After initially looking at mini bikes/super pocket bikes back in August I have decided its time for an update. Quite a few of my readers emailed me to vent their concern regarding these small motorbikes and I feel obliged to research their concerns. The first news article I found regarding these mini bikes is extremely distressing but I feel it’s my duty to share it with you.
In the state of Victoria in Australia a three year old child was killed after crashing his bike whilst riding with his father. The child was riding his Yamaha Pee Wee 50 and rode over an embankment where he then fell three metres. The poor child hit head first and his heart stopped on impact. The worst aspect is that this all happened in front of the boys parents and friends. His dad tried to resuscitate him as soon as he found him and then the boy was flown to specialist children’s hospital. Sadly the boy died a number of hours later.
One of the main causes of the accident relates to the boys age. Even Yamaha was shocked that such a young rider was involved in such an accident
“I’ve never heard of a child that young using one,” said Sean Goldhawk from Yamaha Australia.
Supposedly the training wheels voids the warranty. I assume the training wheels were added due to the boy being unable to touch the ground while riding it. It would make sense not to allow this, I mean would you add training wheels to a super bike if you were unable to touch the floor?
I think that the message has to be shouted out-loud and clear that if child wants to rider these bikes they must be able to place their feet fully onto the floor at all times!
Another question arises about whether age restrictions should be imposed. I personally think that common sense would deem any rider under the age of 5 to be unsafe.
The parents of the boy must be suffering greatly and my heart goes out to them. I just want to make sure that another accident of this sort never happens again.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
“Mini bike kills child!” is the headline. This is untrue. Had the child been minding his own business, when a stalking mini bike pounced on him from behind, then you say the mini bike killed him. This child died as the result of a terrible accident, not from a faulty mini bike design. And at the risk of sounding cold, this tragedy was solely due the complete of common sense on the part of his father. A 3 year old on minibike? I cannot see why criminal charges should not be pursued against this man.
I do think that the mini bike was part of the problem – would the accident happen if the bike was not involved?
But I do agree with you that the father does hold some of the responsibility. But are criminal charges a bit too much? I am not sure – but maybe something to think about.
I think it’s the responsibility of the parent to keep their child safe by using good judgement and allowing a 3 year to ride is not using good judgement.
My heart goes out to the parents… I’m sure that that losing a child is punishment enough.
I totally agree Jovi, I can’t start to imagine the guilt they must be feeling. It might be easy with hindsight to say that he was wrong but we must remember that we still don’t know all the facts around the case. The father did not want to hurt his child and based on his judgement he felt that it was acceptable to let his child ride.
Thanks for visiting the blog Jovi – I will be having a look at your blog today
i am a father my son turns 5 at the end of this month he has been riding pocket bikes and mini bike 50 cc quads since he was 3, he has crashed more than a few times while wearing full protective gear and never been serously injured. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG wita 3 yr old on a motorcycle if they are skilled enough then let them do it it is up to the parent to allow riding in a SAFE ENVIORMENT remove the possibility to crash into what ever and keep your children safe “teachum while they are young” thyank you ……..dncautorepair@gmail.com
you are all fucking retarded. its not the fault of the minibike nor the father its the fuckheads like you all who make it sound so tragic. if the story was 3 year old killed by baseball in a game of teeball, no one would care because its just teeball mini biking is a sport the same as baseball or football. if something happens it happens. at least the poor kid went out while having fun. it wasnt the mini bike or the father it was a freak accident that couldnt have been avoided. when i die i would wanna be riding a mini bike not on a hospital bed. the kid was just having fun, so leave the whole thing alone, no charges are needed you fagets need to get a life
Hell Yeah! Fuck all those maggots which think it’s the bike’s problem. When you have a child which!! a 3 yrs old kid riding on a BIKE, take more pre-caution. Don’t wait till something happens then put a blame on the bike!
It was amazing to me to read this. How can any parent in their right mind allow a 3 year old to get on a motorcycle. It was a bad choice. I know I feel cold hearted, but I am not. My heart does go out to these parents. Just feel outraged that they would think a 3 year old is mature enough to take on the responsibility of speed and safety.
I do have to say that it does completely amaze me that parents would allow a 3 year old to ride something this powerful. Not much difference than allowing him to drive a car. And to think they actually put training wheels on the bike…It doesn’t make sense…
Good post, but have you thought about bikes before?
A minibike, also recently known as a mini moto or pocketbike, is a miniature motorcycle.
One thing that most of you seem to NOT be considering is the fact that the bike could have been modified. There are ways to block it and make it less powerful. Kind of like putting a chip in a car so that it doesn’t go as fast as it could. Not exactly like that, but somewhat. No one seems to know whether this was the case or not. Some 3 year olds have grown up driving the mini quads, jeeps, etc and the mini bikes are the next step. Just because your child might not be used to something doesn’t mean other children aren’t. My 3 year old son can drive his modified truck better than the 6 and 8 year olds next door. It all depends on the child~ all children are different. It’s really up to the parent to decide! REMEMBER: accidents happen! Also, no one has mentioned whether the child was wearing protective gear or not!
ALSO: Training wheels are just as they’re called! They help make it easier to learn! IT”S NOT BECAUSE THEY CAN”T TOUCH THE GROUND!!!! Why do we use training wheels with bicycles? TO LEARN!!! Many adults learn with training wheels also!