SW FLORIDA MEDIA BASHING ATVs - Need your comments sent to media

[qt314nfla]

Write back and ask them if they give criticism to other sports that are listed that are far more dangerous that ATV's.  Or even trampoline's.  I see more kids in my office w/ trampoline injuries than the majority of others.  Why aren't we protecting our kids from these horrible toys?  They should clearly be banned from back yards county and state wide.  Yet, I've never seen any report on these dangers.

[TRX450R_Racer]

My last one

I don't want to beat you up but I want to comment on this.



 Hi,
  I heard you are going to do a story of the dangers of ATV riding. I would l;like it if you could include the following.

1. ATV riders don't have a safe, regulated place to ride.
--  We have done probably about a dozen stories on this very issue.   FYI, the response from most taxpayers has been, “Why is this MY problem?”


We pay money to title our ATVs that was supposed to open up riding areas in FL. We were promised new riding areas but nothing. They keep closing down what we have now. There is grant money that they are holding back with red tape. Also the SFWMD has been going back on the contract they made for land to ride on.


2. The state caters to all out door activities except ours.
-- “All out door activies?”  That’s certainly not true.  It is true that the state allows SOME other types of outdoor activities.  Offhand I can’t think of any other outdoor activity that is as hard on the environment as ATV riding.


Clearing a few thousand acres for a golf course is a lot harder on the enviorment then making trail through the woods. We don't misplace all the animals when we ride like development does. Plus all the water wasted to maintain it.


3. The hunters and ATVers are the only groups that have to PAY to use our National Forests, which is public land.
-- Absolutely untrue.


Do bird watchers and hikers have to buy a sticker to go in the forest and hike and bird watch?


4. As far as injuries go ATVing is far down on the list compared to most activities.
--  OK.  But what is your point?   Are you saying that the current level of death and injury is acceptable and that no more needs to be done?  Or do you feel we’ve done all we can?  In either case, a lot of people would disagree with you.


I agree with the point of you can never have enough education or safety in any sport.

[TRX450R_Racer]

there last one
I don’t feel beaten up on.  Please do watch the story tonight.  I’d be very interested in any follow-up comments.

BTW, the last three times I went hiking, I did pay a fee to get into the national forest.  But that was in Arizona.  I’m not familiar with Florida policies.

F

[TRX450R_Racer]

If someone has a link to the story I would like to see it. They are under the impression that i live in the area and am going to see it. Thanks

[r6realtor]

If someone has a link to the story I would like to see it. They are under the impression that i live in the area and am going to see it. Thanks

it will be on fox 4 news at ten, not sure when the link will be up but here is the site http://www.fox4florida.com/ then look under fox 4 investigates, it should be in the troubleshooter section.

[Thrumud]

Someone sent a real nasty e-mail to Fox news, they posted the e-mail. Not too smart !

[Thrumud]

From Fox News

4 In Your Corner Investigation
ATV Safety

May 21, 2007 10:15 PM EDT

 
 
 
    According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission over the past 20 years, there have been around 300 ATV related deaths in Florida...more than 60 of those people were under 16. Right now, ATV safety standards are voluntary. With the number of deaths rising all the time, some consumer groups want to know how many more people have to die before those voluntary standards become mandatory? I checked out both sides of the issue to find out what's going on and what safety experts say needs to be done.
     Back in October, Justine Huffer of North Port was riding on an ATV with her friend when the unexpected happened. Huffer says she "made a left turn, a really sharp left turn and it was on a shell driveway. We think that the ATV slid on the shells." She tells me that's when the adult-sized ATV flipped. "I stuck my leg out to catch myself from falling and the ATV fell over on my leg and it dragged it." What happened next will scar Huffer for the rest of her life. She tells me the "bone broke into the ground and I lost part of my bone, like a few inches or something."
     Even experienced riders like 22-year-old Chris Skillman of Lehigh Acres have their horror stories. He tells me once when he was on his ATV, he "flipped it and fractured my shoulder blade and messed my shoulder up. Other than that, that's pretty much it." Skillman tells me he's been riding ATVs since he was about 5-years-old.
     Skillman wasn't injured severely enough to stop riding ATVs, but every year a lot of people are. CPSC data shows that there were 467 ATV related deaths in 2005. 120 of those that died were children under 16. Rachel Weintraub of the Consumer Federation of America says those numbers are devastating. She tells me, "over 90% of children who are injured or killed on ATVs are actually operating adult-sized ATVs. So the problem is the system isn't working and isn't preventing kids from riding machines that are too large and too powerful for them."
     Right now, there's a voluntary standard in place that recommends children not ride adult-sized ATVs but the Consumer Federation of America wants it mandatory. The group that could change that is the Consumer Product Safety Commission. So I went straight to CPSC spokesperson Scott Wolfson. I asked, "why not make that voluntary standard mandatory?" He responded by saying "it really is an issue where CPSC is an agency that doesn't go into somebody's home...doesn not go into someone's backyard."
     Instead, the CPSC is developing rules to help drive down deaths. They include banning 3-wheel ATVs and offering free training. Meanwhile, Justine Huffer's parents aren't against ATVs, but they do want tougher safety standards. As for Justine, her scarred leg hasn't completely scared her away from riding again. She says "for right now, I think I'll stay off of them."
     Obviously, far fewer people get hurt on ATVs than in cars but there are far more cars than ATVs. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2003 about 116-thousand people got hurt or killed on ATVs that year. That works out to 0.18 per ATV. In that same year, according to the feds, 1.9-million people got hurt or killed on the highways, or .08 per vehicle. When you divide the two, you find ATV riders are more than twice as likely to get hurt per vehicle.
    The CPSC is working on a complete ban of 3-wheelers and it wants to require stronger warnings to parents. Meanwhile, there's no law in Florida requiring ATV riders to be a certain age and you don't have to have a license to operate one.
                                                                                                                       MARISA MENDELSON
                                                                                                            mmendelson@fox4now.com

