I think the "Free" training you speak about is really Polaris's participation in the CPSC/ATV Safety Institute's (ASI) program that is funded by participating manufacturers. With my knowledge of their program, they will not go directly against a state's policy, or against the CPSC guidelines. If that state does not allow for training, I suspect they won't train younger kids either.... That is unconfirmed, and I'll leave that up to MN residents to give us the lowdown...

I ran into this last summer when I tried to get my son into a class. Because he is 9, the guidelines say his 80cc Yamaha raptor is not within their limits....so he was refused. Even if I took him to Wisconsin, where a 9 year old can go up to a 90 cc machine, they will not touch him.

I believe Whodat is referring to MN's DNR rules. From what I can surmise, kids under 12 are locked out of the state's program. They could still attend an outside course... Honda has established several riding centers around the country that WILL train him. And they participate in the CPSC program, however I would have to believe they would want to see him on a Honda, and not show up on his Yamaha.

It would be a different story in MN if they followed the guidelines to the letter... but on the flip side, they have built in a mechanism that allows kids to move up in class if they can demonstrate proficiency... so I see that as a major step forward. Plus, the state should be commended for funding their programs... many states are lagging far behind.

I for one would like to see something consistant. I'd prefer to not have ATV's singled out.. but this is the world we live in, and I don't see this infrastructure being scrapped any time soon. Either way, I do not see training offered to kids under 6 under any funded program.

 

Whats the big deal about no training courses for the 10-12 yo age groups? The parents should be taking care of this already.

 

Now this is what I dont understand and like I have said before steered me away from quad's when my boy's were younger. From what I remember back in the mid 80's when 3 wheeler's were the evil one. 20-20 showed the world how lucky owner's were to not to have died on their evil machine. (Funny I have never watched that show since then, and now that i think about it probubly started my lack of faith in mainstream media). Why not put the same restriction's on kid's mini bikes, 50-75's etc??... Not that I am encouraging it. But are that many more kid's injured on quad's than dirt bike's? Or is this just the back lash of the three wheeler saga?? I had a buddy that used to race odyssey's, they were the second fiddle race to all the three wheeler races of the time. Within 2 week's of the 20-20 mis imformation show all races ceased to exist. Then came the quad's and if I remember right it was a few year's before kid's quad's were made.

Sorry for my clustered sentences, My CNC lathe needs a human again, I am rushing thru this. Will be back.

 

I think we all know what will happen. They are going to try to raise the age of kids operating quads to a higher age (12?) and try to pull the small quads out of the market. Then like most goverment control programs it will fail miserbly and quad injurys will go up because kids will be riding bigger quads against the law or recommendations of the Gov... Quads too big for their weight and maturity

 

Well it won't happen that way if enough people get involved. Because the CPSC/ASI guidelines do allow for 6 year olds and up, so I doubt that it is going to go away. I think this limitation is a local item in MN and is related to teh DNR's program. In their defense the process that they have put together at least shows that they put some thought into it, and went beyond the existing industry to get data... So that is a plus. Many states are way behind in their thinking.

As for the big deal.. and parents training the youngsters... in a perfect world where parents know as much as the instructors I'd say yeah.. but the real world points out that parents do not have the information or skills, and do not take their parental responsibilities serious. And that is one very real reason the young kids are getting hurt.

This discussion is as much about parents getting the information they need to make decisions as it is about kids getting training. You will find that a parent MUST be present when teh child gets their training, so between the two of them, they will know what is right and wrong skills wise, AND know what teh laws say is right and wrong too.... That is a big deal...