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Some Thoughts About Mini Chopper Safety
"He who
knows what to fear, Robin, knows how to proceed with safety." -
Batman
I haven't heard or read much about mini
chopper safety, but it is certainly something that should be
discussed, especially within an emerging field. If safety isn't a
strong consideration and accidents begin to accumulate, someone will
step in to remedy the situation and will likely be a government or
other authority, so everyone that is interested in mini choppers
should be working to develop safety guideline and produce safe
vehicles. Currently, it appears that the manufacture of these small
two-wheeled motor vehicles is not regulated by any federal motor
vehicle safety standards. Also, neither the rider nor the vehicle
are required to be licensed. So, it is every individual's
responsibility to ensure that their vehicle is constructed to safe
standards and ridden in a safe manner.
To begin with, the mini chopper mantra
should be that these ARE NOT TOYS and they ARE NOT for young
or inexperienced riders!!!
According to the National
Ag Safety National Database, "In 1978, there were
approximately 19,000 motor-bike- related injuries treated in
emergency rooms. Nearly half of these injuries were attributed to
accidents involving the mini bike In 1982, there were an
estimated 12,000 children 14 years of age and younger who suffered
minibike- and trailbike-related injuries (National Electronic Injury
Surveillance data, National Information Clearing House, US Consumer
Product Safety Commission, 1985). Since 1980, the Consumer Product
Safety Commission has collected at least 24 death certificates that
implicate minibikes and trailcycles. Half of those who died were
children 14 years of age or younger."
I have included some links at the bottom of this page to web
sites that offer safety tips. I hope that everyone will take a
moment to check them out, and that everyone will take the
responsibility for the safety of themselves and the others
around them.
Have fun - be
safe!
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