[TRX450R_Racer]

They posted some of my comments too.

[r6realtor]

Well I still think it comes down to the parents, when is the last time you saw a 10-15 year old or sometimes even older go buy a $6000+ bike by themselves? No one is taking responsibility for themselves anymore, the only time I get hurt my bike is when I am doing something stupid. I actually think there should be a test that you have to take to buy an atv, just some basics, like is it ok to ride on the pavement or on a main street? or is it ok to go as fast as you can on a trail because you don't think anyone else is on it? and how about is it ok for your 6 year old to ride your full size quad? you would be suprised how many dumba$$es would say it's ok. This story really seems to be going no where anyway how can you regulate some of the retard parents from letting there own kids ride in there own back yard and then when they get hurt it's the big bad oversized atv's fault??

[Chuck_Norris]

  Challenge them to attend the rally, so they can see, and film, folks behaving in an appropriate manner on ATVs.....

maybe you should show up and volunteer to be a guest speaker. put your kind words to work and let everyone know just how hard you work for our riding areas. 

[JackL]

" According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission over the past 20 years, there have been around 300 ATV related deaths in Florida..."



This just doesn't seem very high compared to practically everything else in Florida, including crossing the street....?

[HondaATC]

Oh boy, a complete ban on 3 wheelers!  Well we'll just see about that, I know about 10,000 people that would love to make an ass out of the CPSC.

[MPTonyT]

3,308 people died in 2005 due to vehicular homicide  (Non ATV Related).... sniff  sniff.... looks like our cars are the next thing to disapear!!! 

everysport has its dangers, people break bones playing football and soccer. doesnt seem right to bash on the ATV community. theres idiots out there in every sport that do dumb sh*t. look at the boaters that polute the waters, get intoxicated  and drive their boats like an idiot some resulting in death  ..... they are no better than the idiots we have in our sport!! 

[Loven It]

From Fox News

4 In Your Corner Investigation
ATV Safety

May 21, 2007 10:15 PM EDT

 
 
