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Dec 14, 2007 2:09 pm US/Eastern
Gift Of Danger: Mini-Bikes Not For Children
MIAMI (CBS) ―
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Keep safety in mind when buying gifts for youngsters this season.
AP
If you're still looking for a special gift to get your kid this Christmas, popular mini-bikes and mini-ATVs are not the way to go.
Mini-motorcycles, also known as "pocket rockets," have been a top seller in South Florida for years, but the potentially deadly mini-bikes have tragically turned into holiday killers over the years.
Christmas 2005 was the year 15-year-old Anthony Perera of Kendall, Fla., was killed after losing control of his mini-bike and slamming into a truck.
And he's not the only one.
According to the U.S. consumer product safety commission, between 1998 and 2004 mini-bike accidents claimed 49 lives nationwide.
Between 2003 and 2004 they were blamed for some 10,000 injuries, mostly to young drivers.
In Florida they're not even legal to drive on streets or sidewalks. They're only supposed to be used for so-called off-road racing. But around South Florida most "off road" stores stopped selling them because they're so dangerous for young drivers.
"Anyone who lets their kids on the road would be irresponsible," said Scott Cook, of AA Moped Motorsports. "If they are sold and used on a street it's against the law. They are made for off road use."
Last year, an investigation into mini-motorcycle tragedies by CBS station WFOR in Miami prompted state lawmakers to crack down on the sale and advertising of so-called pocket rockets.
And a new law required warnings be posted in stores selling them, advising parents they were dangerous and couldn't be legally used on any public roads or sidewalks.
But it seems as if that law is not being enforced at all.
Several local stores selling mini-bikes and mini-ATVs this holiday season did not have any posted warnings.
Joe Hiribarne agreed they're a danger to children.
"I would not sell this to a young kid. These are for grown-ups 18 or older," he said.
Hiribarne says he refuses to sell the powerful, off-road mini-ATV to anyone under 18 and even turns away parents trying to buy them for their young children.
"Just yesterday I had a parent looking buy one for a 3-year-old and I said no way. You can't put a 3-year-old on one. Just sign away and put them in a hospital," he said.
Hiribarne says he worries about all the other shops selling these products to anyone who wants to buy them without offering any warnings and parents putting their children at risk of becoming another holiday tragedy.
"It's happening all over town. They're more interested in making a buck," he said.
Gas-powered mini-motorcycles have already been banned from import into the U.S., and gas powered mini-ATVs will be banned next year.
But they're still allowed to be sold, and child safety advocates are worried that parents could be putting their children at risk without even knowing it.
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