Comments about ‘Motocross fans defend sport in wake of young boy's death at track’

Its "perfectly safe" but Mom gets "too nervous to watch." Hmmmmm.

"I don't see that there's a problem," ... "As long as they're wearing the proper gear. It's no less safe than driving on the freeway to Salt Lake."

"I've never seen anything bad come out of our sport," ...

Hmm ... both the above quotes are bad analogies.

If the first case, there is a big difference between being inside a car and belted in place and riding a motorcycle. Should an accident happen in which position would you rather be?

And as for nothing bad coming out of Motocross ...

How about the death of an 8 year old child?

Let youngsters ride motorcycles ... Yes. Let them compete in Motocross before they are 10 years old. No.

Years ago I attended MANY motocross events with my family. At one event a young man crashed and was seriously injured and that was it for me....

I know WAY too many who have crashed while riding motocross tracks. My husband and sons are just 3. I too had a close call before I quit!

This is a dangerous sport and one that is out of control! There is a constant drive to go faster and faster as well as jump higher and higher.

And if you think the equipment will save you... you're wrong...I have seen riders fully dressed in gear like Logan was... and sustained injuries such as broken backs, arms and collarbones....

First, my deepest condolences to the family of Logan, I'm so sorry for the pain you are going through. Added to this is the effect that the public is now second guessing the whole incident.

What I have trouble with, is this. Why does it have to be on motorcycles? You can take the same track and put the kids on bicycles. You'll have the fun without the speed, and without the catastrophic injuries.

You can't or shouldn't bring you kids up in a bubble, but if the parents aren't the ones to make the hard choices about what's safe and what isn't, then who will?

I say we eliminate all contact sports/activities with any child under the age of 18. Let's place them safely in front of the television, in front of a video game, or better yet, give them a safe cell phone and let them text to their heart's content. This will insure the safety of these poor little ones and will prevent idiotic articles being written that attempt to paint youth involved in activities as being victims of bad parenting.

"why isn't safe?" 'it's safer then the freeway"
well if an 8 yr old gets to run the family and make the rules because the parents won't, then dies it isn't safe, and 8 yr olds don't drive on the freeway.
get a clue parents.

How powerful it would be if these parents, who suffered such a tragic lost, would turn into lobbyists for legislation that would forbid children to participate in such dangerous sports. To contribute to saving lives would be the greatest tribute to their son.

Your logic is flawed. Kids sports such as soccer, baseball, and even hockey and football don't involve collisions at speeds of 30, 40, or even 50 miles an hour.

Ever watch a little league football game? Most 8 year-olds can't run faster than 10-15 mph, and collisions between the players do not generate anywhere close to the same amount of force that killed Logan Emerson.

Ditto for hockey; most kids can't skate fast enough to even bruise themselves when they run into the boards.

Motocross, on the other hand, is a sport where participants race as fast as they can on a rough, winding, uneven track. High-speed accidents are not a bug, they're a feature.

And in general 8 year-olds simply do not have the maturity and experience to safely operate a motorcycle at high speeds, which is why we don't allow them to operate their vehicles on a public highway.

Nevertheless, I'm willing to let parents be stupid if they wish. But I'm not going sit by and pretend they weren't stupid when they suffer the inevitable consequences of their actions.

it's sort of ironic that the same hippie parents who constantly complain about the obesity epidemic affecting america's children are on here whining about kids riding moto.

i'm about as liberal as it gets, and i'm not a backwoods hick either. i'm going to law school in new jersey after a very successful academic career in philosophy at westminster college. i know that dirt bikes generally aren't the province of america's left, so i suppose i'm a bit of an exception when i say that i have been riding for years and it is the single greatest thrill i have ever experienced in a recreational setting.

i also will admit that i wish i had started riding when i was a kid rather than when i was 20. having riden for the past six years has been awesome, but there are some parts of riding that i will never get to experience because i got into moto and woods so late.

parents, if you think that riding moto is too dangerous for your china-doll son, that's fun. but leave the us out of your sad, fat safety net.

I am not against motocross. I love the sport and love to watch it. I do think if a kid is introduced to early, he will have an adrenaline addiction. This will push him to further envelopes for a bigger rush, which makes parents proud, but also leads the child to do go beyond his/her limits. A druggie, alcoholic, porn-addict, also put reason aside to fulfill their addictions.
Wait for the child to gain control of his emotions, then let him decide to compete in motocross.

As a dirt biker for over 40 years, I think one of the problems is the jumps. Almost all the serious injuries I've seen is guys trying to do the big jumps. It used to be just a few single jumps now its double jumps, triple jumps, uphill jumps and down hill jumps.Now everyone wants to "go big". I would personlly rather see faster tracks with very few jumps, it gets old just watching them doing nothing but jumps and whoops.

I love the false dichotomy represented here that says, "if you don't let your kids ride motocross, they must be fat, addicted video game watchers."

I won't let my kids touch motorcycles of any kind until they are teenagers.

Yet they both play soccer, compete in track, swim and don't even own a video game system.

Go figure.

seems we do everything in extremes these days. I've ridden since I was 8. I'm fifty. My boys are all athletic--two are competing on the collegiate level. Good for them. They grew into it, in sports I would not have picked (rugby and wrestling, both produce a lot of injuries). My daughter is the only child of mine who got into motorized sports. My grandson rides. He is 4. In this soft society we need to get our kids off the couch and into activities that are hard, that require sacrifice, a little danger, and develop courage, strength, confidence. That said; I have never raced, my grandson may or may not...his mother is yet to decide. But he begs her everyday. Life isn't always about pushing the limits, but rather knowing what yours are. The tricky part is pushing kids when they need it, and reigning them in when they need it. From what I hear about this kid, he was one who just couldn't be held back. Sad story, but let's not make it into any kind of life lesson. That's what our own lives are for.

When a grow up most my friends had dirt bikes. Mike bought a Maco 501, wrapped it around a tree and he spent months in traction.

It was seeing the way dirt bikes scared the land, the expansion chamber and selfish riders that left a lasting impression on me.

You know, it is dangerous, then you can get into an accident no matter how old you are. Older riders are in just as much danger as this little 8 year old boy was. I don't think it's fair to blame the parents for allowing their kids to participate in a sport they love.

I don't think anyone is blaming parents just reminding all involved in dangerous sports there is a price you might just have to pay ant it is to bury a child at a young and tender age....

As for me that price is way way toooooo high

the point of exaggerating the dichotomy is that less kids are active now than ten years ago. so many parents are worried about their kids getting hurt that a lot of young people are missing out on some of the best things life has to offer. telling parents to stop their kids from doing something active because it poses a health risk (substantial or not) doesn't seem to be in anybody's best interest.

taking risks is what makes life (and growing up, as i remember it) any fun. to quote mark twain: "twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. so throw off the bowlines. sail away from the safe harbor. catch the trade winds in your sails. explore. dream. discover."

I don't see a problem - yes, it is tragic but it could have been some child on their bicycle hit by a car...

Chuck, I always look forward to your stories. You're a fine writer and you tackle interesting subjects. But I have to add my own opinion on this one: if a person isn't old enough to have a driver license, he isn't old enough to drive.

Life isn't valued much anymore if we actually plan dangerous events for tots.