I can't see any room for argument on this one...... 
While I’m not against these things I’ll give it a shot.
Spinal injuries are at the heart of our greatest fear, & emotions can run high when remembering our slain hero’s, but how many of these would have been saved? Rainey & Bailey were both masters of their craft so it came as quite a shock to read of their plight, but I thought that they had both been hit in the lower back by their own bikes. I didn’t research this debate but was it Jesseman that cased out over a double & compressed & bruised his spine??
Neck injuries are rare & while these things will find you when you least expect it, most of these recent injuries come from Freestyle & Supercross stuff.
By all means buy one if you can afford it but I don’t see the need to become paranoid because your kid falls over on his peewee (Sorry Rossco, I know too well the panic you felt)
The urgency of the need for one depends more on the riding that you do.
My son & I both need new boots, he’s outgrown his again & mine are as old as, & I consider these a higher priority than a neck brace as we are both more likely to suffer a foot injury while riding around our tracks.
If my son started racing or jumping doubles I would get him one.
If I ever get the chance to ride Finke I would definitely get one.
If I start racing half seriously I would consider one.
But for most of the riding we do I will go out on a limb here & so I’m not going to bother.
And should they be compulsory for juniors. I would say yes for any kid that rides Supercross, but not for a kid riding your average local race or club day.
MA have made it compulsory for juniors to wear body armour, these are cheap enough & can be obtained second hand even cheaper.
MA have also bought in a log book system before your kid can race but what does it really achieve? They are seen to be safety conscious but what I hear a lot about is the lack of practice available for junior races (& seniors for that matter)
If your sending kids out to race on a track they hardly know then yes their going to come home with injuries. Clubs seem more concerned about their tracks being shredded than having riders know the track.
