Pocket Bikes

13-year-old
Jonathan has been riding motorized scooters and go-carts since
he was 4.

His latest ride…

“Pocket bike, pocket rocket, I’ve heard all kinds
of names,” he says.

At under 50 cc’s, and not even two feet tall… pocket
bikes are small but fast… with a top speed of 35 miles per
hour.

“I just love riding things real fast and this is like the
only legal thing I can ride out here,” says Jonathan.

Legal… but for how long?

In recent months, several states have passed laws restricting
pocket bikes… or outlawing them altogether.

“Having a 13, 14 or 15 year old ride a mini-bike out on
the street where there’s vehicles, especially in today’s
time when there’s so many more and heavier vehicles… you
just can’t see them, it’s just not safe,” says
former police officer Tim Roberts, now a Safety Specialist with
Roadwise Inc.

Jonathan’s mother, Ann Jacobson says she has some concerns
about letting her son ride the bike, “Is there more risk
with these things… absolutely.”

But she reluctantly decided he could ride… as
long as he followed certain rules…

“Like obey all the laws, like watch for cars everywhere,
like behind you, beside you , everywhere,” says Jonathan.

Still, experts say, that’s not enough to keep children
safe.

“They’re thinking themselves that they’re invincible
at 13, 14 years of age. They’re thinking ‘oh that can’t
happen to me’,” says Roberts.

13-year-old Brandon Polack, who also rides a pocket-bike does
agree testing limits is part of the fun, “I like going to
the extreme kind of. And it’s just really fun, like showing
off when people see you.”

If parents allow their kids to ride a pocket bike, experts advise
keeping them off the street, away from moving cars…

“There may be a county owned park, there may be a fairground
they convert on the weekend for these pocket rides,” says Roberts, “So
there may be opportunities within the community where they could
go and do it safely with education and supervision.”

Instead of begging parents for cars, many teenagers are begging them for
pocket bikes, or mini-motos. The pocket bikes, which stand between 15 and 18
inches tall and cost between $200 and $600 for consumer models, were originally
used in sanctioned races but have made their way into the mainstream – a
fact that has made a lot of people unhappy. Consider the following:

• Arlington Heights, Ill., gave preliminary approval to an ordinance
  that would ban motorized scooters and skateboards. Police in the
  city of 77,000 northwest of Chicago got 56 complaints about them
  last year, up from 16 in 2002, says Chief Gerald Mourning. “It’s
  also a safety issue,” he says.
• The New Hampshire Department of Safety has asked the state Legislature
  to ban motorized scooters and pocket bikes on streets.
• La Porte, Texas, restricted the use of motorized scooters to
  daylight hours and to streets with posted speed limits under 30
  mph after two boys lost control of their scooter and were struck
  and injured by a car.
• Lenexa, Kan., stopped short of banning the devices outright.
  Instead, the city council voted to allow motorized skateboards
  on sidewalks but banned them on streets. Pocket bikes and other
  motorized vehicles are prohibited on all public property.
• Monroe, Wash., following the lead of some adjoining communities,
  passed an ordinance restricting operation of motorized scooters
  to those ages 16 and older. The scooters can be used only during
  daylight hours, and riders must wear helmets.
• Several Arizona communities,
  including Tempe, Chandler and Mesa, have considered banning motorized
  scooters. Both Phoenix and Tucson outlawed them last year.

Since it may be fashionable or “cool” for some teenagers
to have pocket bikes, they may think wearing helmets takes away from the “coolness
factor.” However, just as with bicycles, scooters and motorcycles, wearing
helmets on motorized scooters and pocket bikes is pertinent for the riders’ safety.
In fact, over 10,000 people were taken to the emergency room between July 2003
and June 2004 due to motorized scooter accidents, according to the Consumer
Product Safety Commission. The following suggestions have been adapted from
a list developed by the National Safe Kids Campaign regarding safety helmets:

• Don’t negotiate with your teenager. The vast majority of
  all riding deaths among children could be prevented with a helmet.
• Buy a helmet that meets or exceeds current safety standards developed
  by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• Correct fit is essential. Helmets should be comfortable and snug,
  but not too tight.
• Make sure your teenager wears his/her helmet correctly. Children
  who wear their helmets improperly have a 52 percent greater risk
  of head injury than those who wear their helmets properly.
• Talk to
  other parents and encourage them to require that their teenagers
  wear helmets. Children are more likely to wear helmets when riding
  with others who wear them.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
National Safe Kids Campaign