As laws go, these are on the order of the ones that say you can't steal from your neighbor. They are legislative no-brainers. You shouldn't need your mother to tell you not to ride one of these.

And yet, I can almost hear the defenders of pocket bikes complaining that their rights have been violated. While the County Council was voting for its ban last week, radio ads were playing along the Wasatch Front offering free pocket bikes as incentives for other purchases. A quick check on eBay revealed dozens, if not hundreds, of pocket bikes on sale for $150 or less brand new. These are mostly Chinese knockoffs, cheap versions whose ride has been compared to that of a weed whacker on wheels.

With the holidays approaching, these new vehicles are likely to proliferate. And if enough people own one, they go from being a nuisance to an interest group. What is the point of buying a bike you can't legally ride anywhere but in your own back yard? Pretty soon we'll have folks clamoring for public pocket bike parks.

Anyone thinking about buying one of these things for the kids ought to read the account in The Sun, out of Great Britain, dated Sept. 27 and headlined, "Dad's hell at death of motorbike boy, 6." It's all about a man who watched his 6-year-old son kill himself going 20 mph on his "dream present." The boy was wearing a helmet, but that didn't save him.

Or they could read the many other accounts from this country of people who have been injured or killed riding something no motorist can reasonably see.

The county and Layton did the right thing. But the best thing would be for state lawmakers to ban the bikes from all Utah roads and sidewalks when they meet in January. They may even want to go as far as the city of Philadelphia, which recently banned all sales of pocket bikes, period.

We owe it to the next generation, before they come along with pocket lint bikes or some other thrilling way to tempt fate. Let's keep pocket bikes in the circus, where clowns can put them to good use.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com