Many years ago, one Christmas, I discussed the death of a child who had been bought a quad bike. The parents were naturally devastated, but what where they thinking? Motor vehicles are dangerous in the hands of an incompetent user and given her age, this certainly applied. Yet here we go again…
A four-year-old boy was killed after crashing his new mini-motorbike into a metal fence post on his first spin, an inquest has heard.
Jacob Gamlin-Turner was riding the child’s motorcycle for the first time when he ‘appeared to hit a bump’ before slamming into the fence in south Wales, a coroner was told.
I would never, ever give a child that young a motor vehicle. It’s just too young. Yes, I know, prodigies do exist and have ridden these bikes, but as far as I’m concerned, this is just too young.
He had longed for a motocross bike after watching his older brother take part in the sport so his father Ross Turner took Jacob to the Britannia Sports Field in Blackwood to try his out for the first time.
One of the roles of a parent is to tell a child ‘no’ and mean it. I am all for encouraging young people into the world of motorcycling, just not at such a ridiculously young age.
Collision investigators found the motorbike was in ‘good working order and was appropriate for his age’.
I disagree. No motor vehicle is appropriate for someone that young. His grieving parents have a lifetime to reflect on that thought. Motorcycling comes with inherent risks. A rider needs to be old enough to fully understand those risks and be able to adequately control the machine. Four years old is simply too young. But then, I’m probably a lone voice in the wilderness, preaching doom and gloom.
There are electric toy cars and quads that would be brilliant for spoiling your kids if you have more money than sense. They give the kids the thrill of driving a motorised vehicle but their performance is feeble enough to keep them safe. My one hope for the future of humanity is that we will gradually evolve to a higher level of intelligence. I know that it sounds heartless but these tragedies are part of the process.
Although I agree with your main point, IMO its not the lack of competence (this kind of thing can happen at any age – a few years ago a work colleague lost an arm and leg by hitting a street sign while giving his R1 a fist full) so much as a lack of responsibility and care by the parents. The very fact that these things exist means that they will be gifted to kids.
I rode my first motorcycle age 8 (an NSU Quickly on a disused airfield) and was taught by my elder brother. That stood me in good stead for the following 57 years. My daughter, and many years later my grandson both first rode mini motos at age 5. I taught them both. But with that task comes a great responsibility to do it safely. No one seems to know that you can limit the throttle on these things, in the case of my grandson the throttle was limited to about 8-10mph (full speed is around 30mph) and he wasn’t allowed to go without either me or his dad being alongside, so that we could intervene if anything was to go wrong. We used a local sports field and started in the middle, well away from any objects like gates or hedgerows and of course ATGATT applied always. Reading the article it seems that the kid’s parents just wound it up and let it go. Had someone been alongside they may have been able to prevent loss of control when he hit the bump.
And why does everyone come down on motorcycles every time. The number of kids hitting pedestrians and getting injured on e-scooters for example. I haven’t heard the Wail moaning about that. Those are just as quick and powerful as a mini moto, the difference being that the kid is injuring others as well as himself. These things are not toys and the same care should be taken with learning.
I’m probably a lone voice in the wilderness
You’re not. However, I’d say a tiny MC is OK if low hp & torque And that first rides are in a large grassed area with nothing to crash into.
That’s how I taught myself to ride an MC after reading owner handbook – parents knew nothing about MCs
@Stonyground
My one hope for the future of humanity is that we will gradually evolve to a higher level of intelligence
By removing all the H&S and blame game crap to allow the stupid to die before they breed
Jacob Gamlin-Turner wins a Darwin Award, shame his parent’s didn’t
@Ripper
+100
I didn’t read the article, but these things usually contain a call by the parents to have the object (in this case, the bike) banned
Maybe give it time?
Apparently not. Nor am I. I just think it’s stupid to put a four year old on one.