This is the second in an occasional series of articles contributed by state Sen. Doug Berger about legislative issues of concern to Vance County.
Vance County, like many rural counties, has experienced the tragic death of a child on an ATV (all-terrain vehicle).
On Aug. 19, Gov. Mike Easley signed legislation that provided measures to try to reduce the number of children killed while riding ATVs.
I never have purchased one of these vehicles for my children, but I have many friends and neighbors who have. It is common to see children riding these vehicles throughout the countryside of Vance County. When the bill was introduced, I received an e-mail from a constituent in Granville County, asking me to oppose the legislation.
The original bill would have banned children ages 6 to 12 from riding any ATV. We exchanged e-mails arguing back and forth the merits of the proposal. I exchanged consumer protection articles showing him the nationwide problem of children getting killed on ATVs. He convincingly pointed out to me that those children were killed on adult ATVs.
He explained to me that the industry had developed age-appropriate ATVs with smaller engines. He convinced me that the legislation as originally written involved regulations that went too far and banned a product that could safely be used by children 6 to 12.
I agreed to try in the Commerce Committee, on which I serve, to amend the bill to allow children 6 to 12 to ride age-appropriate ATVs. I introduced the amendment in committee, but it was defeated by a 7-6 margin, largely on a split between rural legislators favoring the amendment and urban legislators opposing the amendment.
When the bill came to the floor of the Senate, Sen. William Purcell, D-Laurinburg, a pediatrician by profession, agreed to a compromise by lowering the ban to children 7 and under. Older children would be allowed to ride age-appropriate ATVs. The bill passed.
The bill went through a series of changes in the House, but the age compromise remained in the legislation that passed. Even in today’s world of politics, where every group has some lobbyist to advocate its position, an individual citizen can still have an impact on how the law is crafted.
Sen. Doug Berger, D-Youngsville, represents Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties in the state Senate.