them into a corner for years – and the same groups that are financially backing Sue Rabe’s Concerned Families for ATV Safety. CPSC are taking this very seriously and have been working for years on this issue. Unfortunately, these groups will only be happy with a complete and total ban on ATVs nationwide. It also seems funny to discredit them then use their information.
The manufacturers have spent millions of dollars making their industry safer. They live in a glass house and have had many stones thrown at them over the years. They offer free safety training, even pay you to go. They sticker up the bikes with multiple warning stickers, every page on most owner’s manuals have safety warnings…What other product manufacturer has done that?? They haven’t been allowed to rely on people’s common sense – rather they spend tons of money on pointing out the obvious.
In the article Sue mentions hundreds of children die each year – actually the number is around 130. It is also stated that nearly 800 people die each year nationally – those numbers are 2003 had 660ish, 2004 had 641ish, and 2005 had 480 (a few more will come in for reporting). ATV sales have increased dramatically yet the numbers of deaths have declined. Most children’s accidents have no adult supervision. A huge percentage have no helmets, many are riding two and three (or more) to a quad, many are illegally riding on roadways, most are on private property. Rarely has there been an accident involving a child riding with their family, wearing protective gear, on the correctly sized vehicle based on rider-fit guidelines. Actually, I haven’t found one yet. Also there are more ATVs permitted on for public lands. The permit is a two-year permit so the number would actually be doubled. It is estimated there are close to 600,000 OHV riders living in Oregon – this doesn’t include the millions who visit our state annually for this purpose. Fatal accidents are rare on public lands. I am more than happy to share any of the information I have as well as the source of my information. Sadly, many people are quick to attack me but refuse to even consider reading the actual facts in these situations. Please give me that benefit before passing judgement.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand there is a danger to ATVs. If the hill is too steep it will roll, if you go too fast you will lose control, if you put your kid on a bike and they can’t even reach the brake – it’s too big, drinking and riding kills, stupid hurts. With anything there is a limit to a product’s ability and a risk. This morning I tripped over my shoelaces that came untied. Use good judgment and when your sense of adventure outweighs your good sense, you will get hurt. Don’t take liberties with your child’s safety. It is your duty and responsibility to care for and protect them. Know their limits and don’t push them past them. But most importantly, be there with them, participate in their life…. common sense and parental responsibility. This is a wonderful and safe family activity if you take basic precautions. It will open up a world to you with your children that few doors can. Thanks for hearing my side, Lindy
My response.....
Truth has only one story. Senate Bill 49 seemed a sneaker bill that went to the very heart of a wonderful family activity. Supervision, training, and rider fit were not part of this bill – only banning. It was an attack brought on by Sue Rabe and special interest groups without any consideration to the families safely participating in this sport. Long ago she began a National campaign to prohibit children under the age of 16 from operating ATVs. This was based not on actual statistics identifying real problems, but rather passing blame to dealers, manufacturers, the Safety Vehicle Institute, and riders. I personally took it as an insult to responsible parents. To protect my children and my family from the loss of their participation in this sport I began to research every aspect with the true desire to find out the risks, numbers, and most importantly the truth. . I have the right to defend myself, search for and share that truth. As a parent it is my responsibility to become educated in the benefits as well as the risks of an activity that involves my children. Is there a risk for my children riding an ATV? Yes. That is so obvious, or at least it should be. So my children wear safety equipment, we have spent days providing training, hours researching what type of bike would be the safest, evaluating our children’s abilities and riding to suit them rather than us. But the most important aspect is providing constant supervision and direction to them. ATVs’ are not the only activity with danger and risk. My children swim, ride horses, ride bikes, play sports, ski, sled, roller-blade, hike, and have picnics under trees endangered by a falling branch. As parents we are responsible for taking precautions – life jackets, helmets, a safe environment, safety equipment, training, but most importantly active supervision. You can not purchase an ATV for a child, hand them the keys to ride at will, and allow them to ride without taking into consideration the precautions needed to reduce this risk. Just as you don’t hand your little kid a lift ticket and drop them off at the Mountain for the day or drop them off at the river with or without a life jacket. When parents do these things children become the victims and as a community we should protect the children rather than the parent. It is ironic the first two days of this story pointed out the liability and responsibility a neighbor, cousin, and a grandpa had in the deaths of these kids – heck, we will even encourage lawsuits against them. But when a parent, with the ultimate responsibility for the safety of their child, does the same exact thing we will protect them. This isn’t about the parents – it is about the child who was put in danger without the parent taking the proper precautions. If we don’t start holding them accountable, if the media continues to protect and actually elevate the character of these parents and put blame and our attentions elsewhere, children will continue to be the victims.
