But we don't license parenting. that's the biggest problem in America: Parenting is the most important job in the world, and the only qualification is the ability to fuck.
ultimately, i think it's better to stay on the high side of the slippery slope of paternal legislation. Yes, this guy is an idiot for putting his kid at risk, but you can't legislate common sense into the brains of idiots. It's like the kid that the state took away from his mother for being too fat. How fat does he have to be before it's "abuse" or "dangerous?" Is the picture originally posted "okay" because it technically isn't violating any laws? I mean, assuming daddy was going 25 and the kid's helmet fit correctly, he'd probably survive a crash. Yes, a couple more years and a lot more gear would be exponentially safeR, but so would outlawing motorcycles all together. I get nervous when Uncle Sam starts telling me anything is "for my own good." Educate the public about the potential hazards of dangerous or unhealthy activities, and then let it be our choice. I choose to race motorcycles. I also chose to give up street riding, and always chose to wear a helmet (no helmet law here) when I did. In retrospect, I should have worn a lot more gear. Had I been better educated about the nature and extent of potential injuries, I would have made better decisions from the start of my riding 'career.'
There should be a caption on the original picture. "What does it take to turn you into a big-government, nanny-state Liberal?" Apparently, for this board, it's a kid on pillion. Where does this attitude come from? "When you take my freedoms away it's an assault on the constitution, but when I take your freedoms away it's common sense." Yeah, this should be in the dungeon. Goodbye,
I may or man not ride my kid around on my supermoto at 10 to 20 mph in front of me, he loves it, and always bothers me to go ride. He turns two next week. Someone doing the same thing in florida was charged with reckless endangerment of a minor. What my neighbor or someone else thinks is reckless is normal to many other people. How many people think anyone who rides a motorcycle is crazy and not of sound mind? Would a responsible parent ride a motorcycle, they may leave their child an orphan. Maybe we should just ban all motorcycles as they are foolish things. Maybe we should limit them to 250cc, as no one needs 1000. You can't a ride a 1000 to it's potential anyways, and they are dangerous to the public when driven by teenagers on public highways. Be careful asking the government to baby sit everyone. They do way too much of that already. For all you know the kid in that picture is 10 or 12 years old, and may be a monster on the dirt track already, and know perfectly well how to ride pillion, since he has been on a bike since he is two. Just sayin...
FWIW... that helmet isn't necessarily ill-fitting. My son (he's 2) has a helmet that's the same size shell as mine... fits him perfect. Not saying everything else is acceptable, but I get told I'm an idiot for riding my son around my yard on my dirtbike...
Mine is only 14 months and I had her sitting on the dirt bike yesterday while it was running. I'm just trying to get her used to it slowly. We weren't moving because she can't hold on yet. When she can, we will "go putt-putt on the motorbike" around the yard. In my opinion, that boy in the original pic is too small to be on the highway. But that's just me and each case is different.
Psst... you already have to be 16 to ride a bike by yourself on the street. Been that way a long damn time.
