VIRGINIA BEACH
Some of Keith Lindgren's best memories with his children were made on long road trips with them straddling the back of his motorcycle.
They'd start riding as young as 5 and were always outfitted in protective gear and taught how to hold on, said Lindgren, president of the Motorcycle Safety League of Virginia Inc. and a chief instructor with the Virginia Rider Training Program.
But local police say it isn't safe for small children to ride and have proposed a change in state law that would ban it. Del. Chris Stolle, a Republican who represents Virginia Beach, has taken up the cause, sponsoring House Bill 1850, which would make it illegal for children younger than 8 to travel by motorcycle.
The bill has got motorcyclists like Lindgren revved up for a battle over who should decide when a child is ready to ride.
"I don't look at this as a governmental issue. I look at this as a parental issue," said Matt Danielson, legal counsel for the Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists, a political action committee that represents motorcyclists' interests in the General Assembly. "I think the parent can make a better decision about whether their child is ready to ride than can some legislator in Richmond."
But Sgt. Scott Wichtendahl, head of the Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit, said officers have seen too many small children clinging onto motorcycles, often with insufficient protection, especially as more drivers turn to the fuel-efficient rides. The number of motorcycles registered in Virginia grew about 93 percent from 2001 to 2008, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
While there haven't been any local casualties or serious injuries to children riding on motorcycles, the Police Department wants to prevent any from occurring, Wichtendahl said.
"The child's uncomfortable and unsafe and can't hold on effectively, even just sitting at the stoplight," Wichtendahl said. "We're not trying to prevent parents from transporting their children, we just want it to be safe."
He said he'd support an exemption for parades.
Between 2005 and 2009, 23 children age 9 and younger were injured while riding motorcycles in Virginia, according to DMV statistics provided by Danielson. None died. However, in October, a 9-year-old boy died in Orange County, about 75 miles northwest of Richmond, when his father's motorcycle collided with a pickup.
Far more children are hurt or killed riding bicycles, Danielson said. From 2005 to 2009, three children ages 9 and younger died from bicycle accidents, and 238 injuries were reported, he said.
"It's not a problem in the commonwealth of Virginia," he said. "What these numbers say is that motorcycling parents in Virginia are doing a very good job of making this decision for themselves."
Only about 5 percent of the customers at Cycle World on Virginia Beach Boulevard take their children with them on their motorcycles, sales manager Robb Eldredge said. But those who do typically stock up on child-size helmets, body armor and gloves, he said.
He said he wouldn't recommend putting a child on a motorcycle who can't reach the foot pedals and doesn't see a problem with the proposed age limit.
"I think all our customers who have children sit on back make sure they fit," he said. "But I think having a law in place would be a very positive thing."
(reprinted from HamptonRoads.com)
January 24, 2011- -
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