 
    According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission over the past 20 years, there have been around 300 ATV related deaths in Florida...more than 60 of those people were under 16. Right now, ATV safety standards are voluntary. With the number of deaths rising all the time, some consumer groups want to know how many more people have to die before those voluntary standards become mandatory? I checked out both sides of the issue to find out what's going on and what safety experts say needs to be done.
     Back in October, Justine Huffer of North Port was riding on an ATV with her friend when the unexpected happened. Huffer says she "made a left turn, a really sharp left turn and it was on a shell driveway. We think that the ATV slid on the shells." She tells me that's when the adult-sized ATV flipped. "I stuck my leg out to catch myself from falling and the ATV fell over on my leg and it dragged it." What happened next will scar Huffer for the rest of her life. She tells me the "bone broke into the ground and I lost part of my bone, like a few inches or something."      Even experienced riders like 22-year-old Chris Skillman of Lehigh Acres have their horror stories. He tells me once when he was on his ATV, he "flipped it and fractured my shoulder blade and messed my shoulder up. Other than that, that's pretty much it." Skillman tells me he's been riding ATVs since he was about 5-years-old.
     Skillman wasn't injured severely enough to stop riding ATVs, but every year a lot of people are. CPSC data shows that there were 467 ATV related deaths in 2005. 120 of those that died were children under 16. Rachel Weintraub of the Consumer Federation of America says those numbers are devastating. She tells me, "over 90% of children who are injured or killed on ATVs are actually operating adult-sized ATVs. So the problem is the system isn't working and isn't preventing kids from riding machines that are too large and too powerful for them."
     Right now, there's a voluntary standard in place that recommends children not ride adult-sized ATVs but the Consumer Federation of America wants it mandatory. The group that could change that is the Consumer Product Safety Commission. So I went straight to CPSC spokesperson Scott Wolfson. I asked, "why not make that voluntary standard mandatory?" He responded by saying "it really is an issue where CPSC is an agency that doesn't go into somebody's home...doesn not go into someone's backyard."
     Instead, the CPSC is developing rules to help drive down deaths. They include banning 3-wheel ATVs and offering free training. Meanwhile, Justine Huffer's parents aren't against ATVs, but they do want tougher safety standards. As for Justine, her scarred leg hasn't completely scared her away from riding again. She says "for right now, I think I'll stay off of them."
     Obviously, far fewer people get hurt on ATVs than in cars but there are far more cars than ATVs. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2003 about 116-thousand people got hurt or killed on ATVs that year. That works out to 0.18 per ATV. In that same year, according to the feds, 1.9-million people got hurt or killed on the highways, or .08 per vehicle. When you divide the two, you find ATV riders are more than twice as likely to get hurt per vehicle.
    The CPSC is working on a complete ban of 3-wheelers and it wants to require stronger warnings to parents. Meanwhile, there's no law in Florida requiring ATV riders to be a certain age and you don't have to have a license to operate one.
                                                                                                                       MARISA MENDELSON
                                                                                                            mmendelson@fox4now.com

How old is Justine??? What size ATV???

 I find it very interesting that when Justine's accident is mentioned her age nor size of atv is, it just stated "adult sized ATV" flipped over on her. But yet the rider in the next paragraph is listed as 22yrs old. I am lead to belive she was not on an "age appropriate" ATV. In the end of the article it again references Justine and "her parents would like to see tougher standards" more indication the rider was not on an "age appropriate" atv. Also I want to point out that reading Justines story it said she was RIDING ON an ATV WITH HER FRIEND...was that a 2up ATV she was on? Does anyone see the point I am making.

What I got from this article was that a parent allowed their child to ride an "adult sized atv" got hurt and the parents want to see harsher laws on ATV's because of it......Am I the only one that sees it that way.

There are currently labels on ATV's that say no one under the age of whatever should operate ATV. My question is what type of harsher laws could they come up with that they think people will actually follow? There are many parents now that let the children under the age of 16 ride with out a helmet and that is a state law. Why are the parents not getting tickets for allowing their child to break the law? I truely beleive the only way to have child atv related injuries reduced is to start holding parents accountable. After all the child would not be on an ATV if the parent did not allow them...well then the parent needs to make sure their child is as safe as can be as there is danger in any sport!

[MPTonyT]

don't forget the label that reads "NO PASSENGERS" unless you a 2up ATV

[Thrumud]

They never mentioned the little girl riding an adult ATV.  I'm telling you guys .... THE MEDIA IS CRAP!

By the way, the reporter from FOX 4 news called me this afternoon and wants to ask me some questions regarding ATVs .  I just got out of a business meeting but I will call her tomorrow. Will keep you posted. 

[gearhead400]

thank you for being an idiot Chris skillman! I know your not a member on this site and if you are, you probably have your head buried in the sand somewhere.

Also big thanks to nick!


Giving them ammo only hurts us.


We should of said something about Motorcycles and their saftey. I think the state wanted to UP the death toll when they made it legal to ride without helmets. Riding without a helmet on a motorcycle or quad is just stupid so i dont know why they would of even pasted that law.



Also that little girl was riding DOUBLE from what i heard, which your told NOT to do...they even have it written on the atv!!!!



----just went back and actually read this post instead of just hitting reply out of anger lol, and relised everyone else already said what i said.

[eldiablo64]

A real reporter would have looked at that girls parents and asked why she was riding double on an adult size machine while pointing at the warning labels mounted on the fender of an atv.while pointing out to the parents that it says noone under 16,no passengers.it is a parental supervision problem and those are the only ones you can point the finger at the idiot parents.

[gearhead400]

I just wrote her what i would call a great email and tried to get her to do a follow up story about how to be safe on an ATV and still have fun. I also touched base on the subject of parenting problems but i didnt want to hit to hard on that because its not like we can knock on every door telling parents to straighten up or else! I'm looking foward to a good reply. If i get one i will post it.

