Children + Motorcycles vs. Car seat laws

[intakexhaust]

Normally I could care less whatever one does as long as it doesn't affect me but man, I'm sick of the screwballs running the home state of Obama.

We have occasional road block safety checks and for using the correct child safety seat. If you have kids in the car and not buckled in correctly, you can be pulled over and ticketed. Also, a driver can be pulled over and a ticket given to a BACK SEAT ADULT passenger if NOT buckled in! I've sat in a line of traffic for just this B.S. so it affects me and I hate the hypocrites.

So yesterday I see this bobble head kid sporting daddio's adult helmet and mister ST1100 without and of course the appropriate riding garb. Doesn't matter if he's riding cross state or around the block, its legal in Illinois. I've even seen kids sitting in the front of the adult and on top of the fuel tank as they cruise down the expressway. As long as there's an extra set of foot pegs (cruiser mount on crash bars) its legal! Cop's should start writing tickets anyhow and clog the courts up until a fair law is passed. Furthermore, if this bike owner was in a wreck and only has the minimum liability (and no further insurance), the tax payers eat the extortion medical bills.

[onewhippedpuppy]

As a parent that has to fight with a baby and booster seat daily, that's an interesting comparison. In my experience the laws are ridiculously overkill for child safety, I suppose to compensate for the many morons that are out there. The above picture scares me though, in any sort of real accident that is a dead kid.

[on2wheels52]

I guess there's no law against being a douchebag.
Jim

[HardDrive]

Travel in south east asia or India. Here's some perspective:

[bell]

dog in a bag!!!!!!

[Tim Hancock]

I grew up riding on a gas tank and a back luggage rack of a small Honda with my dad. I never sat in a kid's "car seat" in my life. Many years later, I gave my daughters rides on/in street bikes, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, ATV's, airplanes, jetskis, boats, kayaks, sports cars etc. I truly despise nanny state laws.

[jyl]

Do you see that often, though? How many small child passengers on motorcycles are actually killed each year? May not make much sense to pass a law if the dangerous behaviour is very rare and has minimal impact.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I grew up riding on a gas tank and a back luggage rack of a small Honda with my dad. I never sat in a kid's "car seat" in my life. Many years later, I gave my daughters rides on/in street bikes, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, ATV's, airplanes, jetskis, boats, kayaks, sports cars etc. I truly despise nanny state laws.

Note that while the above picture gives me pause, I also don't think it is my right to tell anyone else what to do with their kids. But if it were me, I'd be scared $h!tless that some moron would plow into me while giving my kid a ride around the block. I give my kids ATV rides all the time on my in-laws' land, and hope to give them airplane rides in the near future.

[wdfifteen]

I think adults should be allowed choose to risk their lives doing stupid things, but they shouldn't take their kids with them. Does the kid really have a choice? Does he really understand the risk? Can you even make a choice if you don't understand the risk?
I can't understand why there are such strict child safety laws for cars and such lax child safety laws for motorcycles.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I also don't think it is my right to tell anyone else what to do with their kids.

Really?

[legion]

I say this extends to all automobile "safety" laws.

You cannot legally buy a new car that does not have 1000+ lbs. of government-mandated safety equipment in the form of seat belts, windshield wipers, front air bags, side air bags, crumple zones, ABS, stability control, traction control, thick A and C pillars for rollover protection, or ultra-thick C pillars for side-impact protection, but you can legally ride a motorcycle that has none of these things.

Almost every auto manufacturer on the planet has a small, basic, extremely fuel-efficient model that it cannot sell in the U.S. because of our nanny-state safety laws.

[dhoward]

My little brother had a car seat when we were young. It hung off of the bench seat back and had a plastic steering wheel, and a metal 'gear shift' lever, that would pinch the snot out of you if you moved it wrong. Both of my parents smoked with us in the car too.

[intakexhaust]

Like I started with, the B.S. for a child safety seat check, or other is over the top and yet I see bikers like this. Not at all agreeing with that biker but what he does or with his kid is his problem. I don't care what one does until it affects me and surely don't like the nanny state. When you get pulled over for a check of how and see if you have you're kid correctly in a non-expired HANS device seat, you would understand.

I hope some cops are reading and seeing this and maybe they would back off the 'nanny revenue support pension fund' and focus more on stuff like these morons.

[vash]

kids get tossed easily off a bike. i wouldnt do it.

i saw some belt the rider wears that had mini handlebars on the back giving the kid a solid handhold on something. i dont know if the product took off or anything.

a kid cannot wrap up a fat ass parent, or grab onto clothing tight enough.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by jyl

Do you see that often, though? How many small child passengers on motorcycles are actually killed each year? May not make much sense to pass a law if the dangerous behaviour is very rare and has minimal impact.

He still doesn't like it, therefore there should be a law against it!

We can all agree motorcycle collisions are bad - worse when a child is involved. But I highly doubt more laws will make anything better. Especially in the Corrupt State of Illinois.

This applies to all states: Instead of making more laws maybe there should be better efforts in making drivers more responsible. The process to obtain a license is ridiculously easy. In most instances (here) you don't even have to understand or read English -- no wonder so many people run reds & stop signs! People have overall become complacent and careless.

We need to make drivers more aware and responsible - not more punitive measures.

Also, it should be 'common sense' to wear the best gear you can get if you are going to ride. I'm not going to force anyone else to wear protective gear, just recommend it to them. Their life is worth whatever to them. Their kids, too. But there are gear options out there for kids: Kids Street Bike Gear. If it were my kid, I would have them wearing the best stuff I could possibly afford. Or maybe just take the Porsche.

[Jim Bremner]

I have a solution for too many laws.

We need to get another law passed. For every new law that is passed 2 need to be removed. Once this is passed the fine folks that place laws on us will need to think instead of just passing more laws to get their names in the paper. Something needs to be done to save us from too much government.

My favorite thing is here in California the CHP who can site us for driving with a cell phone with out a hands free device are driving with 3 computers that they monitor while driving plus a radio and of course they're exempt from the cell law so you see them driving while talking to their wife as well! Do you feel safer? I don't

[island911]

I especially like the "no seatbelt" tickets give out by cops on bikes.

.. . but they are specially trained nannies.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by jyl

Do you see that often, though? How many small child passengers on motorcycles are actually killed each year? May not make much sense to pass a law if the dangerous behaviour is very rare and has minimal impact.

What difference does that make? We're here to pass laws to make the world perfectly safe. Won't someone think of the children? Since when did paucity of lives saved make a difference in whether or not we should do the right thing? And if even one child's life is saved, doesn't that make passing the law worthwhile? What if that was your child?






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