How do you stage a successful ATV smear campaign? As we have seen over the last few days you start by first discrediting the police, Federal Safety Officials, Manufacturers, dealers, national and local clubs and organizations, and of course, the parents who are riding safely with their children. It also helps to villanize anyone who presents hard fact and truth. Then you need to only tell the part of each story – the part that suits your views then sensationalize it a bit... This article failed to show the other side. This article neglected to focus on SB101. Maybe because it would show the positive side of the ATV community, maybe because it would offer real solutions requiring Supervision, Safety training, and Rider-fit concepts to keep children on appropriate sized ATVs that they could safely operate. Maybe it was because everyone came together for a great solution rather than a complete and radical ban. At the public Hearing there was no opposition to the bill, only a tremendous amount of support by the very same “evil” dealers, manufacturers, riders, clubs, etc. that showed immense force against SB49. Why, because Senate Bill 101 was an honest bill that included everyone in a team approach.
CPSC is a Federal Agency who have been backed into a corner by the same special interest groups that have been backing them into a corner for years – and the same groups that are financially backing Sue Rabe’s Concerned Families for ATV Safety. CPSC are taking this very seriously and have been working for years on this issue. Unfortunately, these groups will only be happy with a complete and total ban on ATVs nationwide. It also seems funny to discredit them then use their information.
The manufacturers have spent millions of dollars making their industry safer. They live in a glass house and have had many stones thrown at them over the years. They offer free safety training, even pay you to go. They sticker up the bikes with multiple warning stickers, every page on most owner’s manuals have safety warnings…What other product manufacturer has done that?? They haven’t been allowed to rely on people’s common sense – rather they spend tons of money on pointing out the obvious.
In the article Sue mentions hundreds of children die each year – actually the number is around 130. It is also stated that nearly 800 people die each year nationally – those numbers are 2003 had 660ish, 2004 had 641ish, and 2005 had 480 (a few more will come in for reporting). ATV sales have increased dramatically yet the numbers of deaths have declined. Most children’s accidents have no adult supervision. A huge percentage have no helmets, many are riding two and three (or more) to a quad, many are illegally riding on roadways, most are on private property. Rarely has there been an accident involving a child riding with their family, wearing protective gear, on the correctly sized vehicle based on rider-fit guidelines. Actually, I haven’t found one yet. Also there are more ATVs permitted on for public lands. The permit is a two-year permit so the number would actually be doubled. It is estimated there are close to 600,000 OHV riders living in Oregon – this doesn’t include the millions who visit our state annually for this purpose. Fatal accidents are rare on public lands. I am more than happy to share any of the information I have as well as the source of my information. Sadly, many people are quick to attack me but refuse to even consider reading the actual facts in these situations. Please give me that benefit before passing judgement.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand there is a danger to ATVs. If the hill is too steep it will roll, if you go too fast you will lose control, if you put your kid on a bike and they can’t even reach the brake – it’s too big, drinking and riding kills, stupid hurts. With anything there is a limit to a product’s ability and a risk. This morning I tripped over my shoelaces that came untied. Use good judgment and when your sense of adventure outweighs your good sense, you will get hurt. Don’t take liberties with your child’s safety. It is your duty and responsibility to care for and protect them. Know their limits and don’t push them past them. But most importantly, be there with them, participate in their life…. common sense and parental responsibility. This is a wonderful and safe family activity if you take basic precautions. It will open up a world to you with your children that few doors can. Thanks for hearing my side, Lindy