Proposed Senate Bill 49

[Lindylee]

Couple of things to add - Another Senator that is behind this is Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson, Democrat, District 25.  Capitol phone number is 503-986-1725.  I think she is from Gresham.  She will also be on the Business, Transportation, and Workforce Committee that will be handling the hearing on this.  They generally meet at 1:00 on M-W-Th and the schedule for when they will be hearing this bill is unknown at this time.  We need to contact Janet Edkins, Community Manager and a very nice person, at 503-986-1621 and she can let us know if it will be on the schedule.  I was on Lars Larson on Friday and I think it went pretty well.  He has family that four-wheels and thinks this is crazy.  I have also contacted the Capitol Press and they will be doing a story on it and have asked that I send in a letter to the editor as this will have an impact on Farmers as well.  It would be great if everyone can contact their local Senator but above all else the news media in their area.  On Friday between 12:00 and 3:00 you can call in to Lars and put in your two or three cents.  I think this bill is so unbelievable that most people won't take it seriously so the press is our best bet.  It is urgent that we act now as the decision will be made quickly.  Anyone close to Salem willing to go to the Capitol steps with us??  We have a 90cc Polaris and a 150lb soon to be 13 year old who is 5'9.5.  A picture of this is worth a thousand words.

I will be compiling info to send in mass so if you have statistics or specific information please send it to me so that I may include it.  Hope you don't mind if I use some of the stats, listed so far - you obviously have some pretty smart cookies in your club!!  Thanks and hope I can help!!  Lindy at minten@gotsky.com

Just got this - it is a letter to a guy on another site from one of the Senators...
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I rec'd a reply from Senator Devlin. Here it is.
Dear Tim,

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding Senate Bill 49. SB 49 was precession filed and is in the Senate Committee on Business, Transportation, and Workforce Development. Senate Bill 49 is one of five bills introduced relating to ATV’s. The Oregon State Parks Department, at the request of the Governor is sponsoring the other four bills.

Senate Bill 49 is trying to protect children from unnecessary injury or death. Between 1999 and 2005, 62 Oregonians died from riding all terrain vehicles, children under 16 accounted for 17 of those deaths. Nationally, in 2004 there were 130 reported ATV related deaths of children under the age of 16. The top cause of ATV related deaths to children under age 16 was crush injuries from rollovers. These rollovers are commonly caused by children riding adult size ATVs. Senate Bill 49 takes children off adult size ATVs and thus reducing injury and death.

The Safety Institute recommends that children 12 and older should have an ATV between 70cc and 90cc and only children over 16 should ride ATVs over 90cc. Senate Bill 49 is following the ATV Safety Institutes ATV size recommendations. Please note that the ATV Safety Institute is industry supported.

I encourage you to follow SB 49 and continue to partake in the legislative process.

Sincerely,

Senator Richard Devlin
Devlin.Sen@state.or.us 

[RTOYZ]

This reply letter you have gotten from Sen Devlin is nothing more than a mere form letter. I have seen this now from about 4 different people and not 1 word is different.

[woodsrider]

 This is what happens nobody wanted Republicans any more now we are stuck with flaming liberal Democrat's Wait till Mommy Hillary gets in then you can kiss it all good by.

[Lindylee]

I contacted and left messages for all of the Senators today - spoke with three..seems I have to get the paperwork to file as a citizen lobbyist (if you spend more than about 20 hours?? you have to contact Gov. Standards and Practices at 503-378-5105.  Great news with ATVA and AMA (National big boys).  They are on board and will be giving us direction on how to proceed.  Others on board is Salem Sand Club, Mt Baber, Oddfellows, and OMA.  It is really coming together and they are starting to get some heat.  We need to keep it steady and hopefully this bill will just go away.  I think they are hoping to change it but I can't see that any of the new part is acceptable.  Everyone is obviously doing a great job.  Spoke with the Chamber of Commerce in Reedsport area and they will be passing it on to lots of different agencies.  They also have a Legislative call coming up on the 30th.  The Committee is anticipating reviewing this the first part of Feb.  Also, the Farm Bureau is on board and plans on getting very active!  It bothers me that no one knew and makes me wonder if that was intentional.  Most of the other supported bills are listed on their website - nothing on this one.  I also think they grossly underestimated just how many people will be affected and how well we can all come together.  cool -

