Let Them Ride

you know, there isn't much that will really set me off. i have my moods and i have things that i get mad about, but this kind of thing really irks me. i have a real problem with society's belief that we need to be protected by everything and that the government needs to govern that.

in New Brunswick they (meaning our political leaders) are trying to amend our off road vehicle act. this amendment would do the following:

all children under 14 years of age are banned from riding off-road vehicles if this new legislation unveiled by the provincial Liberal government, is passed.

personally, i think this is utterly ridiculous. i'm all for staying safe and if we didn't have a helmet law, i would still wear my helmet, but enforcing a law that forces me to stay safe? come on... i dread the day we become a dumbed down bubble wrap wearing society...

5 comments:

Kathleen Jennette said...

Its really unfortunate that we don't have a say... even though we LEGALLY HAVE A RIGHT to ride. We are a vehicle. Education at an early age is really where it's all at and damn the politicians for trying to take our civil rights away!!!!

Biker Betty said...

I sure hope it doesn't pass. Kids everywhere will be crushed. Leave it to the parents to raise their kids. There are a few parents that aren't careful, but they're the same ones who don't buckle their kids in the car. Should an amendment be passed to prohibit kids from riding in cars?

Anonymous said...

Sheesh...

Good blog though. Like it so much, I've submitted it to BikerSeek.com

:-)

Lucky said...

I think our elected officials have got the right idea, but they're using the wrong tools! I've seen what happens when kids who are too young are allowed to ride ATV's and snowmobiles that are too powerful. It ain't pretty. Of course, the kids aren't to blame - their parents are! So what's the solution? I'd like to see better education not only for the kids, but mostly for the parents. I mean, how many Moms and Dads out there would knowingly put their kids in harm's way? None, of course. It's just that many of them don't know any better (sad, but true). And maybe (just maybe) a graduated system for kids where maximum engine displacement is directly proportionate to rider age could be a possible solution? I agree that it shouldn't be up to our elected officials to step-in here, but some recent incidents have brought this issue to the forefront, and it's no surprise that the politicians will jump on the bandwagon.

Cheers,
Lucky

Giest said...

dsargent: thanks for dropping by and thanks for submitting my site!

lucky: yeah, it's the education that's needed, not a blanket ban. all they really need to do is work with the local groups and i'm sure they could come up with something a little more settling then a ban.