Kids & motorbikes - from the news

sheesh.....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/11/2029365.htm

More bike-bashing...

What they don't mention is the huge number of kids who DO ride and who
don't kill themselves, and those who not only don;t kill themselves,
but end up being champions!

betty

 

......But will they still be allowed to ride two ton, transport with NO
brakes,a piece of leather strap to control it and a mind of it's own? i.e. a
horse. How many kids killed and injured in horse riding accidents? It must
be a slow news day and somebody's employment contract is up for review! i.e.
Dr Mark Stokes.

 

Geezus, that's one hell of a big horse you've got there TJ.

Theo

 

After you read the article , you want to reply to it voicing your opinions
if the ABC get enough contrasting replies, then they might do something
about it
Not only your comments betty, but others as well

 

"Children just aren't able to control heavy machinery like a
motorcycle," he said.

"When you look at the evidence about developmental skills in children,
they're really not able to ride and control something like that until
they're probably about at least 16 years of age," Dr Stokes said.


As a toddler Casey displayed a passion and talent for motorbike riding
that was extraordinary, even by the standards of his bike-mad family.
By the age of three he'd already graduated from pushing his older
sister's 50cc Peewee around the yard to taking his first ride on his
own. At four years of age Casey competed in his first race in the
under 9s category at the Hatchers dirt racing track on the Gold Coast.
By the age of six he had won his first Australia title. Many, many
hours of riding, travelling and long nights working on bikes followed.

Between the ages of 6 and 14 Casey raced all over Australia,
travelling with his father, mother and sister. In that time Casey won
41 Australian dirt and long track titles and over 70 State titles,
riding up to 5 bikes at a meeting in different capacity categories.
When he was twelve Casey raced the Australian Long Track Titles Casey
out on the farm.on the NSW Central Coast in 5 different categories
with seven rounds in each capacity; a total of 35 races over the one
weekend! He won 32 out of those 35 races and took five out of five
Australian titles in the one meet.

Casey won 41 Australian dirt and long track titles and over 70 State
titles.Just after his 14th birthday Casey and his parents decided to
make the move overseas and packed up and headed to England to start
his road racing career. Casey could not legally road race in Australia
until he was 16, but had decided he was ready for the challenge. So
the decision was made to move to England where Casey was already of
legal age to race. A big risk to take, but it paid off. Casey was
lucky enough and talented enough to attract immediate sponsorship
after just one race in England. He went on to take out the English
125cc Aprilia Championship in 2000, in his first year of road racing.
In that year he also raced two rounds of the Spanish 125cc
Championship. It was there he was noticed by GP great Alberto Puig.
Alberto was impressed by Casey's determination and skill and invited
him to race for the Telefonica Movistar Team in the 125cc Spanish
Championships the next year.

Casey won 32 out of those 35 races and took five out of five
Australian titles in the one meet.In 2001 Casey raced in both the
English and Spanish championships in the same year. Despite missing
some English races due to clashes with Spanish rounds, he still
managed to come second in both championships. In that same year he was
also granted wildcard entries into the MotoGP 125cc world series, in
both England and Australia. He placed 18th and 12th respectively and
as a result was offered a ride in the Grand Prix world series the next
year for the Safilo Oxydo LCR team. Straight onto a 250cc machine in
his rookie year, and at only 16 years of age, Casey demonstrated his
ability and speed with results. His best result for the year was a 5th
at Brno as well as several 6th place finishes.

 

I was just thinking that myself. A quick Google indicates that
Clydesdale stallions average about 800kg, Shire horses around 1000kg.

A saddle horse would obviously be quite a bit less!


BTH

 

If you're going to ride a Shire horse you have to add 10 kg for the
retractable ladder.

Theo
Who got to ride home on the plow horse after the day's work with my
granddad. I was 10, he was 81. He ploughed, I talked, and talked and talked.
I was quite good at talking.

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:16:19 GMT

Probably not that many killed. Most of the time you fall off a horse
you don't hit your head and it doesn't trample you. (Having more
sense).

I also note that a horse is more likely to just stand there and refuse
to move with a kid riding it, or walk off where it wants to than it is
to bolt.

My stockhorse mare was pretty good with kids, she'd usually behave
quite well. Once she figured they were old enough to know what they
were doing, well that was different...