[Sandprincess]

Is there any way that you can post a petition online?  My husband has posted this on ltr450hq.com, thumpertalk.com, atvfan.com, atvriders.com and everyone is outraged and ready to sign.  On my end we have support from Quadgirls.com, Offroadgirls and Designer Dirtgirl.   We will do whatever it takes to get this out there and stop this bill.

[Towman 1]

Not 1 word of this has been posted on our site(SWR) as of yet that I know of. There should be some way to have a petition to sign on line. Nobody around Winchester Bay and Reedsport  that I have talked to knows anything about this #49 bill.

[RTOYZ]

Not 1 word of this has been posted on our site(SWR) as of yet that I know of. There should be some way to have a petition to sign on line. Nobody around Winchester Bay and Reedsport  that I have talked to knows anything about this #49 bill.

Mike Wallaert got a fax of the Petition and is taking it all up and down the entire coastal area. Greg Hoover should have one, and both Terry (afterburner) and myself has posted this on the SWR site. It looks like you posted a reply. I really hope this gets shut down. Then we will look at some other options on how to protect our sport.
http://www.sandwizardsforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2625

Posted on: January 23, 2007, 05:48:11 AMIn a nice email that LindaLee sent me. We need to make this go Away.

Thought this may be of interest to you - The Senate has a bill banning children under the age of 12 from operating any atv or motorcycle and restricts children 12-16 to a 90CC (too small for your average teen) on public and private lands.  Please call Senator Bates 503-986-1703, Devlin 503-986-1719 and Monnes-Anderson 503-986-1725 who are the primary supporters of this bill.  It will be heard by Sen. Starr 503-986-1715, Deckart 503-986-1714, and George at 503-986-1712.  This applies to your own back yard, hunting, farming, riding.  What's next - bicycles - they cause far more deaths and injuries.
 
 
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ORS 821.203)  Relating to all-terrain vehicles; creating new provisions; amending ORS 821.203; and repealing ORS 821.292.
ORS 821.203 is amended to read:
821.203. (1) A person commits the offense of endangering [a Class I or Class III] an all-terrain vehicle operator or passenger if:
(a) The person is operating a Class I or Class III all-terrain vehicle on premises open to the public and the person carries another person on the Class I or Class III all-terrain vehicle who is under 18 years of age and is not wearing a motorcycle helmet; [or]
(b) The person is the parent, legal guardian or person with legal responsibility for the safety and welfare of a child under 18 years of age and the child operates or rides on a Class I or Class III all-terrain vehicle on premises open to the public without wearing a motorcycle helmet[.]
(c) The person is the parent, legal guardian or person with legal responsibility for the safety and welfare of a child who is at least 12 years of age and not more than 15 years of age and who operates an all-terrain vehicle with an engine displacement greater than 90 cubic centimeters; or
(d) The person is the parent, legal guardian or person with legal responsibility for the safety and welfare of a child under 12 years of age and the child operates an all-terrain vehicle.
(2) The requirement to wear a motorcycle helmet does not apply if the all-terrain vehicle is:
(a) Used exclusively in farming, agricultural or forestry operations or used by persons licensed under ORS chapter 571 exclusively for nursery or Christmas tree growing operations.
(b) Being used on land owned or leased by the owner of the vehicle.
(3) The offense described in this section, endangering [a Class I or Class III] an all-terrain vehicle operator or passenger, is a Class D traffic violation.
 
