I hate age restrictions. I am born in 1991 and they are trying (if not already) to make the driving age 18 for anybody born after 1990. And then jet skis too. I am 14 and have been riding since i was 6. Thats over half my life, so of course i am going to ride fine. So to me this age restiction thing is just a bunch of ****. It should go by ability or at least height and weight not age.

 

Hey michigan guys, according to the dnr website no one under 12 can operate a quad. 12 and older with supervision and certificate and 16 and older is ok. Under 12 only on private land for farm use.
http://www.offroad-ed.com/mi/handboo...ns.htm#summary

I just got my 5 year old a kx110 dirtbike to learn on because once he learns and gets his certifcate he can come with us according to MI laws. I have it governed all the way down now and drive it with him teaching him how to ride. I didnt get the 50cc because he would outgrow it in a year like he did the 4 wheeler.

 

Very difficult situation... With the above description of a kid riding a 500.. you get some sense of why the manufacturers would want to develope something that limits their liability.. and I can't fault them for that. You also need to understand the history of when these were developed. They came about right at the end of the three wheeler debacle. Believe it of not, but the liability lawsuits against the manufacturers almost caused a few of them to fold. Financially, they had to take some positive action.

Although I do not disagree with a need for such a thing to hide behind, I will be the first to say that they were OK in their day, but are sorely out of touch with our sport today. Add in the fact that we have parents that are just plain stupid..... and there you go.

What I and many have advocated for a long time is to keep the restrictions as a starting point, but take an approach that allows for size/weight adjustments, as well as demonstrated abilities. This suggests some form of certification process.. and there is no way we will be able to get all the states to agree on what should be a standard accross the board... but it is still a lofty goal.

At the very least, the CPSC should attempt to review the current standards and look at modifying them to better fit our current state. What they forgot was the rules were made at a time when machines were pretty archaic... and technology and design has improved greatly. Safety is much improved. That fact alone should warrent a look see. Unless we see an act of congress, I doubt it will happen though.

This leaves us with the only option of lobbying our elected officials... which could be a double edged sword. When was the last time involving congress did it ever do us good?...

Second issue is dealers compliance with the CPSC guidelines. If they want to keep their dealer's license they will.... although we all know that there are ways around them wink wink... Still, I do not think it wise to be too critical of any dealer who is voluntarily following the only industry and government accepted safety guide for ATV's available.

 

These guidelines are ABSURD! Thank god my dad did not follow them when he got my first atv. I was nine and it was a Polaris Magnum 325, and i fit on it perfect. I could ride it fine and rode better than my 2 older brothers. I am 14 now and got rid of it about a month ago because it was too slow, not because it was too small. Now i ride a wolverine 450 which is the same size but a little faster. also, i live near a mountain that you can drive up in a car and they actually let you ride atvs up it too, but you need to be 16 and have something over a 90cc. So now i cant go on that trip with my family!

 

Everyone complains, but this is an old problem and little gets done. Due in part to both lack of action and lack of governmental sympathy and education of the issue.

I'm guilty of this too. If I were truly dedicated to the problem I'd be participating in govt, not just complaining about it.

 

On the plus side, since this thread started many of our kids have gotten old enough to ride within the age limits. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Jaybee

 

Another good solution: put your kids on dirtbikes. Then you can use YOUR judgement to decide what YOUR child should ride. Instead of letting some lawmaker sitting in an office decide.

 

my naibors kid has bin riding his sportsman since he was 9 lol and he did awsome, kid was WAY to big for a 90




i drove 500s when i was 8 and 9 and i had no problems...

 

where in hilton do you live?