DRD
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I wish they would STFU and leave it to parents to decide. Heil the Nanny State.
Maybe they should practice practicing medicine and leave parenting to parents: Medical errors killing up to 24,000 Canadians a year - Health - CBC News
Governments are spinning their wheels by not banning youths under 16 from riding dangerous ATVs, say Canadian pediatricians.
Just ahead of the Labour Day long weekend when hordes of off-roaders are set to hit the trails, the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) is calling for governments to toughen ATV regulations that would include forbidding younger teens from riding.
The youths are less capable of safely riding vehicles that are notoriously hazardous said Dr. Natalie Yanchar, chair of the CPS’s injury prevention committee.
“They have a high risk of injury among children and youth who don’t have the size or strength to handle these vehicles,” she said.
“Kids don’t know when they’re taking risks.”
In her practise, Yanchar said she deals regularly with teens severely injured in ATV crashes.
“I get so angry — it’s so unnecessary — these are kids who won’t reach their full potential,” she said, referred largely to those suffering head injuries.
The CPS is also calling for compulsory ATV training, helmet use, and a ban on passengers.
It says nearly 450 Canadians youths under 15 years of age are injured each year in ATV accidents.
With proper education and oversight an age ban isn’t needed, said Don McKay, president of the Calgary ATV Riders club.
“With proper supervision, I see no problem with it, along with age-appropriate machines,” he said, whose son and daughter both began riding when they were 12-13 years old.
He said his group does offer a free introductory safety course that attracted 28 youths last May.
But McKay admits it’s hard to ensure younger riders are always toeing the line.
“They can get carried away ... there’s peer pressure that comes into play,” he said.
The province has no plans to expand its ATV regulations that are confined to a ban on anyone under 14 from riding on public lands without supervision, said Alberta Transportation spokeswoman Donna Schultz.
“We do recommend Albertans follow the manufacturers’ recommendations children should not operate off-road vehicles designed for adults,” she said.
But Yanchar said decades of voluntary measures and education have failed to halt an increase in deaths and injuries among young riders.
“We have to start looking at in with a realistic point of view,” she said.
In 2010, six people were killed in ATV accidents in Alberta, with another 163 injured.
Maybe they should practice practicing medicine and leave parenting to parents: Medical errors killing up to 24,000 Canadians a year - Health - CBC News
Governments are spinning their wheels by not banning youths under 16 from riding dangerous ATVs, say Canadian pediatricians.
Just ahead of the Labour Day long weekend when hordes of off-roaders are set to hit the trails, the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) is calling for governments to toughen ATV regulations that would include forbidding younger teens from riding.
The youths are less capable of safely riding vehicles that are notoriously hazardous said Dr. Natalie Yanchar, chair of the CPS’s injury prevention committee.
“They have a high risk of injury among children and youth who don’t have the size or strength to handle these vehicles,” she said.
“Kids don’t know when they’re taking risks.”
In her practise, Yanchar said she deals regularly with teens severely injured in ATV crashes.
“I get so angry — it’s so unnecessary — these are kids who won’t reach their full potential,” she said, referred largely to those suffering head injuries.
The CPS is also calling for compulsory ATV training, helmet use, and a ban on passengers.
It says nearly 450 Canadians youths under 15 years of age are injured each year in ATV accidents.
With proper education and oversight an age ban isn’t needed, said Don McKay, president of the Calgary ATV Riders club.
“With proper supervision, I see no problem with it, along with age-appropriate machines,” he said, whose son and daughter both began riding when they were 12-13 years old.
He said his group does offer a free introductory safety course that attracted 28 youths last May.
But McKay admits it’s hard to ensure younger riders are always toeing the line.
“They can get carried away ... there’s peer pressure that comes into play,” he said.
The province has no plans to expand its ATV regulations that are confined to a ban on anyone under 14 from riding on public lands without supervision, said Alberta Transportation spokeswoman Donna Schultz.
“We do recommend Albertans follow the manufacturers’ recommendations children should not operate off-road vehicles designed for adults,” she said.
But Yanchar said decades of voluntary measures and education have failed to halt an increase in deaths and injuries among young riders.
“We have to start looking at in with a realistic point of view,” she said.
In 2010, six people were killed in ATV accidents in Alberta, with another 163 injured.
I bet not. They don't give two pinches of monkey crap how many people die from bad eating habits.