An article I found at another site:

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries (2006 report not issued yet) provides that there were 467 reported ATV related deaths in the nation, down from 609 in 2004 which was down from 636 in 2003 (note: there are some estimates that are higher due to incomplete reporting processes, but this will work for our discussions).  So, that is a good thing.  Of those, approximately 30% were under the age of 16 and 12% were under the age of 12.  The same percentage applies to ATV related injuries.  On the surface, this sounds grim, but here’s the kicker that they never tell the press or you.  In 2003, there were an estimated 6.2 million ATV’s in use, 6.9 million in 2004 and 7.6 million in 2005.

That means that during 2005, ATV related deaths accounted for .0061 percent of ATV’s in use.  Anybody care to compare that to other sport injury and death statistics?  Plus, the overall injury estimates in the U.S. increased by 500 between 2004 and 2005, yet ATV’s in use increased by 700,000!  Compare that from 2003 to 2004 whereas ATV’s increased again by 700,000 but the injury rate increased by 13,100.  Got news for you, ATV rider safety is getting better and our statistics reflect that.  In fact, the CPSC reports that the risk estimate has steadily decreased since 2001.  Now, Oregon is somewhat better, statistically speaking, because certain dealer reports show a marked increase in ATV sales that is higher than the national average, yet the death and injury rates indicate a decreasing trend.  Oregon boasts the lowest rate of any state with similar ATV demographics.  Obviously, each death is incredibly painful and unacceptable.  But, to substantially change the current working statutes is not the solution to reducing the death and injury rates.  That will only increase risk and frustration. 

In my humble opinion, law enforcement needs to better regulate the current laws that we have all accepted and abided by for years.  Oregon Parks and Rec needs to get off their collective fannies and get motivated.  Create effective training and education programs.  For craps sake, I could even live with an OPRD given proficiency check of my eleven year old daughters riding abilities.  But to tell her to stay home after four years of safe riding and racing experience will only cause unnecessary grief and risk.

Oregon statistics show that legitimately registered OHV users represent over 15% of the entire Oregon population (US Census).  It’s probably more.  Our elected officials need to recognize that we are a significant and growing presence.  We may be in need of attention at times, but we shouldn’t be ignored and we certainly shouldn’t be eliminated.
Posted: 01/19/07 06:35pm  Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator 


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I rec'd a reply from Senator Devlin. Here it is.
Dear Tim,



Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding Senate Bill 49. SB 49 was precession filed and is in the Senate Committee on Business, Transportation, and Workforce Development. Senate Bill 49 is one of five bills introduced relating to ATV’s. The Oregon State Parks Department, at the request of the Governor is sponsoring the other four bills.



Senate Bill 49 is trying to protect children from unnecessary injury or death. Between 1999 and 2005, 62 Oregonians died from riding all terrain vehicles, children under 16 accounted for 17 of those deaths. Nationally, in 2004 there were 130 reported ATV related deaths of children under the age of 16. The top cause of ATV related deaths to children under age 16 was crush injuries from rollovers. These rollovers are commonly caused by children riding adult size ATVs. Senate Bill 49 takes children off adult size ATVs and thus reducing injury and death.



The Safety Institute recommends that children 12 and older should have an ATV between 70cc and 90cc and only children over 16 should ride ATVs over 90cc. Senate Bill 49 is following the ATV Safety Institutes ATV size recommendations. Please note that the ATV Safety Institute is industry supported.



I encourage you to follow SB 49 and continue to partake in the legislative process.



Sincerely,

Senator Richard Devlin
Devlin.Sen@state.or.us

[Lindylee]

