"Good Morning America" clearly favors government parenting over the real thing.
On May 9, GMA targeted all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) as unsafe and promoted regulation rather than parental responsibility.
The program used frightening video of an ATV rollover and undercover footage that made retailers look criminal, and interviewed a woman who lost two relatives in accidents, as well as a doctor who said ATVs are much harder to drive than cars.
"Eight states have no laws at all regulating these vehicles, 12 others have no minimum riding age," said consumer correspondent Elisabeth Leamy.
Leamy also interviewed Pam Saylor, a woman who lost her son and another relative in separate ATV accidents, but failed to point out that she is a regulation advocate.
"For two children in our family to have died on an ATV is not a freak accident," said Saylor who has been promoting ATV regulation since her son was killed.
There was no question about how federal legislation of age restrictions or mandatory training could be enforced, or how much it might cost consumers and businesses. Also, no one mentioned the responsibility of parents to decide if their children should ride an ATV.
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First, considering all of t
May 9, 2007 - 12:29 ET by JDWFirst, considering all of the protected land, where the hell can anyon ride them?
Second, with regard to safety, even if I fit, no chance would you catch me in a Prism.
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
I fear that the left leaning
May 9, 2007 - 12:29 ET by ForeverOnTheRightI fear that the left leaning MSM venerates the activist journalist and aspires to be "activists for the good of the people." We don't need them to be our advocates or to push their advocacy on us! We need them to give us the whole picture of what is gong and “cherry pick” a part of what’s going on to push their worldview. What their engaged in is propaganda.
Did the woman who lost a son
May 9, 2007 - 12:41 ET by Mean Gene Dr. Love"For two children in our family to have died on an ATV is not a freak accident,"
Ma'am you're absolutely correct, it isn't a "freak accident".
If I remember my USAF maintenance training, 98% of accidents are preventable because the majority of accidents result from horseplay, lack of training, or negligence. The other 2% of accidents are "acts of God" or resulting from otherwise unforeseen circumstances/conditions.
Did the woman who lost a son do everything a responsible parent should do?
Did her son only ride under her/another responsible adult's supervision?
Did she equip him with adequate safety gear?
Did she ensure her son was trained and responsible enough to ride and to understand how to evaluate the risks involved with certain maneuvers and stunts?
Did she ensure her son was unable to ride when she wasn't around?
Would her son still be alive today if the government told her what her parental responsibilities should be?
There is a family down the street from me that constantly allow their kids (probably 9-13 years old) to ride dirtbikes and ATVs without supervision, safety gear, or regard for others. They ride on the streets with no helmets, they do not ride defensively while on the street, and they tear around the blind corner I live opposite of like there's no one else in the world. It's only a matter of time they are flattened by a car or truck driving unassumingly along doing nothing wrong other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have alomst hit one of them when they came tearing out of an alley about 10 feet in front of me and perpendicular to my path...they didn't even slow down or check to see if a car was coming. Had I not been driving 10 miles/hour under the speed limit, I would have hit her because I wouldn't have been able to stop in time.
Parents, take the initiative and take responsibility for your children, you shouldn't need the government mandate how to raise your children.
"Believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." --Frank Bullitt
"For two children in our fami
May 9, 2007 - 12:54 ET by taznarLooks like I'm not the only one who read that line and fully agreed -its not "a freak accident." It has something to do with the adults in the family.
Mean Gene,Quite right. It's
May 9, 2007 - 18:32 ET by BlondeMean Gene,
Quite right. It's the parents.
Both my sister and I were given full authority to take my parents' 23' boat out by ourselves when we were eight years old. We both had plenty of training, knew the rules of the water, how to operate the radio, etc., etc. And we knew we were only allowed to go "so far".
To this day, I get the strangest looks when doing "girls day out" on the boat. As if women aren't capable of piloting anything so exotic as a boat! Sheesh. I can drive a little one, or a fifty-four footer (I've never had the opportunity to pilot anything bigger than that, but with about an hour's instruction, I'm sure that would be within the realm of possibility).
Responsibility of the parent vs. Government Regulation? Hmmmmm.
"Eight states have no
May 9, 2007 - 12:48 ET by Heather Radish"Eight states have no laws at all regulating these vehicles, 12 others
have no minimum riding age," said consumer correspondent Elisabeth
Leamy.
The "must be 16 to ride an ATV" law in Iowa never stopped any 8-year-old whose parents didn't explain why they shouldn't be riding an ATV by themselves.
ATV are very dangerous for ki
May 9, 2007 - 13:06 ET by florida_chadATV are very dangerous for kids to ride. What is even worse is the little motorcycles they sell for 8 year olds. Accident waiting to happen. I bought my son a go kart. 4 wheels, low to the ground, seat beat, roll bar.
I say that until Law Enforc
May 9, 2007 - 14:26 ET by dabalI say that until Law Enforcement is able to enforce every law that is currently on the books, no more laws should be written.
Call it a benchmark.
This is what you get for making "Lawmaker" a full-time job. Lawmakers should have real jobs 40 hours a week, so they only have time to make laws that are truly important.
It's a parenting issue. If
May 9, 2007 - 16:21 ET by fenderteleIt's a parenting issue. If you value your kid's life, keep him off one of these things. Too many parents are too willing to let their children do anything they want and this is what happens.
Would it be fair to say tha
May 9, 2007 - 20:24 ET by MightyMouthWould it be fair to say that you favor spanking?
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
I spanked both my boys when t
May 10, 2007 - 10:25 ET by fenderteleI spanked both my boys when they needed it. They've always been the most well-behaved and mannered kids you'd ever meet. One is a teen the other close to being a teen and they're both honor students and are well-rounded. In our house sports are emphasized, video games are kept to a minimum and movies are mostly of the classic variety.
Message to nanny-state dummie
May 9, 2007 - 18:20 ET by Clear thinkerMessage to nanny-state dummies... it's the parents!
I live in an area where ATV's are almost a way of life, and I cannot count the times I have seen parents buy their child an ATV that is too big and powerful for the child. They then have the child ride slowly back and forth on level ground for about 10 minutes and the parents consider their young students professional riders and send them off to drive off a mountain.
The liberal MSM has become an enemy of the USA.
I suspect that the media's su
May 9, 2007 - 18:25 ET by Chris NormanI suspect that the media's support of regulation (and implied ultimate banning) of ATVs is akin to their hostility towards SUVs (at least for the little people). It boils down to environmental socialism, everything else is a smoke screen, used to further the campaign.
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb