Are Kids ATV Size Guidelines Right?

A Study for the University of Kentucky claims that the current national standards that link a riders age to the size of the engine they can handle aren’t as good as they should be. Researchers suggested that this undermines safety and increases the odds of serious crashes.

Initial experiments from the study found that the national standards linking a rider’s age to the size of an ATV’s engine often overlook whether the driver is too tall - or too short - to adequately brake, steer or accelerate the machine.

While the study doesn’t question the need for age standards, it concludes sometimes even an adult-sized frame should be combined with a child-sized motor, or the reverse.

“That’s a very awkward situation,” said Andrew Bernard, a trauma surgeon at the university who led the study. “The kid feels naturally like he fits the bigger one, but the engine feels way overpowered.”

Here are the current standards:

• Ages 6-11: Under 70cc
• Ages 12-15: 70 to 90cc
• Ages 16 and older: Over 90cc

I guess we’ll see if there’ll be any changes to this.

[Source: Miamiherald.com]