*** Motorized bikes & scooters big danger: Officials rail against fad
***

ASBURY PARK, NJ (AP) -- 12/23/2004
Law enforcement authorities are urging parents not to buy their
kids hot holiday items topping many Christmas lists this year
-- motorized bikes and scooters.

Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher said that such
bikes can be dangerous, especially when operated on roadways,
where they are illegal. Within the past two years, two Dover
Township boys have died as a result of accidents.

On Oct. 4, police said, 11-year-old Robert B. Linton III died
from injuries he suffered when his electric minibike collided with
a sport-utility vehicle after he went into the roadway on Beaver
Hollow Drive. He was riding a Razor brand "Pocket Rocket"
PR200 motorized bike, the handlebars of which barely reached
the bumper height of the sport-utility vehicle.

On April 4, 2003, 14-year-old Michael E. Simpson died after
being thrown from a dirt bike on Clay Avenue. Police said that
the throttle apparently jammed.

Both boys were wearing helmets, but the danger, Kelaher said,
is when such bikes enter a road. The bikes are marketed to youths,
who often do not operate them safely, Kelaher said.

"Consumer Report blasted those bikes as humongous dangerous,"
Executive Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Robert A. Gasser said.

A "Consumer Reports" critique called minibikes a "bad bet"
because of their small size, ineffective brakes and lack of
safety features. "We were astonished by the bikes' shortcomings,"
the magazine said.

But they are expected to be a hot holiday seller. European
models cost $3,000, but Asian-built knockoffs can be found
over the Internet and at auto-parts shops for as little as $250.

The price of the mini pocket bikes range locally from about $200
to $400 on average, which puts them where "a lot of people would
be convinced" that they are a reasonable gift for a mature, responsible
youth who has some experience in operating small, motorized devices,
Kelaher said.

"We are convinced that these things are extremely dangerous for
anybody to ride," Kelaher said. "The kids are not used to the speed
and the controls. These are tragic fatalities. Parents need to think
twice about what they can be giving to kids."

The problem for police is that the bikes are not illegal to sell, own
or ride on your own property. But it is illegal to ride them on public
property, or in parks or on sidewalks and streets.

"After about two minutes, the kids are bored riding them on their
own property and they want to go right out on the street," Kelaher
said.

Minibike bans have spread from Connecticut to California since
summer. In August, an 18-year-old girl was killed in Philadelphia
when her pocket bike collided with a car.

Kelaher said he would favor any legislation that banned the sale
of the bikes. "It would at least be irresponsible to put these in the
hands of children," he said.

"They are really not bad things, but they can't be ridden on the road,"
Manchester Patrolman Douglas Higgins said. "They can only be ridden
on private property. Are they dangerous? Yes, but so is a bicycle. But
that is powered by muscle. These go faster than muscle power."

"Mostly, what we want to do is keep them off the road
and keep the kids safe," Higgins said. "That is our goal."

CC - The Associated Press (AP) Wire.

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