I have 2 boys 8 and soon to be 10. We want to go riding in Michigan since we live right on the border. What I want to know is does DNR give you a hard time about their ages?? Since they are supposed to be 12 to ride in Mich. They will have their training certificates and all the proper gear and ORV stickers. Does anyone else have kids the ride in Mich that are not 12 and up??
Thanks!

 

It is suppose to be illegal for anyone under the age of 12 to ride in Michigan unless they are aged 10 or 11 and on property owned by the parent or gaurdian,while in visual supervision of an adult AND must posses a ORV training certificate.

I am a licensed ATV safety Instructor and have NEVER heard of a single case yet where the DNR has wrote a ticket for underaged riding as long as the kids are under visual supervision of an adult and have a valid ORV training certificate while riding.

We are suppose to be working on removing this silly age limit on these kids this upcoming Novemeber.[election time]

Bill

 

Great thanks for the reply! Lets hope the new law gets passed.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I live in northeast Ohio. Almost two years ago my then 6 year old son and I planned a riding trip in Michigan. We wanted to ride dunes and had gotten all kinds of wonderful info about Silver Lake. We made the 8 hour drive, bought our flags and stickers, and paid for 5 days at a campground. We got to Silver Lake on a Thursday afternoon and there was noone there in an official capacity, and only a handful of riders. We couldnt find anyone to pay. We followed the advise and actions of some other riders and decided to head out and begin riding, and came back to check periodically for a ranger. We rode about an hour until we saw a ranger approach us on the dunes in a truck. I rode over to greet him and ask about paying. He asked how old my son was. We were immediately escorted out, and I got my rear end chewed in the parking lot. Then he gave me info on training programs in Michigan "for when hes old enough", but I told him it was unlikely I would send my son to Michigan from Ohio for ATV certification. We left Silver Lake and went back to the campground, where I did more research and made some calls, looking for privately owned places to ride. It was then I discovered that I was a criminal in the entire state of Michigan for allowing a 6 year old to ride his E-Ton 50cc quad. We left Michigan the next morning and made the 8 hour trip back to Ohio and camped the next couple of days in one of our local ridng spots. I realize I should have done more research before vacationing, but I left Michigan with a real bitterness. Michigan is not friendly to family ATVing, and does not respect parental judgement, and Ill never spend another vacation dime there. Last year we went to ride the dunes at the Badlands in Indiana, and it was such a wonderful vacation that I dont even have any remote desire to go riding in Michigan ever again. I only vacation in family places. I asked my son (he will be 8 this summer) where he wanted to vacation this year, and without hesitation, he said "the Badlands", and we are planning it for late June. Remember the good ol' days when parents were responsible for training their kids, or being able to decide if they needed to seek "experts" if they felt they couldnt do the job? Remember when parents could decide what was age appropriate for their own children? Sorry Michigan Govt, but I just happen to think Im better qualified to make that determination, and since I have no say in what laws you pass over there, Ill just stay out.

 

You have a reasonable view but aren't THEY held responsible for people who are there legally or not? If you are riding on someone's land with or without permission and you get hurt you can sue that person. Of course that's a load of crap but many times I think the land owner is held responsible unless they have NO Tresspassing signs and what not... The DNR are usually butt-heads as it is, so that doesn't help the situation. I wish there was public trails in southern lower MI. Argh...

 

Im not sure who you mean by THEY, but the incident I was talking about was Silver Lake, in which the landowner is the state of Michigan. I do not blame the rangers who must enforce the laws regardless of their personal opinion. They dont make the rules. I blame the Michigan state governement for passing such idiotic legislation, banning the younger kids altogether, and requiring parnets to enlist the Michigan state government as a riding instructor, even if they live in another state. My other point in referring to looking for privately owned riding areas, was that even if landowners want to allow children to ride, with whatever requirements they deem appropriate, the law prevents them from doing so. A pivate park has every moral right to set whatever age limits they deem appropriate for their facility, and if they wish to be 18 and over, I support that too but the state has decided it would set age limits for them. When you get outside of Michigan most ATV parks allow children of any age to ride under direct parental supervision, and many setup special, easy trails or designated areas just for the little ones. That should be their choice, but Michigan says no, so I said "no" to Michigan.

 

I am sorry you had a bad experience here in Michigan. If you look at the overall ATV sport nation wide you will see we all still get the short end of the stick. This is mainly do to the introduction of 3-wheelers and the early ATV riders. The more injuries and violations, the more the law clamps down. I for one agree that the parents should have the right to decide for their kids. Problem is too many parents just don't care. We have a lot of kids riding on private property, carelessly and dangerously on the trails. Where's the parent? Nowhere in sight. As far as training goes, I support it whole-heartedly for any age. It not only makes the student a better rider, it makes them fully aware of the laws and their rights as a rider.

