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Ride1Rob
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« on: July 06, 2008, 02:37:42 PM » |
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Here's the article...
FORT MYERS | Bill Hagn camped out with his son in Okeechobee one recent night so Billy, 10, would be on time for class the next morning.
Billy attended an all-terrain vehicle safety course at L-Cross Extreme Events in order to ride his ATV and dirt bike legally in Florida.
Under a new law, ATV and dirt bike riders ages 6 through 16 must have certification proving they completed an off-highway vehicle safety course to ride on public land.
Too many deaths and injuries "have given a black eye to ATV and off-highway vehicles," said John Waldron, Forest Recreation Administration coordinator for the Division of Forestry.
In 2006, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 555 died while ATV riding. Children younger than 16 made up 111 of those deaths.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported in 2006 that 771 crashes were related to ATVs. More than 680 involved injuries, while 23 were fatal.
Waldron said the original Florida law created in 2002 was to find areas for off-highway vehicle riders.
But the number of minors being killed prompted the safety revision, which passed last year and gives young riders a year to complete the training course.
Waldron said children between the ages of 6 and 16 must have their certificates when riding on public land. Those without their certificates will be charged for a noncriminal infraction and may be fined up to $100, or have their privilege revoked.
The law does not pertain to private property.
Hagn has mixed feelings about the new law. He said there are children who need the training because of their unsafe driving habits, but the provision is unfair for parents, like him, who make sure their children ride safely.
Paul Carrington is one of 123 instructors from the ATV Safety Institute conducting classes in Florida. The ATV Safety institute is a division of the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, which is based in Irvine, Calif., and focuses on safety, education and awareness.
Carrington, has been training students since 2003. He said the courses usually last about four hours.
The ATV institute trains riders on three primary components.
First, they're taught about pre-riding inspection as well as starting, stopping and swerving in emergencies.
Second, they learn about protection: helmets, eye gear, long shirts and pants, gloves and over-the-ankle boots.
Third, they're taught about environmental responsibility: how to cross streams and share nature trails.
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