*** Pocket Bikes Roar Off Shelves w/ Unsafe-Toy Rankings ***

Washington Post -- 12/22/2004
Item Tops Holiday Wish Lists And Unsafe-Toy Rankings

Pocket Rockets. Minimotos. Choppers. They go by many names,
but whatever they're called, these miniature motorcycles are at the
top of many wish lists this holiday.

Kids, especially boys, have cited these "pocket bikes" as must-have
gifts, while consumer groups and safety officials have put them high
on their annual rankings of unsafe toys.

With top speeds ranging from 10 to 40 miles per hour, these bikes are
roaring off store shelves -- despite repeated warnings from safety
officials
that they are not toys and cannot be ridden legally in the streets, on
the
sidewalks or even in public parks.

"The bottom line is they can only be operated legally on private
property,"
said Sgt. Thornnie Rouse, spokesman for the Maryland State Police. Rouse

and other safety officials around the country note that the bikes sit
low to
the ground -- most are less than two feet tall -- and lack basic safety
features such as lights, mirrors and turn signals. As a result, they are

considered a hazard on the road, especially to motorists who may not
be able to see the low-riding vehicles.

"It's a toy that doesn't need to be on public roads," said Jason King,
spokesman for the American Association of Motor Vehicles Administrators.

"If parents are looking to buy these for their kids, they need to know
that
most state laws do not permit these on their roads. They need to know
they
can be very dangerous."

Philadelphia has taken decisive action against miniature motorcycles,
banning their sale in October after an 18-year-old died when the pocket
bike he was riding collided with a car. Philadelphia police have
confiscated
about 600 pocket bikes since the summer, according to the office of City

Councilman Richard T. Mariano, who sponsored the sales ban.

Nationwide, sales are brisk. Precise numbers are not available,
as both manufacturers and retailers decline to give specific sales
data, but they all say the bikes are leaving store shelves almost
as fast as they arrive.

Razor USA LLC, the California company that makes two of the
popular electric pocket bikes, said its Pocket Rocket became the
top-selling toy at Wal-Mart within a week of its introduction in May.
The Chopper -- designed to be a miniature Harley-Davidson
-- was launched last month. "Sales are very good," said Katherine
Mahoney, Razor's vice president of marketing.

Pocket bikes are the contemporary version of the motorized mini-bikes
that have been popular for decades, only sleeker so they are more nimble

to race. Unlike mini-bikes, which are gasoline-powered, the newest
pocket
bikes are electric-powered. That makes them more attractive to parents
who may have been leery about giving their children gasoline-powered
products. It also means they are a lot cheaper. Electric bikes begin at
$200,
while the gasoline versions start at $500 and can cost several thousand
dollars.

The higher-end, faster models are designed for racing, and competitions
and pocket bike clubs are springing up in the Washington area and
throughout the country, partly to create an outlet where kids can learn
to ride safely.

But the migration of the cheaper electric models onto toy shelves
-- coupled with heavy marketing aimed at 8- to 14-year-old boys
-- is driving concern about the growing popularity of the bikes.

Gary A. Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy
at the Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and chairman of the
American Academy of Pediatrics's committee on injury, violence and
poison prevention, said he is worried about the use of pocket bikes by
young children.

"Because these bikes are small, parents mistakenly assume small people
-- children -- can ride them safely. That is a huge misconception,"
Smith
said. "These bikes can move very quickly and are complex to operate.
Children at a young age are not developmentally capable, they don't have

the maturity, the recognition of danger and coordination required to
operate
these machines. That's a setup for injury."

There is no hard data on pocket bike injuries. The Consumer Product
Safety Commission said emergency rooms treated 2,345 mini-bike injuries
in 2003, but it's unclear how many of those injuries were caused by
mini-bikes
and how many by pocket bikes. Yet with the increased popularity of
pocket
bikes, the agency is seeking a more specific breakdown in emergency-room

data to determine if federal action is necessary.

Toy Quest President Brian Dubinsky said his company developed the
Honda Minimoto after seeing the success of Fisher Price's Power Wheels
-- four-wheeled, battery-powered vehicles that range in speed from two
miles an hour for 1- to 3-year-olds, to 7 miles an hour for 5-year-olds.

The Minimoto "starts where Power Wheels leave off," for 8-year-olds
and up, Dubinsky said, noting that's when boys come in from outdoors
and turn to video games. "We knew 10-, 11-, 12-year-olds really wanted
to be able to drive their own vehicles," ones that aren't plastic and
perform
like a real vehicle, Dubinsky said. So the company made sure "everything

was real" -- with real tires and even a vehicle ID number and title
(even
though the bikes cannot be registered), he said.

Although the Minimoto is designed for kids 8 and older, it has been
advertised on TV shows popular with children as young as 5, Dubinsky
acknowledged. But, he said, the product clearly states it's for
8-year-olds
and up, and "hopefully, parents are responsible enough to look at the
product and see what it says."

Consumer Reports, in its December issue, looked at the bikes,
and didn't like what it saw. "We think they're a bad bet," the magazine
said, citing a long list of faults. Automobile drivers can't see the
bike riders,
the brakes work poorly, handling is sub-par and the gasoline-powered
versions are loud enough to cause hearing damage. "We were astonished
by the bikes' shortcomings," the magazine concluded.

Dubinsky says pocket bikes are safe, if used wisely in controlled
environments, such as special pocket-bike race courses, driveways
and private lots. "Imagine if the bike was never invented until today.
It has two really thin wheels with no turn signal and you have to
balance
it; the brakes on it are minuscule. It wouldn't be street legal and
you'd
have parent groups and organizations condemning any bicycle use in their

area. This is what we're seeing with electric vehicles," he said.

That argument doesn't work for the California Highway Patrol.
"Bicycles are human powered and are not running as fast as these
[pocket bikes] go," spokesman Steve Kohler said.

Razor's Mahoney says pocket bikes will surmount these concerns.
"It's similar to skateboarding. There was a lot of outcry" about
skateboards'
safety when they were introduced. "Now there's a skateboard park in
almost every town in America. We believe this is a category here to
stay"
and people will find safe places to use the bikes.

Of course, she added, Razor has some new,
"really cool" products due out next year to meet this demand.

Gene`s BMX Applauds To The Crack Downs On Motorized Scooters
http://www.genesbmx.com/scooters.html
( concerns, laws & news ) "Motorized Scooters are NOT bicycles",

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