We do offer some flexibility that many other states do not. Such as age to cc requirements, in Michigan with a rider safety training certificate a child can ride an appropriate size ATV based off physical size and not cc. This is much safer for many of the kids. You cannot ride safe with your knees in the handlebars.

I only wish we could ride double in Michigan.


Jeff

 

I guess it all comes down a difference in philosophy. I do not believe you can substitute government regulation for good parenting, and in fact, it often gets in the way of good parenting. My case is a prime example. I also do not the govt in charge of traing. There definition of "qualified" instructors, and mine may not match, and their idea of "proper action and technique" often do not match. As far as reckless riding and trespassing, I dont see what that has to do with small children now banned from riding, other than maybe if they were allowed to ride with their parents as small children, they could learn to be responsible riders BEFORE they become teenagers and already "know everything". These problems are not resolved in training courses. The vast majority of violations are choices based on a lack of responsibility, and not because they didnt know any better because they didnt go through govt training. As far as the appopriate size quad for kids, the biggest mistake is to try to cover all the bases and factors with written legislation. A quad's weight should be factor in thinking of the consequences of a roll. Not enough cc's on too much quad is more dangerous than too many cc's on a smaller quad. A child's skill level should also be a factor, and the biggest single hazard of trail riding for kids is insufficient brakes which never even get mentioned. A lot of mini's have really lame brakes. Parents must consider all of these factors.
The introduction of 3 wheelers was the gateway for quads! They were introduced long before quads, and I get tired of hearing them blamed for the evils of ATVing. Sure, they are a lot harder to master than a quad, but they do a lot better job of teaching correct riding technique. More difficult to ride, but hardly more dangerous. I chose to master one, and the govt has no right to tell me its too dangerous for me. Does Michigan ban unicycles too, because bicycle riders cant ride them?

 

Tim,
Problem is,MOST parents do not get as involved in proper ATV training with their kids like you do.I praise you for this.Lack of proper ATV training has lead to the restrictions we now have on ATVs and kids because of an increase in injuries/deaths.The CPSC HAD to step in,PERIOD!This holds true for ANY product that shows to have a high repetition of injuries/deaths.I also think the government has their nose to far up our rears on alot of issue's,however,this is not one of them.Where in the world do you think we would be NOW if the CPSC did not get involved in 1988 and set forth NEW regulations regarding 3 wheelers?I agree that the three wheelers were not the fault,it was rider error and poor judgement that caused most the accidents.

You said your definition of ''qualified instructors''and proper action and technique''may not match the goverments?Does this automatically make you correct and the lawmakers wrong?Because TIM does not agree with a certain law,it must be wrong?We have laws that are to be followed by everyone in America,regardless of YOUR opinion of them.

Bill

 

Where would we be without the CPSC? Are you for real? What did they actually do to make ATVs safer? All they did was jump in (in 1986 not 1988) and decide to ban the importation of 3 wheelers which were the convenient scapegoat at the time of the do gooders who wanted to ban all off road vehicles. It was politically correct to attack 3 wheelers, which had already been around since the early 70's. Repetitve injuries and death? Sure, just like any other ATV or dirt bike. While they correctly sited statistics and decided that 3 wheelers crashed more easily, (because they are harder to ride) they completely disregarded statistics that showed 3 wheeler riders had noticeable less injuries per accident. Dirt bikes have noticeably more accidents than 3 wheelers but they suffer even less injuries per accident. "Where we would be if they hadnt have stepped in" is riding 2002 model 3 wheelers with 16 years worth of advances in safety technology, but instead those of us who enjoy riding 3 wheelers continuing to ride our restored antiques.
And in answer to your question "Does this automatically make you correct and the lawmakers wrong?", by the very definition of the word disagree, it is my opinion that in the areas in which I disagree that I am right and they are wrong. And by the way, the CPSC is an appointed, not elected, body, who makes decisons in which we who are affected have no say. Ill put the question back to you. Do you really think because its a law its correct? Do you support Michigans ban on children under 10 or 12 riding? You seem to support failure to enforce it by your second post, and then chastise me for not following the law.
"We have laws that are to be followed by everyone in America,regardless of YOUR opinion of them." Wrong Bill. You have laws in Michigan to be followed by anyone from anywhere while in Michigan, which I admit, I unknowingly violated for about an hour. I do not support violating laws, and youll not find one instance in a single post where I even hint at it. I said the laws were idiotic, and that i would never again go riding in Michigan to be subject to them. Ill take my 7 year old seasoned rider other places to ride.
The guy who originated this post wishes to bring an 8 and 9 year old to Michigan riding, and your response gave the impression that though its "supposed to be" illegal, theyll just look the other way and let his kids ride. Id hate to see him share my experience based on that information. You guys are welcome to pass whatever laws you wish to live under over there, but guys traveling from less restrictive states need to be forwarned.