Zebee

 

Haven't read the abc article yet, but I'd bet the mortality rate for
horses and kids on minibikes would be pretty similar. Usual cause of
death with horses is getting hung up in a stirrup and dragged with
your head bouncing along the dirt...either that or being thrown into
something that does serious damage. Pretty rare though I'd have though
- I only personally know of one and anecdotally can only recall maybe
one or two others when I was growing up (and it's the sort of thing
that would be discussed).

Mmm, depends on how sensible the parents are in choices, I'd also
suggest it's older kids with better horses that are more at risk than
little ones on lazy plodders

On the other hand we had a kids pony who would sus out the rider and
work out whether he could get away with bludging and going off to have
a graze and ignore the kid on board.

JL

 

So a child rode into a river & drowned.
While unfortunate, I'm sure he could have achieved this same result on a
pushbike.
Instead of focusing on the dangers of motorbike riding, perhaps Dr Stokes'
cause would be better served by promoting swimming lessons.
I would imagine far more children are killed/injured as cyclists or even
pedestrians than on motorbikes..perhaps he wants them banned/licensed for
under 16's as well?
G.

 

The story is very light on details of who was supposedly supervising the
3-year old, too.

Fact is, it's the bloody parents, half the time, who aren't kid safe.

"Here you are, wee Johnny, a new motorcycle for your fourth birthday.
Now piss off and play amongst the traffic." :-(

regards,
CrazyCam

 

Fence all waterways. Kids are like Yanks, You can tell a kid, but you can't
tell them much, and there's not much point in telling them twice.

Theo

 

No then they'd run into the fence, and the more americanised ones would
sue for that.

What we need is a transparent but solid bubble to put around them. With
air holes. Then no over zealous wombat can sue. Sure they'd still find a
way though.

 

No then they'd run into the fence, and the more americanised ones would
sue for that.

What we need is a transparent but solid bubble to put around them. With
air holes. Then no over zealous wombat can sue. Sure they'd still find a
way though.

[1] Wombat being Waste Of Money Brains And Time.

 

I think it was a dry river bed and he hit his head on log, there has
been no mention of whether he was wearing a helmet or not.

I think greater awareness and edumacation would be a better way to go,
but sometimes you cant help inherented Darwinism.

kids have died playing footy and the ER on WEs are full of of kiddies
from local sports, ban them!

 

just read that article, amazing what all (more than other reports) can
do.

so sad, just a freak accident.

what a prick of a person that Dr Stokes is for using this to run his
own agenda :/

mh

 

Don't you just love the way they use stats to 'strengthen' their case? Of
course, they don't mention, in articles like this with an anti-bike bent,
the stats for things like: horse-riding; bicycle accidents; falls; being
bashed; choking; malnutrition; being passengers in cars driven by licensed
drivers; injuries sustained at kiddy-sports; roller-skates, being mauled by
dogs; food allergies; SIDS; influenza..... life is a dangerous and fragile
condition...

Let's legislate against it. That ought to fix things....

betty

 

According to the Herald Sun article, after Cody's bike hit a log, Mr.
Williams "...pulled him out and gave him CPR..." so it appears he went
under.
It looks as though there's plenty of water in the Wimmera too - or
enough anyway.

You have to ask yourself what the parents were thinking allowing their
3yo on a bike - the man from Yamaha seemed to be agast when he found
out. I don't think Dr. Stokes appreciates that you can't force people
to be safety-conscious using legislation. Safety consciousness is an
attitude that comes from somewhere else. Adding new regulations will
not make people more careful as such - he want to surpress the
symptoms of not thinking about risks, rather than the cause.

 

Nah, come off it Theo! You expect us to believe that?!

--
Bob Milutinovic
Cognicom - "Australia's Web Presence Specialists"
http://www.cognicom.net.au/
telephone (0417) 45-77-66
facsimile (02) 9824-2240

 

Casey Stoner's parents?
Rossi's?

I dont think it was the bike so much but maybe the location of the
riding, next to a dry river bed that obviviously had a drop down into
it.

sounds like the little tike could have done the same damage on a
pushbike with training wheels if he was riding that in the same area.

but I do agree with what else you are saying