Hi all. Just an update on what I found out today!!  All our networking is working - people are becoming aware and spreading the word.  Here is some history on the bill nicknamed Kyles Law.  In 2002 a Ten year old boy named Kyle Robe was riding a 250cc with a friend on his parents property.  On his way home he took a shortcut and ended up with the bike on top of him.  He was later found by his parents and they attempted to resuscitate him.  There have been other high profile accidents - you can Google Ryan Rabe and find all kinds of legislation in other states and also on a federal level based on these accidents.  In all that I read they are outraged that these kids were killed by these adult sized quads - they do not address the lack of parental supervision nor do they provide a statistic for it.  Sue Rabe (mother of Ryan) at 503-743-2670 and Joann Fairchild 503-413-4239 are the contact people in support of this bill.  On Friday the Stateman Journal will be at our house to interview and take pictures of my kids.  Wish us luck and we hope that we represent you all well.  In the meantime I will continue to do what I can to get the word out.  Here are some of the main folks I have spoken with, they in turn have aggressively passed it on:  Eugene, Salem, S. Coast Chamber (they will notify all involved businesses), Capital Press, FFA, Cycle Trader, News stations, Parks and Rec, ATVA, AMA, Salem Sand Club (they are calling dealers), several online clubs, Craigs list, Motorcycle Superstore, and as many clubs that I have been able to reach.  If you have contacts in other clubs - now is the time to let them know.  So much of the contact information for them is outdated.  What amazes me is that so few people know that should have.  It amazes them too because they are generally notified long before it gets to this point.  I do know that Sen. Bates and Devlin have expressed that the intent is to change this bill - it is just a working model.  If that was the case I would expect them to have involved people in the industry and I haven't seen evidence to support that and it has already been assigned to the Business, Transportation, and Workforce Committee.  Please keep me in the loop!
Posted on: January 23, 2007, 08:16:09 PMSorry if I am redundant - pay close attention to the environmental connection....

Nicknamed Kyles Law - Several sites on the web and most used story to promote banning for children

From Reader's Digest
August 2004
Dangerous as Disease
From the time he was just four years old, Kyle Rabe loved riding ATVs, and his parents loved watching him. In an area with no sidewalks, off-road, all-terrain vehicles had become as ubiquitous as bicycles to the kids of Turner, Oregon, a close-knit community of small farmsteads 50 miles south of Portland. So the sight of Kyle -- a slender, brown-haired boy with flashing green eyes -- motoring over the gently rolling countryside to visit friends was never a concern to his mom, Sue. After all, the machines were built for this, with small, low-slung bodies and four fat, wide tires. Besides, Kyle was always wearing protective gear, including a helmet.

On the evening of May 6, 2002, neither his safety helmet nor the ATV's fat tires could save Kyle. Sue can still see her boy, just three months shy of 11, lying under the 500-pound machine within earshot of a neighbor's house. She can still see her husband, Tom, vainly trying to breathe life back into their son's body...... (google Kyle Rabe Reader's Digest for rest of story).


Some History...
There has been lots of attention to the risks associated with kids and quads due to the number of injuries and deaths reported.  I think Safe kids has been involved with this on the Federal level and is now behind legislation in several states including Oregon.
Contact people for this bill would be Sue Rabe (Kyle's mom) 503-743-2670 and Jann Fairchild 503-413-4239.  It also has support from several Coalition for Safe Kids chapters.  In all of the articles that I read, no one dared mention the fact that this boy died alone.  He went out to ride alone with no adult supervision.  His mother didn't think it was dangerous. Blamed the dealer for not better educating her on the risk, blamed the ATV industry for not being more clear...is now on a crusade to ban the usage of ATVs by children under 16.  I read story after story and not once did I find a statistic based on lack of parental supervision and most children did not have a helmet on either.

We have two laws in Oregon ORS821.202 (Helmets required for kids) and various others regarding adult responsibility 821.250,290,292.  There are four bills besides 49 that relate to the ATV industry.  They are:
HB 2062 Requires Helmets for all
SB 101 Requires Safety Permits - bans children under seven from operating an ATV or Motorcycle, requires direct supervision 16 and under.
HB 2063 Banning Double unless the quad is designed for it by manufacturer.
The other one is addressing registration of all quads and bikes.
All have exclusions for farm stuff and I think all are only on "land open to the public"

