Kids on Mopeds - A Deadly Combination?

Summer is here and so are the kids on their mopeds. The streets are buzzing with them - literally! To say we have an energy crisis, you wouldn't know it by the number of trips each of these small motorized bicycles makes to Stadium Park every hour. But in all honesty, kids are kids! And meeting with their friends is important for their social upbringing. And if they are not congregating, then they are immediately bored. So, another trip to the park to see if anyone else has made the trip is the going fad. Good or bad, there's not much else for kids to do. Other than the pool, the skateboard ramps, the Little League Baseball, fishing on the canal that is. Finding things that keep a child's attention for more than five minutes has always been a challenge. It's not a new phenomina.

So kids ride mopeds instead of bikes. What's the harm? Beside the fact that they get very little physical exercise. Except for those that have a hard time starting their motors and have to pedal at 3500 rpms to get them going. Well, if kids respected local traffic laws - nothing. The problem is that no one is watching to protect our kids from themselves. They wiz down the streets of Delphos at top speed. That may only be 25 or 30 miles per hour, but it's still top speed all the time. What happens when they get their motorcycle license? Will we still look the other way when they run them at top speeds because no one is paying attention? They don't care to stop for stop signs. No one is telling them that it is important to stop, put one foot on the ground, and look both ways before proceeding. After all, motorcyclists do "country road stops" all the time. It's too much trouble to come to a complete stop on a two wheeled vehicle. And from what I've observed, cars aren't a whole lot better.

I realize that budget cuts during this economy have stretched our police department thin. And I do know that they make a concerted effort to cruise the streets of town (including the park) to make sure we as a community are safe. But the kids know that and still don't seem to care about following a few simple rules meant to keep people safe in and on their vehicles. It's just a question of time before one of our own gets hurt (or worse) because our kids have not been taught or encouraged to abide by the rules that have been made to protect them and us.

When my son had just gotten his driver's license, he received a speeding ticket. I always said the acorn didn't fall too far from the tree. When I took him to court to appear before the judge (required at his age), there was another boy about 13 years old who had gotten a ticket while riding a bicycle. I thought at the time that the police were being strict, but I now understand it was for his own good. The judge told this boy that, if he was back in his court again, he would lose the opportunity to get his driver's license until he reached 18 years of age. (Remember, this boy was riding a bike.) I thought to myself that this was maybe what was needed to keep this child from harming himself. While I don't want to see any child in this situation, I want to see that our children are not harmed by the fact that we, as their protectors, do not do enough to teach them the alternative outcomes of bad choices.

As we see more and more gas efficient vehicles on the street, we need to make sure we are being cautious in watching out for them. Looking both ways before proceeding at a traffic signal is another step we can take to defend against imminent tragedy. Please do your part to keep our children safe!