{"id":9,"date":"2002-11-08T16:08:50","date_gmt":"2002-11-08T23:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shelly.miguelito.org\/?p=9"},"modified":"2026-04-14T09:26:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:26:25","slug":"stupidity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.miguelito.org\/shelly\/?p=9","title":{"rendered":"Stupidity"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was watching the news this morning…I believe it was “The Early Show” on CBS…they did a piece on the dangers of allowing children to drive adult-sized ATVs. This was a new piece, not a rerun of an old one. The reporter interviewed the family of an eleven-year-old boy who was killed when his ATV (full-sized, adult ATV) rolled over on him. The mom said something like this “It’s our fault for letting him ride that bike, but how were we to know? You never hear anything about ATVs being dangerous.” Uh?? Hello? What planet have these people lived on for the past decade? That’s about all you hear about ATVs, how dangerous they are. I actually laughed out loud and yelled at the woman on the TV screen. I cannot believe the level of stupidity being displayed.
\nIt seems to me that letting a child “drive” anything before they have a driver’s license is just plain dumb. The toy companies make all kinds of things for kids to “drive”…I wish they had Power Wheels when I was a kid!! AND, the ATV companies make smaller, less powerful “quads” for kids as well. There is no excuse for parents who let their kids ride full-sized bikes. The newer ones even have a big sign that says no riders under 16.
\nI don’t know if you have ever ridden one of those bikes, but they are extremely powerful, dangerous vehicles. It doesn’t take much for the bike to “get away” from you. Even with all the protective gear serious injury can occur. Letting a child drive a full-sized bike is nuts. Some kids can’t even handle the kid-sized bikes – those kids shouldn’t be allowed to ride at all.
\nIt just amazes me the dumb things people do\/say on national TV. Sheesh!
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