I, as well as many others, have asked why they come down so hard at the ATV industry when statistically there are far more dangerous activities for children (bikes, pools, fire, walking, SPORTS is the biggest one, etc, etc, etc....)  I tried to follow the groups supporting it and the information they were basing the information on.  Safe Kids led me to Consumer Federation of America which led me to Naturaltrails and OSPIRG.  Natural Trails stated at the bottom of one of the ATV facts sheet "working to protect and restore all public lands and waters from severe damage caused by snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles........etc"  OSPIRG is in Oregon and is very active in conservation and protection.  They are Safe Kids Oregon connection.  We couldn't find anyone that was listed as a lobbyist - found that out as you are required to register even if you are not paid, if you spend more that 24 hours or $100. in a quarter working with the Legislatures or networking to change the outcome of Legislation.  It is free and some of you may want to look into this (Government Standard and Practices 503-378-5105). 

Here are a few of the Stats off of Safe kids..

Type                    Year                Injury                    Death
Auto                    2004                214,000                1638
Bikes                  2002                285,000                 130
Drowning          2002                4200                       838 
Burn                   2002                83,300                    520
Pedestrian        2002                38,400                    599
Sports                3.5 million injuries but didn't break down deaths in each category (21% of most traumatic brain injury)
ATV                    2003                38,000                    111

All figures are based on to age 14 with the exception ATV's are based to age 16. Another interesting fact!
There were 17 deaths for children under 16 here in Oregon from 1999 to 2005 - all but two were without helmets - no stats if there was an adult supervising.
There are approx. 589,000 off road riders, close to 200,000 Dept. of Rec. Permits.  Doesn't count farmers.
There are some great folks involved that should have been in the loop at the inception of this.  Funny how people who normally know about these bills didn't.  They do now.  Temporary Insandity, Mt. Baber ATV Club,  Salem Sand Club, ATVA, MRA,Oddfellows, Chambers in Eugene, Salem, and the Coast, Tourism Department, Oregon Farm Bureau, NRA, Motorcycle Superstore,  Lars Larson, FFA, Capitol Press, Statesman Journal, most of the dealerships, Parks and Rec., and tons of other very angry folks.  Most of the Senators, or staff, indicated that they did not support it and they have been receiving tons of calls regarding it.  Sen. Bates has been telling people it is just in its working stage but ironically it has already been sent to the Business, Transportation, and Workforce Committee.  They meet M-W-T from 1:00 to 2:45 and we need to keep checking online at the Legislative site or call Janet Edkins at 503-986-1621 to see when it goes to a hearing. Might mention you would like to be put on the list for contact so you may speak at it.  They don't give much of a heads-up.  The Chair of the Committee is Sen. Metsger at 503-986-1726 (Ryan), vice chair is Sen. Starr at 503-986-1715 (Kathy),  Sen. Deckart at 503-986-1714 (Sasha), Sen. Larry George at 503-986-1713, and a strong proponent for it Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (Rebecca said she was too busy to talk and considering I wasn't even a constituent they couldn't help me).  A good part of the Senators did return my phone call and were very nice, the few that didn't I will list here in a few days after giving them the benefit of doubt.  Need to know who to vote for next time!!  Still haven't heard back from Senator Bates and just received the standard e-mail letter that everyone else has from Senator Devlin.  I understand that they are busy but the longer this thing goes the busier they are going to get.

At this point, the best thing we can do is keep letting everyone know.  Where I am lacking is in contact with all of the ATV clubs in Oregon so if someone could give them a call that would be wonderful.  Also, keep contacting your local news sources - this will be a story and they may not take it seriously at first but my guess is as it builds momentum- they will call.  On Friday Lars Larson has open comments from the public - he opposes this also (866HeyLars).  I intend to send this to the Senators as well and will let you know of their responses.

Thanks and please keep me in the loop!!

Lindy

[RTOYZ]

Wow Lindy, you are jamming on this. I have spoke with 2 more news stations down here. Waiting for a date to go on. and the local mail tribune as well. I have sent out many petitions and have spoke with Dennis Richardson's rep. It's sounds like we are getting the much needed support that we need. I have Brian Chamberlains card from Motorcycle Superstores and he wants some of our petitions for the store. I will get this to him today. Thanks for all your hard work and for keeping us in the loop.

