*** The pocket bike menace ***

Long Beach, CA (AP) -- 06/23/2004
They're not street legal — and they're very dangerous.
When we started spotting those miniature motorcycles,
or "pocket bikes," around town a few months back,
our first thought was: Death traps. Second thought:
Kids and teenagers are going to go crazy for these things.

Not exactly a recipe for success.

The phrase "accident waiting to happen" has never been
more applicable than to pocket bikes on city streets.
They've been deemed illegal for use on public streets,
but according to the California Highway Patrol, many
people don't know that. They're selling like hotcakes,
and parents have even bought them for their kids to
ride to school.

Pocket bikes aren't like motorized scooters, though, which are
legal for use in bike lanes if riders are at least 16 years old.
Scooters are as tall as a bicycle and generally can't go much
faster than 25 miles an hour. Pocket bikes, on the other hand,
are a mere two-to three-feet tall, invisible to car drivers in
almost all directions, and can zoom along at speeds of up to
50 miles an hour. They don't have the proper turn signals and
lights, either.

They're also relatively cheap, starting at just $250 each.
The enticing prices have led to a flood of pocket bikes
from China to the U.S. marketplace.

Legislation aimed at pocket bikes is being proposed in Sacramento,
but since the DMV has already declared them illegal, additional laws
aren't needed. The trend will subside after law enforcement officers
start handing out stacks of costly tickets, and word spreads that
riding pocket bikes around town is a costly gamble. If common
sense and self-preservation instincts aren't enough to keep pocket
bikes off city streets, then tickets and lots of them ought to do the
trick.

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com