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Dirt Bikes (Motorcycles) and ATV Sales Intended for Children 12 and Under Are Now Illegal.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

A new federal law bans the sale of off-road vehicles made for kids under 12, part of a broader measure aimed at preventing lead poisoning in children. This law, effective February 10, 2009, cracked down on the selling of those hazardous items. Retailers say the law is overly broad and children have a minuscule risk of lead exposure from engine components and other parts of the vehicles. The federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, born amid outcries over children getting sick from lead components in toys imported from China, puts in place new strict standards for testing and safety in a wide range of toys used by children, including ATVs. For now, all models must be pulled until tests can be developed to detect lead, or until industry advocates succeed in getting models exempted from the law. That means retailers across the country are stuck with inventory sitting in their showrooms that they might not ever be able to sell. The law could cost the industry $1 billion for this year alone, according to an estimate from the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America and the Motorcycle Industry Council. There is a safety concern among off-roaders. Kids' vehicles sport small engines, weigh less and go slower. If parents can't get the smaller-sized bikes because of the ban, they might buy the bigger ones. And the children might not be able to handle them. I will tell you what, the way things are going with Federal Legislation, it won?t be long before the Feds outlaw kids? using knifes to eat with. Geez. I think they have gone way too far with this law. Look don?t get me wrong, I think that children should be protected from many things. But in this particular instance, I think it should be up to parents as to whether their children should ride junior sized dirt bikes or ATV?s. Hell when I was 5 or 6, my dad first put me on a mini-bike. My cousins and I spent many fine days in the desert and near Lake Elsinore, riding our motocross bikes. I was racing motocross at the Irwindale Raceway in the 80cc division at a young age. With the new laws, a whole generation of kids will not enjoy the pleasures of dirt biking unless they get on something meant for adults. The law actually makes it more dangerous for them. I say, everyone should write their congressmen and tell them that this new law is asinine. The new legislation will also ding a billion dollars of commerce from our economy while we are in a depression. By California Motorcycle Accident and Biker Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, © 2009

Full post as published by Biker Law Blog on March 01, 2009 (boomark / email).