Pat

[Dune Dude]

OK class, everyone find your seats.
It’s back to school time.

History 101

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in the early 1980's began checking into the increased accidents and deaths caused by 3-wheel ATVs. In April of 1988, 5 ATV distributors entered into a court ordered consent decree with the CPSC.
A summary of the agreement was as follows:
-Halt production of 3-wheeled ATVs
-Offer safety training for all new ATV owners
-recommend age and cc size restrictions and not to knowingly sell an ATV to someone to use outside of these recommendations
     6 to 11 year olds no bigger than 70 cc
   12 to 15 year olds no bigger than 90 cc
   16 and over any size (anything over 90cc is considered an adult ATV) 
The court ordered decree ended in 1998 and the 5 original distributors, plus 2 others have voluntarily continued these programs.

Current Events 201

The CPSC continues to monitor the injuries and deaths associated with ATVs.  They have come under increased pressure from Panels of Health Care Workers, Child Advocacy Groups, and Concerned Parent Groups (some are disguised Anti-access groups), to reduce injuries and deaths to children under 16.  For a major player, check out the Consumer Federation of America at http://www.consumerfed.org/topics.cfm?section=Health%20and%20Safety&topic=ATVs.  The CFA boasts 300 nonprofit organizations with a membership over 50 million.  (THE) CFA is an advocacy, research, education, and service organization. As an advocacy group, it works to advance pro-consumer policy on a variety of issues before Congress, the White House, federal and state regulatory agencies, state legislatures, and the courts. Its staff works with public officials to promote beneficial policies, to oppose harmful policies, and to ensure a balanced debate on important issues in which consumers have a stake.  They want the CPSC to issue laws that no one under 16 should operate adult ATVs (over 90cc).  Health Care Groups want no one under 16 to ride ATVs of any size.  They feel that the voluntary efforts of the ATV Industry to promote safety are laughable.  Injury and death rates are on the rise and all the industry does is put warning stickers on the ATVs.  Currently, the CPSC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that could lead to ATV standardized regulations, though no time line has been adopted.  Because if the inability to make progress on the national level, the CFA and others have been actively involved in having States propose laws to keep children off of ATV’s. 

Statistics 301

The CPSC has the 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries posted at www.cpsc.gov/library/atv2005.pdf.  This is the most up-to-date form available.  Some on this forum have referenced the numbers from this report.  It is important to note that the numbers from 2002-2005 are incomplete, so direct correlations of numbers from year to year can be misleading.  Example, only 467 ATV related deaths in 2005 compared with 609 in 2004. 
The “Safety Groups” express in horror how the injury rate for kids under 16 has doubled since 1997 from 20,600 to 40,400 est.  However, the ATV industry wants to point out that ATV’s in use has almost tripled from 2.7 million to 7.6 million est. in that same time period.  The “safety groups” argue that in 2001 children under 16 accounted for 17% of the ATV riders yet, accounted for 25% of the injuries and that the children are suffering a disproportionate amount of injuries.  They site the cause as children operating adult size ATV’s that are too heavy and too fast for them to operate. However, the CPSC report in table 5 shows that the % of injuries for children under 16 has been decreasing since 1997.

Logic 401               

The “Safety Groups” hide behind the position of “moral high ground”.  They pressure Local, State and Federal Entities to support their cause that they have the only answers to reduce injuries and death.  They feel that since the ATV industry does not want to adopt changes to the status quo, they don’t care about child safety.
In fact the “safety groups” show that the ATV Industry has proponents that want to abolish the age requirements for ATV engine sizes.  The Industry feels this original attempt to limit the size of ATV to children has inherent problems.  For example, the physical size of most children 12 and older to even fit on a 90cc ATV.  So the argument intensifies from the “safety groups” that not only does the ATV Industry not want to adopt tougher standards on children riding ATV’s, they want to make it easier for them to ride larger and faster machines.  Therefore, the ATV Industry will be increasing injuries and death to children, while cashing in on the sales of ATV’s.

Common Sense 501

Why would the ATV Industry suggest that the age requirement be abolished?  Do they have any reason to have their product portrayed as a “child killer”?  Don’t these members of the Industry have families that ride ATV’s?   Why are they still riding if ATV’s are so dangerous? 
As mentioned by Lindylee, we need to look further into how these children are being injured.  For instance, is there a common set of circumstances that is contributing to the injuries and death, or, is the ATV just a death trap?
Check out the website http://www.naturaltrails.org/issues/ATVSafety/index.html they have a document titled “ATV Safety Crisis:  America’s Children Still at Risk”.  In Appendix 3 they list some deaths and injuries from around the country to support their cause.  NOTE:  THESE ACCIDENTS ARE ALL HORRIBLE AND MY INTENTION IS NOT TO MINIMIZE THE TRAGEDY.    My method here is not scientific and it only relates to the reports that are in Appendix 3.  Under injuries I counted 23 ATV related.  Children injured totaled 33.  Dude, 23 does not = 33!  Correct. 11 accidents involved 2-up riding (on ATV’s not designed for this feature) and 5, I could contribute to no parental supervision.  Example 8 year old struck by car…etc.  Under deaths I counted 29 with 11 incidents involving 2-up riding and 7, I could contribute to no parental supervision.  No other information is offered about helmet use or protective clothing.
I see two common themes; Riding 2-up cause two injuries for each ATV accident and children under 16 need parental supervision.  These are items that are clearly labeled on all new quads along with a notice to READ OWNER'S MANUAL, FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNINGS.  Parents are the ones responsible for their child’s safety.  If they purchase a product for their children they should be exercising common sense into investigating safety issues with that product.  The days of pleading ignorance (I did not think a 500 lb ATV that can do 60 mph would have dangers associated with its improper use), its someone else’s fault (I did not have any information available to me about safety issues.  I missed the warning labels, didn’t want to read the owners manual and just didn’t have time to look up ATV safety on the internet) are over.  In the above example with no 2-up riding and parental supervision over half of the deaths and injuries probably could have been avoided.  We can’t eliminate all risk from activities in our lives.  But, we can reduce them through common sense approaches. 

It’s time that those of us who love to ride our ATV’s better come up with some intelligent ideas on what can and should be done to reduce injuries from riding ATV’s.  We need to be as proactive in implementing safety rules that make the sport safer while allowing all to ride, as we are blocking “safety groups” outrageous attempts to take our sport away.  People who ride ATV’s should be making the rules to keep our favorite recreational activity fun and safe, not by people who hate ATV’s.

My 2 cents or maybe more like $49.28.  Can anyone break a $50?     

[Lindylee]

I need some sleep guys before I hit it hard again.  What I have been finding is that many of these special interest groups are designing numbers to suit their cause.  I got a few calls in to try to obtain accurate and official numbers.  These groups do this 24-7 and have had lots of experience bending the truth.  If you get a chance visit www.atvsafetynet.org - sounds official yes.  This is another non profit but go into the statistic portion on deaths for the summer of 2005.  It is a cool map that you can click on and the news articles will pop up.  I printed about 90% of them (some didn't have current links, some were duplicate, and others overlapped making it tough to get to them) - but one thing was clear in all but two of the fatalities - there was no parent.  It is so obvious that it is lack of parent supervision - why wouldn't they focus on regulations and fines to address this very real problem.  Instead they go after the ATV industry - I have to ask myself what their hidden agenda is.  Since they link back to environmental groups, could this be an attempt to back door ATVs on public lands??  I may be way off but ask yourself this....if 95% had one thing in common, wouldn't you pursue that aspect of it first?  Where they screwed up, which gives me hope of fighting this, is using a poster boy (Kyle) that was killed not by an ATV, but by lack of parental involvement.  If they would have been with him, he most likely would be riding quads with them as a family now.   Another thing to consider is what some sites consider as children.  On that site they have 18 and under.  Most of the incidents occurred with the older children - a group of kids they are not addressing - why.  Magically at 16 they stop being so concerned - or they will fight that battle after they get rid of the families.....

