Houston Injury Lawyers Warn against Letting Children Ride Adult-Sized ATVs
Houston accident lawyers often notice that many parents remain unaware about the dangers of letting their children ride large-size All-Terrain Vehicles. Adult-sized ATVs are only meant for children above the age of 16. However, an investigation by CBS’ Early Show finds that dealers may be taking advantage of parental lack of awareness about the issue, and may be selling them adult sized ATVs, even when they know these will be used by children.
The Early Show investigators visited a number of dealers to buy ATVs for a child. They found that dealers were willing to sell adult-sized ATVs, even when they knew that these would be used by a child under 16 years of age. The findings are shocking to Houston injury lawyers who know that these vehicles can be potentially fatal when handled by a child of this age.
However, those findings were not the only ones confirming that dealers may be willing to indulge in unethical selling practices. An earlier undercover investigation by the Government Accountability Office revealed similar findings. Out of every 10 ATV dealers, seven were likely to sell adult-sized ATVs for use by a young child, in some cases even persuading parents to buy their child adult-sized ATVs because kids would soon get tired of youth-sized vehicles.
This is even as the ATV manufacturing industry continues to insist that it only recommends adult-sized ATVs for children above the age of 16. The recommendations have very little meaning when their dealers push sales of adult-sized ATVs for children. Obviously, there’s some disconnect between what the manufacturers are saying and what their dealers on the street are actually doing.
With more numbers of children riding ATVs during summer, we would highly recommend that you only allow your below-16 year old child to ride a child-sized ATV, and that too only after he undergoes a safety training program. Adult-sized ATVs are exactly that – only meant for adults. A child can suffer serious injuries in an ATV accident, when the vehicle tips over and he is pinned underneath.
If you or your child has been injured as a result of an ATV accident, contact the Texas injury lawyers at the Kahn Law Firm at 713-226-9900 or toll free at 1-877-226-9940.
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