[gearhead400]

ohhhh yeaaaa


Hey there,
Thank you so much for your email. You made a lot of great points.
I have another story airing tonight about ATVs but it isn't about what
you mentioned. I am going to hold onto your email and talk to my
producers about it.
About how far are you from Cape Coral?
Thanks!
Marisa

Marisa Mendelson
Fox 4 News - WFTX-TV
"In Your Corner"
Consumer Reporter - TroubleShooter
621 SW Pine Island Road
Cape Coral, FL. 33991

Direct: 239-829-1114
TroubleShooter Line: 239-829-1118
Fax: 239-574-4803


-----Original Message-----
From: Kyle Mansfield [mailto:gearhead400ex@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 6:14 PM
To: Marisa L. Mendelson
Subject: ATV safety

Marisa,

I just wanted to say I'm glad the ATV community is starting to get some
coverage even if it isn't 100% positive. I totally agree with you that
there
needs to be some kind of course you must take (Just like to get a
motorcycle
license) in order to ride an ATV. Riding ATVs has become my biggest
passion
and there's no way i could give it up. So naturally i hate to see people

like Chris skillman riding with no helmet next to a highway being
irresponsible and giving people who ride ATVs a bad name. I also cant
stand
parents that let their child ride two up on an ATV meant for one adult
person, and then blame anyone but themselves for the accident. I'm not
positive the ATV was meant for only one rider because your report didn't

state it, but from what I've seen that was probably the case.  The
people i
ride with are some of the greatest people i have met. The reason is not
because i choose not to hang out with the bad seeds of the sport, its
that
the sport brings out the best in people. This is a great sport to get
into
if you take the appropriate precautions, just like anything with any
kind of
danger involved. You don't dive into a pool if your don't know how to
swim.

The biggest problem this sport and anything else that poses a threat to
children especially is the parents themselves. If the parents would put
their children through the proper safety courses or at least show them
how
to be safe on an ATV, half of those injuries and deaths would be
reduced.
But since we can't make sure every parent puts their child through the
proper courses, they need to be made mandatory. Maybe the course should
be
made mandatory when buying and/or registering the ATV?

If you really wanted to show that your new station was helping the
community, you could do a follow up story on how to be safe and still
have
fun on ATVs! Remind the parents and young teens that there are certain
sizes
or ATVs for certain age's. Also do an interview with a person or a group
and
ask them what safety equipment they wear to stay safe on the trails and
track and tell them to give a brief description about how it may help
keep
them safe from injury.

Like i said, i love this sport more than you can imagine and i would
love to
see more people enjoy what i have been enjoying for the past 6 years. If
you
need any help getting information to do a follow up story or getting
interviews myself and a ton of others would be more than happy to help!

I hope to hear back from you and again would like to thank you for
promoting
safety in our sport.


Thank you for your time,

Kyle Mansfield of Citrus County, Florida.
Age 20


p.s. There are a lot of other things i could add on like how every sport
has
their idiots and go on and on about that and make examples why other
activities should be put before atv safety, BUT i wanted to keep this
positive and to the point. You obviously cant touch on twenty different
subjects in one report so it would be pointless to bring them up at this

time.


just gotta be nice i guess 

[dalesgrl]

WTG Nice job.  We can only hope that this will help lead to some positive coverage for those who ride responsibly. 

[JackL]

We should of said something about Motorcycles and their saftey. I think the state wanted to UP the death toll when they made it legal to ride without helmets. Riding without a helmet on a motorcycle or quad is just stupid so i dont know why they would of even pasted that law.

IMO, Freedom of choice is what makes this country great! While I don't particularly care to ride my street bike without a helmet, I have done it when the situation is appropriate. Same on the quad, when we are crawling around the swamp at 5 mph it just isn't necessary, but if you are planning on running the swamp/sawgrass at 65mph it becomes a necessity.

[gearhead400]

i agree with you there. But what if someone else is flying around on their bike and runs into you doing 5 mph with no helmet? sometimes you can be doing everything right and still get hurt.

[JackL]

i agree with you there. But what if someone else is flying around on their bike and runs into you doing 5 mph with no helmet? sometimes you can be doing everything right and still get hurt.

That's what the tall flags are for. They are far more important where I ride. I can't see a helmet helping in that scenario anyway. Well maybe the speeding out of control guy.

Like you said, "sometimes you can be doing everything right and still get hurt. " does apply, but it is very unlikely someone will come blasting into you when you are knee deep in muck....unless it is your buddy following too close.

Personally, I am glad we have the choice. Far to many rules and regulations in this world these days.

[Loven It]

A real reporter would have looked at that girls parents and asked why she was riding double on an adult size machine while pointing at the warning labels mounted on the fender of an atv.while pointing out to the parents that it says noone under 16,no passengers.it is a parental supervision problem and those are the only ones you can point the finger at the idiot parents.

That is the exact point I was making. I will be done with my email on this view point to her in just a few minutes.