Banning kids from riding

[Doc]

Blaming cheap chinese imports is not missing the point. Jumping on guys who sensibly ride away from civilization IS missing the point! Yes people have always been annoyed by dirtbikes but you have missed what I was saying. Pokey has it right! If you are sensible then it significantly reduces the impact caused to others to all but nil. I have ridden in the bush since I was a 7 year old. 37 years later I am yet to have the police or anyone confront once me due to a nuisance complaint or non compliance of any type. All I am saying is the cheapie bikes have flooded the market and now more than ever more people are pissed off at all bikes because of the shear numbers scooting around illegally in suburbia. If you look around they are everywhere! I am not saying don't join a club if that's what you like, (I personally don't because as I said, I enjoy a days trailriding with mates more than racing around a track) what I am saying, if an under 16 year old owns a bike be it chinese, japanese or whatever then the onus is on the parents to make sure they do the right thing. The blame should removed from the kids and placed squarely on the parents. Also all the new generation of serious registerable trailbikes are infact nothing more than modded MX'ers making equally as much noise and doing just as much damage or more when used inappropriatly. Being legal or of age is not to say you won't/don't annoy people if you have no brains and disrespect others peace and quiet. Don't go jumping on the average trailrider just because he harmlessly rides an MX bike out in bush. Jump on the parents that buy the bikes and allow under 16's to do so in or near residential housing estates, parklands or public roads. Also I honestly don't know of any official track or riding park around Brisbane (within a couple of hours drive) where you can simply pay $15, $20 or even $30 dollars and ride all day. Last place like that was Highvale Park (Ormeau) back in the 80's but that too is now a residential area. Tell me where one can do this and I'll be there pronto but until then I'll simply continue to ride in the bush 3 hours away up between Childers and Biggenden or an hour away at Laceys Ck using commonsense and courtesy so as not to offend anyone.
 Nathan, spot on! I just read your posting as I was about to post and you have managed to basically describe exactly what I have been trying to say in my stupid roundabout way. If we did something stupid not only would my parents have have come down on me but the other parents as well and it would not have been pretty. Ironically out of all my motorcycling mates I have ridden with for many many years the only ones who have been killed on bikes in the later years were the ones who joined clubs and raced competitively from an early age. There are aguments for and against as always but then as always there are 3 sides to the story, yours, mine and the truth that lay somewhere inbetween. To jump on Tom without knowing the specific details is simply wrong. 

[yzhilly]

The report stated that they would try to ban kids 16 and under from riding .These kids cannot legally ride anywhere except on private property or at licensed MX park or Track. (you can get around this with rec reg but again there are age limits ). I havent directed any criticism at anyone personally. i,m merely stating my understanding of the laws regarding motorbikes. As a parent you are responsible for your childrens actions. Who is buying these bikes for them ?. The parents of course .Kmart are selling pitbikes now .So that should put a few more misguided kids on the street. And you can sugar coat it all you like but riding an unregistered bike here or there is still illegal. As for riding parks,I dont Know about Brisbane but there are 2 in Melbourne suburbs and 1 within an hours drive .

[Anthony.522]

I read in the Herald Sun that the poor little tacker fell down a 4 metre drop. I'm not trying to point blame but if you are going to teach your kids how to ride especially for the first time, suss out the area and make sure it's suitable. As for Kid Safe......just another group of people who have nothing better to do then make decisions and statements on things they know nothing about for no reason apart from justifying there employment in the public sector. Yeah motorbikes are not the safest things out there but there are plenty of worse things they could be doing, a bit of direction and foucus wouldnt go astray these days, plus what i think the sport gives you is priceless.

[78rm80c]

\As for you young Tom......Unregistered, noisy motocross bikes in the bush with un-licensed riders aren't a lot of help to us either

well the only legal places to ride are stockton beach or your back yard

and its not like he is riding up and down the road doing wheelstands and what not


cheers
luke

[AjayVMX]

Guys, speaking as an ex-trailrider for nearly 20 years, IMHO there is NEVER any justification for riding an unregistered motorcycle in a public place, be it local road, vacant block, "private" land without permission, state forest or national park.

Reasons?  Two main ones.

1.  Insurance.  If you get hit by someone riding an unregistered bike, there is no insurance.  That is unacceptable.
2.  Accessibility.  Good registered bikes are super easy to find and are avilable in a large range of prices.  There is no need whatsoever to ride an unregistered bike in a public place nowadays.

I'm not going to enter into the debate about noise, as that's not the real issue and registered bikes can be stupidly loud anyway...

As to the issue of juniors riding in public places - it's illegal as well as they are unlicenced.  Parents should be responsible and care enough for their kids to take the time to take them somewhere where they can ride legally, not just let them go off and create havoc for the rest of the trailriding population by their actions...  

As an interesting side note, if all parents took responsibility for their kids riding legally, there would undoubtedly be more demand for proper riding parks making it easier to find them!

[VMX247]

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend,
Common Sense, who
> has been with us for many years.
> No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were
  long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
> He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
> knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the
> worm; life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
> Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend
> more than you earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are
> in charge).
> His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
> overbearing regulations were set in place.
> Reports of a
 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing
  a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after
> lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only
> worsened his condition.
> Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
> job that they
 themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
  children.
> It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
> consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could
  not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have
  an abortion.
> Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
> and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
>
> Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
> burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for
 assault.
> Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
  realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
> She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge
> settlement.
> Common
 Sense was preceded in death,
> by his parents, Truth and Trust,
> by his wife, Discretion,
> by his daughter, Responsibility,
> and by his son, Reason.
> He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
> I Know My Rights
> I Want It
 Now
> Someone Else Is To Blame
> I'm A Victim
> Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.


 

[asasin]

Last post ,bloody brillant , also what ever happend to "shit happens" .I have 5 kids 4 ( 4 to 18 years old) of them ride bikes both on trail rides and motocross ,we are lucky to have mates places to ride also I think most Kiwis that have bikes do.The strange thing is that in the 12 years my kids have been riding we have had 1 broken arm , 1 broken fingure 1 broken nose and 1 broken leg ,all occured doing the following ,arm= trampoline,finger=soccer,nose=horse and leg push bike ! We cant always run after them with a pillow to land on and life is full of these tests .
Banning them from riding is not the best way to develop a generation of self reliance.

[Marc.com]

be nice if I could lure mine away from the Xbox to ride without bitching.

anyway self reliance is out, reliance on the state is in.

I would assume in NZ that rugby, swimming at the beach, working in your parents convenience store and living with the Kahui's is probably far more hazardous than riding. 

[All Things 414]

\As for you young Tom......Unregistered, noisy motocross bikes in the bush with un-licensed riders aren't a lot of help to us either

well the only legal places to ride are stockton beach or your back yard

and its not like he is riding up and down the road doing wheelstands and what not


cheers
luke

No you're totally right you (deleted), why don't you and young Tom do a little trip around Australia on your little motocrossers aka Charley Boorman, Ewan McGregor style.......
As someone else said. If parents did the the right thing and took these kids to proper tracks with supervision then there'd be a lot more of these tracks to take them to!
I hardly think letting them do whatever they want, out of sight-out of mind is taking much of an interest in your kids 

[frostype400]

Im 16 and i ride my PE400 in the bush and try to do so to not annoy anyone if there are other vehicles i move away but i know other guys who ride their mx bikes youd be lucky to hear them over my PE i first starting riding it when i was 14 and it isnt irresponsible by my parents to let me i havent crashed it yet i have other bikes but to simply wrap every kid up in bubble wrap will get no body any where i wish i could ride somewhere close for a small fee as i would be pushing my bike there every weekend but it has turned stupid with the responsibility turned back on the people who charge you to ride their it is in no way their fault if i have a crash i enjoy what little riding i get to do it seems they are making it harder and harder for young kids to be able to ride were as the build a fully concrete skate park across the rode which must see so many injuries how hard can it be for some authority to reserve some land for people to ride on?

[All Things 414]

Gee. Someone I know would be having a fit over that grammer! 
Dress it up any way you like. Allowing unlicensed kids to ride in public areas on unregistered bikes in grossly negligent........

[All Things 414]

WHO GIVES A FLYING  FORK   A POLICE CHASE NEVER HURT ANY BODY IT ALWAYS TURN A NOVICE INTO A EXPERT JUST DONT GO HOME UNTILL THE COAST IS CLEAR

Yeah. And can you imagine the amount of whining these parents would be doing when when little 'Johny' goes for a slide down the road after the big nasty Policeman came after him.
They'll probably settle at half a million. 

[Hornet]

I got chased a few times , when I was younger   

[LWC82PE]

the way i see it, the only places unlicsenced kids on un registered bikes should be riding is on private property, or a proper authorised club MX track/riding park and should not be just out in the 'bush' or on public land no matter if they are on a pit bike, a proper enduro bike or a MX bike.

every single little riding area we had in south australia is pretty much now gone and has signs up saying no bikes. i only heard of another spot shut down the other week and its mainly due to hoons and people on unregistered bikes.

[paul]

lol i could tell you some stories that would curl you toes