Provision of House Bill 2121 Will make it illegal for any one in WV to operate a ATV out side there age limit. 6yr. to 11yr no larger than 50cc. 12yr to 16yr. no larger than 90cc. there are petitions at most bike shopes against it get there and sign it!!!!! If you are caught the parents will be charged with child endangerment.

 

that's ridiculous

 

wow,that sucks

 

That was only IF the youngster was trespassing (unless something has just changed). Another situation where the state is forced too create some law too keep from loosing federal monies. Sad. No-one too enforce it either....it's just gonna be on the books. The only people that will be hurt will be law-abiding citizens.

 

There was an article in today's paper called "Trail of Tears", about kids getting killed on atv's. It is sad and something should be done, but how about some parent supervision instead of passing new laws. They keep spewing that WV has more ATV related deaths, but what they won't tell you is that WV has the highest percentage of atv ownership in the nation, thus more accidents. Bottom line is the state is missing too much $$ on these things by not registering them, it's a matter of time.

 

Thats stupid glad thats not going on down here [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

I've seen and read well over a dozen articles over the past few weeks regarding the new proposed WV laws...and while I was completely against them to begin with, reading info from the ATVA regarding this changed my mind.

First of all, the Feds [not even the CPSC] can BAN anyone from a legally sold consumer product.
Guidelines are one thing... Prohibition is another.

Only the states can pose restrictions on consumer products believe it or not. I Don't remember all the details surrounding it, but when safety is an issue, it comes down to the states own health care system.

These laws only affect those who are NOT riding on persoanal property. Doesn't matter who's land as long as it is not puplic property.

These laws make perfect sense to me. Alot of others here have never agreed with me on the age issue of ATVs, but I am not only a rider, and a father, but also someone who sees every week ,what a large ATV can do to a small child.
The age of the rider alone shouldn't be the deciding factor of what size machine he is "supposed" to be able to ride, but until another way is brought forward, it makes better sense than to sit back and do nothing.

I have learned over the years that alot of ATV buyers new to the sport are very similar to the typical new personal watercraft buyer. They see ATVs as being something that everyone in the family can drive because their is no balance issues like a dirtbike. Very irresponsible outlook and while everyone here is an ATV nut like me who knows better,...alot of people do not and to make matters worse, they can't comprehend the danger of such irresponsibility until they or someone they know gets badly injured, or worse from one.

Age alone shouldn't be a deciding factor in what size mahine you ride, but it has to,..to a certain degree. I know 15 year olds that still buy dolls [ok..action figures to those here who buy them] and they aren't buying them to collect, but to go home and play with. They are in your local supercenter every day. These guys may be able to handle a big bore 4x4 pysically, but what about mentally? These are the ones who go cutting do-nuts on gravel roads, ripping through the neighborhood after midnight with their loud exhaust. etc,etc

I know some may argue that some of us older riders do the same. Very true fact. But those guys know better and if they were to get killed doing it, people would say just that......stupid. When it's a minor though, the parent is to blame flat out, but the ATV gets the bad rap instead.

It's a conspiracy!!

 

Well,
Let me weigh in from WV Law Enforcement perspective on this one. Like a lot of laws this one seems to have good intentions, but sadly cannot help in the real world. I live in the northern part of WV near Pittsburgh, PA. This is a suburban community with a lot of traffic, but still some nice farms and good riding areas. This State could not pass a law keeping ATV's off major roads until recently (it took something like 7 years in total to get one passed), so I very seriously doubt this LAW has a snow ***** chance in hell. It SHOULD NOT be the state's place to regulate what my kids ride....It SHOULD BE MINE, AS A PARENT. Unfortunately, a lot of our PARENTS are less responsible than their children. SO well intentioned legislators try to stand in for the PARENTS. Does anyone encourage their 14 year old to ride wheelies up and down my paved, lined, well traveled road all Sunday afternoon?? Nope, I doubt it. But it happens every Sunday. I see more qauds on my road, than at most races on a Sunday afternoon. They drive in a reckless manner, save a few exceptions. What I'm trying to say is that the PARENTS use the QUAD as a BABYSITTER. The only way the PARENTS will ever find out what their child is doing on the quad is for the police to show up 1) with child in cuffs 2) with child's name after a pursuit of a quad 3) with death notification 4) to be with the child during riding (never seen in 12 years). Frustrated people put the word out on ATV riders who don't give a CR@P about obeying any property signs, laws, or common sense. They make all ATV owners look bad to the police and the public. We in WV have a MAJOR PROBLEM with ATV's. We still haven't addressed it properly with the last round of legislation. ATV's do not belong on ROADS, Period!!! The reality is that most young people in my area are not supervised properly, use poor judgement when riding on roads and trespassing, and no new laws will stop these things from happening every day!!

 

The idiot who wrote that "Trail of Tears" article should take his/her head out of their @$$ and take a look at some bicycle(pedal bike) fatality numbers for kids. Will they want to ban bicycles next? Oh, better yet, take a look at how many kids die every year in automobile accidents. Going to ban kids from riding in cars?

Isn't everyone bitching about how all the kids in the U.S. are overweight? They say kids should get outside and get some activity. Well not all kids enjoy playing sports and would rather be out riding their ATV. I guess they want all the kids to sit inside with pillows duct taped all over them so they don't get hurt.

The way the laws are going, we're raising a generation of over-protected pu**ies. Kids need a chance to learn responsibility one way or the other, and a good way is to ride ATVs with their parents.

All this being said, I can't really make a strong arguement against the laws being suggested in WV. There should be some kind of age restrictions on ATVs.

Maybe kids under 16 should be accompanied by a person 18 years of age or older that has gone through an ATV safety corse. Something like they do now with a person that has a driving permit having to drive with someone older that has a driver's license. That would probably make more sense than the age/cc size laws.

 

does anyone else just really think that the age limits are a joke..I meen, come on....a sixteen year old on a 90 cc...I hate dumb laws...your old enough to drive a car that has no limits on hp and such when your sixteen but you better not ride a quad over 90 cc...my little step sister had a 90cc quad...she was 14..and she outgrew that thing in no time...actually my other step sister wich was 8 rode it for the most part.