On Friday morning a reporter is driving out to my hick little town to interview our family - the kids, and take some pictures.  He is from the Statesman Journal and we will get great coverage as everyone is at the capital in session, and it is the Salem paper.  We have borrowed a 50cc Yamaha, 90cc Polaris.  Plan is to put my 5'7" daughter on the 50 as she is 11, and my 12 year old 5'9.5" son on the 90cc.  We also have a 250cc farm quad that we will bring out, and a 400ex.  My goal is to show how absurd these guidelines are and they are actually unsafe.  The scary thing is we will be challenging official statistics so I hope this doesn't backfire.  I will also be armed with the ATVA letter where the Consumer Product Safety Commission rejected a ban on the sale of full size ATVs for children under 16.  You can find that on the ATVA site.  We welcome suggestions.
Posted on: January 24, 2007, 09:47:04 PMIt is another late night but- today was a very fruitful day... I have appointments with all of the Senators with the exception of Monnes-Anderson.  I spoke with some more big boys Blue Ribbon, Bike pac and Abate. I also spoke with the statistician at Consumer Protection and she is going to work on it and get back with me Monday.  I asked her if they had "Adult Supervision" identified so that we could look at the numbers that way.  They do not but she understands why that would be a good idea.  She is going to put me with someone in policy.  This is not a state problem...It will not go away until we clear this up through the Federal Government as well.  If we don't, they will just try to sneak it through again and next time we won't be so lucky.  It is up to us and we have to get united.  Night all, busy day tomorrow.  Have a nice weekend and please don't let up yet!!!!

[RTOYZ]

HAS anybody heard back from Sen. Bates re: proposed senate 049?

[Lindylee]

I have not spoken directly to Sen. Bates and his office is one of the worst as far as contact.  They tend to switch you from one to another to a voicemail and they do not return calls.  The person you want to speak with there is John - Considering Bates is a Senator from your area he should be more than happy to speak with you...If he is difficult to reach - maybe you should consider mentioning this to local news as well.  An unavailable Senator shouldn't be re-elected!!  Hopefully he will be meeting with us with Senator Devlin.  In the meantime - everyone should start CALLING his office and requesting a response by "YOUR SENATOR".  I will tell you this - there is only one other Senator who will not take any time to address your concerns.  Every Senator has been polite and willing to listen to what I have to say with the exception of Senator Bates and Senator Monnes-Anderson.  Folks need to remember this when they are looking for re-election.

Contact Sen. Bates at 503-986-1703 and Senator Monnes-Anderson at 503-986-1725.  Make sure to ask for the Senator, ask them to take a statement in writing to be placed in the 49 file, then leave a message to have them call you.  It will keep their staff busy and hopefully give them the message we are not happy campers.  Maybe a nice letter to the Editor........

[Sandprincess]

I can't even begin to express how upset I am so see that Sue, Kyle's mother is backing this bill.  She is the one that put her child on that quad without supervision.  She should be charged with negligent homicide not backing a law to prevent our children from riding.

My husband and I got a copy of the Petition from Nick at Medford Power Sports and will be getting signatures.  When does this need to be sent in by?

Thank you from our family and many of our friends families for everything that you are doing to stop this bill.

[Lindylee]

I wrote Sue, Kyle's mom and would be happy to send any of you my letter, her response, and my response back to her.  I don't feel comfortable posting it on the web as it shows my not very nice side.  My email is minten@gotsky.com and I will be happy to get it to you but ask you not to post it.  You are welcome to pass it on with the same request.  Thank you, Lindy